When he was 22, his business failed. When he was 23, he lost a bid for U.S. Congress. When he was 24, he failed in business again. The following year, he was elected to the state legislature. When he was 26, his sweetheart died. At age 27, he had a nervous breakdown. When he was 29, he was defeated for the post of Speaker of the House in the state legislature. When he was 31, he was defeated as Elector. When he was 34, he ran for Congress again and lost. At the age of 37, he ran for Congress yet again and finally won, but two years later he lost his re-election campaign. At the age of 46, he ran for a U.S. Senate seat and lost. The following year he ran for Vice President and lost. Finally, at the age of 51, he was elected President of the United States. Who was this perpetual loser, you ask? Abraham Lincoln, of course.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams spent years writing letters back and forth to each other debating the role of government. Jefferson favored a small Federal government with relatively limited powers; Adams demanded a stronger, more centralized Federal government. They had an enormous amount of respect for each other and died coincidentally on the same day: July 4, 1826. Jefferson's last words were: "Is it the fourth?"
Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abe Lincoln, was present at the assassinations of three Presidents: his father's, President Garfield and President McKinley's. After the last shooting, he refused to attend any State affairs. He would not have been present at these events if it hadn't been for the brother of John Wilkes Booth, who saved his life years earlier.
Some folks believe that the curse of Indian chief Tecumseh has killed every U.S. President before the end of their term in office, if they were elected in a year that ended with 0. The first victim of the curse was William Henry Harrison, whose troops killed the Indian chief in 1813.
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