This informative post will be published on Saturday in place of my regular one.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

Name three words that end in “dous.”

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The 18th President of the United States was Ulysses S. Grant, who served two terms of office (1869-1877).

Here are a few quick facts about President Grant:

• Home state:  Ohio (birthplace was Pleasant Point)
• Lifespan:  April 27, 1822 to July 23, 1885
• Political party:  Republican
• College education:  Graduate of U.S. Military Academy (West Point)

Grant was the youngest elected President until John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960.  The election of Grant also continued the Republican Party’s control of the Presidency.  Onward from Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, a Republican occupied the White House until the election of Democrat Grover Cleveland in 1884.

Grant resumed his military career when the American Civil War severed the Union into two separate, yet temporary parts.  Following the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Grant had resigned from the army and returned to several unsuccessful ventures and occupations.  

His leadership as a Union general catapulted him to the top post in the Union army, where he commanded all its forces.  President Lincoln sought a man like Grant to serve because of his aggressive and determined leadership.

Grant’s given name was Hiram Ulysses Grant.  He felt quite uncomfortable with the initials H.U.G., and instead used his middle name as his first name.  When his appointment to West Point came through, his middle name was accidentally changed to Simpson, which was his mother’s maiden name.  Grant decided to leave the middle initial from Simpson, and his name permanently became Ulysses S. Grant.

During the Civil War, Grant’s first major victory as a commanding general occurred at the Battle of Fort Donelson (in Tennessee).  He earned his nickname of “Unconditional Surrender” after this battle as he gave the Confederate general no terms except unconditional and immediate surrender.  It was a coincidence that his name’s initials “U.S.” now had another meaning.

Grant became America’s first four-star general.  His portrait has been printed on the U.S. $50 bill since 1914.  During the final days of his life as he was battling throat cancer, Grant finished his memoirs, which have been widely recognized for their historical accuracy.

left to right:  portrait of President grant, $50 bill with grant’s image, general grant during the civil war, grant’s tomb in upper manhattan in New York City, grant with his wife and son on mediterranean cruise after his presidency.  (Images courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

Here are four possible answers: hazardous, horrendous, stupendous, tremendous