Length of United States President's terms 1789-2021
Since 1789, 45 different men have served as the President of the United States (Grover Cleveland*** is counted twice, therefore Joe Biden is officially the 46th president). In that time, the majority of presidents served their full four or eight year terms, while four died while in office, and four more were assassinated. The shortest term served by a US president was William Henry Harrison, who died just 31 days into his tenure. The longest term ever served was by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who is the only president to have been elected more than two times; although he died just forty days into his fourth presidential term. The only president to have ever resigned while in office was Richard Nixon, who stepped down amid the Watergate scandal in 1972. For most of U.S. history, presidents have been inaugurated in March following the election; however, since 1953, US presidents have been sworn in on January 20th, providing there were no extenuating circumstances.
