The Asian Age

How well do you know American Presidents?

- ARJUN R. SHANKAR

QA letter in 1860 from a young girl made an impact on Abraham Lincoln. Grace Bedell, an eleven-year-old from Westfield was the author of that letter. Grace was asking Abraham Lincoln to do something. She said, “All the ladies will like this and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President.” On Lincoln’s trip from Illinois to Washington D.C., the President-elect made a stop in Westfield to meet Grace and said, “Look Gracie I’ve done it.” What was Bedell’s request to the President?

QThis American President was known as “Big Steve”. In 1870, after assuming the office of Erie County sheriff, he was entrusted to execute death sentences as hangman. He had the right to appoint a surrogate executione­r but declined in the end, feeling he should hand down the punishment himself. Patrick Morrissey and John Gaffney were executed by him. When he ran for president, his opponents dubbed him the “Buffalo Hangman.” Identify the U.S. President.

QBoth of the American Presidents were Shakespear­e fans. They met in England in 1786 and decided to visit William Shakespear­e’s house. They were mesmerized by Shakespear­e’s chair, on which he used to sit and write. Finally they wanted to take a piece from Shakespear­e’s chair and cut off a wooden chip as a souvenir. Which American Presidents are we talking about?

QOn the night of Saturday, May 31, 1975, Susan Ford, the 17-year-old daughter of the 38th President of the United States created history by doing something which was first of its kind. It was held at the executive mansion, which made it an odd event in White House social history. At the time of the event, President Gerald R. Ford and the First Lady, Betty Ford, were en route from Belgium to Spain as part of a diplomatic tour of Europe. What happened at the White House?

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