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See Also
See Again
© Getty Images
0 / 31 Fotos
George Washington - The first leader of the United States of America was a mule breeder in his spare time.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
George Washington - After seeing how effective they were in Spain as pack animals, he had them imported and started a mule-breeding frenzy among the townspeople of Mount Vernon.
© iStock
2 / 31 Fotos
Thomas Jefferson - When he wasn't leading his people through the Revolutionary War, he invented spy gadgets.
© Getty Images
3 / 31 Fotos
Thomas Jefferson
- His most famous invention was the "wheel cipher," a contraption used to decipher coded messages.
© Public Domain
4 / 31 Fotos
Abraham Lincoln - In addition to leading the country through the Civil War and abolishing slavery, the 16th president liked to wrestle.
© Getty Images
5 / 31 Fotos
Abraham Lincoln - At one point he was the wrestling champion of his county in Illinois. His wrestling background even came up during his presidential campaign, adding to the image of him as a strong and determined leader.
© Getty Images
6 / 31 Fotos
Bill Clinton
- The 42nd US President had an ear for music and played the saxophone.
© Getty Images
7 / 31 Fotos
Bill Clinton - During his candidacy, the media called him the "Elvis candidate," but it didn't deter voters from electing him as their president.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
Calvin Coolidge - President Coolidge had a love for horseback riding, but developed an allergy later in life and was unable to continue riding.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
Calvin Coolidge - He received a mechanical horse as a joke gift and ended up loving it and riding it regularly.
© Getty Images
10 / 31 Fotos
Franklin D. Roosevelt - Our 32nd president had a penchant for detective stories.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
Franklin D. Roosevelt - He even ended up helping write a mystery novel, called 'The President’s Mystery Plot.'
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
George W. Bush - The 43rd president participated in many other activities in addition to running the country. He was a businessman, managed the Texas Rangers, and was in the Texas Air National Guard.
© Getty Images
13 / 31 Fotos
George W. Bush - However his real passion was painting, and he loved creating portraits of dogs more than anything else.
© iStock
14 / 31 Fotos
John Quincy Adams - The son of a Founding Father and the sixth president of the United States enjoyed skinny dipping.
© Getty Images
15 / 31 Fotos
John Quincy Adams - He allegedly swam naked in the Potomac River every morning at 5 am.
© Shutterstock
16 / 31 Fotos
Lyndon B. Johnson - The president used to take guests on joyrides around his ranch in his amphibious car.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
Lyndon B. Johnson
- His morbid pastime included pretending to lose control of the car and driving unsuspecting guests into a lake.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt - Teddy Roosevelt was a huge fan of boxing after taking wrestling lessons from a middleweight boxing champion.
© Getty Images
19 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt - He continued boxing even after elected as president, until an artillery captain permanently damaged his eye.
© iStock
20 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt - Another one of Roosevelt's hobbies was hunting.
© Getty Images
21 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt - While not necessarily a strange hobby in and of itself, he took his passion to such an extent that he ended up killing over 11,000 animals during a single safari through Africa.
© Getty Images
22 / 31 Fotos
Andrew Johnson - Lincoln's successor enjoyed making his own clothes during his free time.
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
Andrew Johnson - Prior to his presidency, he spent years working as a tailor. Apparently, old habits do die hard.
© Shutterstock
24 / 31 Fotos
Millard Fillmore - The president had an insatiable apettite for reading.
© Getty Images
25 / 31 Fotos
Millard Fillmore - He reportedly raced across town and risked his life to fight a fire at the Library of Congress in 1851.
© Getty Images
26 / 31 Fotos
Barack Obama - Barack Obama is an avid comic book collector.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
Barack Obama
- He has even been featured in many comics, including the 'Amazing Spider-Man #583' pictured above.
© Getty Images
28 / 31 Fotos
Richard Nixon - The 37th president had an infamous reputation for being the best bluffer in the US Navy during World War I.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
Richard Nixon
- He loved a good card game, and won so much money gambling that he used his earnings to fund his campaign for the US House of Representatives in 1946. See also: Surprising facts about the US presidents
© iStock
30 / 31 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 31 Fotos
George Washington - The first leader of the United States of America was a mule breeder in his spare time.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
George Washington - After seeing how effective they were in Spain as pack animals, he had them imported and started a mule-breeding frenzy among the townspeople of Mount Vernon.
