I want to learn more presidential pet trivia!

John Quincy Adams had an alligator given to him by the Marquis de Lafayette. It lived in a bathroom in the East Room for a while.

Woodrow Wilson had sheep that grazed the White House lawn to help reduce groundskeeping costs.

Herbert Hoover’s opossum Billy was loaned out to a high school athletics program in Maryland to serve as a temporary mascot.

Teddy Roosevelt had a badger named Josiah among his many pets.

Andrew Jackson had an African grey parrot named Poll. 

Sources:

Presidential Pet Museum. (n.d.). https://www.presidentialpetmuseum.com Winick, S. (2019, Aug. 12). Of possums and presidents. Library of Congress. https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2019/08/of-possums-and-presidents-some-presidential-encounters-with-opossums

Other questions? Please contact June Drude at jdrude@virginia.edu or call (434) 924-7756.