© iStock
2 / 31 Fotos
Thomas Jefferson - When he wasn't leading his people through the Revolutionary War, he invented spy gadgets.
© Getty Images
3 / 31 Fotos
Thomas Jefferson
- His most famous invention was the "wheel cipher," a contraption used to decipher coded messages.
© Public Domain
4 / 31 Fotos
Abraham Lincoln - In addition to leading the country through the Civil War and abolishing slavery, the 16th president liked to wrestle.
© Getty Images
5 / 31 Fotos
Abraham Lincoln - At one point he was the wrestling champion of his county in Illinois. His wrestling background even came up during his presidential campaign, adding to the image of him as a strong and determined leader.
© Getty Images
6 / 31 Fotos
Bill Clinton
- The 42nd US President had an ear for music and played the saxophone.
© Getty Images
7 / 31 Fotos
Bill Clinton - During his candidacy, the media called him the "Elvis candidate," but it didn't deter voters from electing him as their president.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
Calvin Coolidge - President Coolidge had a love for horseback riding, but developed an allergy later in life and was unable to continue riding.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
Calvin Coolidge - He received a mechanical horse as a joke gift and ended up loving it and riding it regularly.
© Getty Images
10 / 31 Fotos
Franklin D. Roosevelt - Our 32nd president had a penchant for detective stories.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
Franklin D. Roosevelt - He even ended up helping write a mystery novel, called 'The President’s Mystery Plot.'
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
George W. Bush - The 43rd president participated in many other activities in addition to running the country. He was a businessman, managed the Texas Rangers, and was in the Texas Air National Guard.
© Getty Images
13 / 31 Fotos
George W. Bush - However his real passion was painting, and he loved creating portraits of dogs more than anything else.
© iStock
14 / 31 Fotos
John Quincy Adams - The son of a Founding Father and the sixth president of the United States enjoyed skinny dipping.
© Getty Images
15 / 31 Fotos
John Quincy Adams - He allegedly swam naked in the Potomac River every morning at 5 am.
© Shutterstock
16 / 31 Fotos
Lyndon B. Johnson - The president used to take guests on joyrides around his ranch in his amphibious car.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
Lyndon B. Johnson
- His morbid pastime included pretending to lose control of the car and driving unsuspecting guests into a lake.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt - Teddy Roosevelt was a huge fan of boxing after taking wrestling lessons from a middleweight boxing champion.
© Getty Images
19 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt - He continued boxing even after elected as president, until an artillery captain permanently damaged his eye.
© iStock
20 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt - Another one of Roosevelt's hobbies was hunting.
© Getty Images
21 / 31 Fotos
Theodore Roosevelt - While not necessarily a strange hobby in and of itself, he took his passion to such an extent that he ended up killing over 11,000 animals during a single safari through Africa.
© Getty Images
22 / 31 Fotos
Andrew Johnson - Lincoln's successor enjoyed making his own clothes during his free time.
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
Andrew Johnson - Prior to his presidency, he spent years working as a tailor. Apparently, old habits do die hard.
© Shutterstock
24 / 31 Fotos
Millard Fillmore - The president had an insatiable apettite for reading.
© Getty Images
25 / 31 Fotos
Millard Fillmore - He reportedly raced across town and risked his life to fight a fire at the Library of Congress in 1851.
© Getty Images
26 / 31 Fotos
Barack Obama - Barack Obama is an avid comic book collector.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
Barack Obama
- He has even been featured in many comics, including the 'Amazing Spider-Man #583' pictured above.
© Getty Images
28 / 31 Fotos
Richard Nixon - The 37th president had an infamous reputation for being the best bluffer in the US Navy during World War I.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
Richard Nixon
- He loved a good card game, and won so much money gambling that he used his earnings to fund his campaign for the US House of Representatives in 1946. See also: Surprising facts about the US presidents
© iStock
30 / 31 Fotos
The weirdest hobbies of US presidents
One of them invented spy gadgets
© Getty Images
It seems the most influential men in American history couldn't just have regular hobbies. Instead, they had pastimes that were either odd, extreme, or just downright violent. Fortunately, Ranker compiled several of the strangest ways presidents of the United States have spent their free time throughout history.
Browse through the most bizarre ones in the gallery.
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