Harry S. Truman

1884 – 1972 · died at about 88^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Harry S. Truman

• Harry S. Truman's middle initial does not stand for one name. The "S" honors both his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.^[1]
• Truman's eyesight was so poor that West Point turned him down. To join the Missouri National Guard, he passed the eye test by secretly memorizing the eye chart.^[1]
• Before politics, Truman ran a haberdashery in Kansas City. It went bankrupt in 1921, and he did not pay off the last of its debts until 1935.^[1]
• As a boy, Truman got up at five every morning to practice the piano and became quite a skilled player.^[1]
• Truman recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, eleven minutes after it declared itself a nation.^[1]
• When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare bill in 1965, he gave the first two Medicare cards to Truman and his wife Bess.^[1][3][4]
• Harry S. Truman was alive at the same time as Elon Musk — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1971–1972).^[1][2][5][6]
• Harry S. Truman and Gerald Ford died on the same day of the year, December 26.^[1][2][7][8]

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April. Truman set up the Marshall Plan to rebuild the badly damaged economy of Western Europe. He established the Truman Doctrine and supported the founding of NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. A member of the Democratic Party, he proposed numerous New Deal coalition liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the conservative coalition that dominated the United States Congress.^[1]

Contemporaries

Pablo Picasso

88 yr overlap

Igor Stravinsky

87 yr overlap

Coco Chanel

87 yr overlap

Bertrand Russell

86 yr overlap

Georgia O'Keeffe

85 yr overlap

Chiang Kai-shek

85 yr overlap

Lise Meitner

84 yr overlap

Helen Keller

84 yr overlap

Charlie Chaplin

83 yr overlap

Agatha Christie

82 yr overlap

Winston Churchill

81 yr overlap

Albert Schweitzer

81 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Harry S. Truman

When was Harry S. Truman born?

Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884, and died on December 26, 1972.

How old was Harry S. Truman at death?

Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884, and died on December 26, 1972, at age 88.

What was Harry S. Truman known for?

Harry S. Truman was known for: 33rd US president at the end of World War II. Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April. Truman set up the Marshall Plan to rebuild the badly damaged economy of Western Europe. He established the Truman Doctrine and supported the founding of NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. A member of the Democratic Party, he proposed numerous New Deal coalition liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the conservative coalition that dominated the United States Congress.

Who was alive at the same time as Harry S. Truman?

Harry S. Truman's closest contemporary was Pablo Picasso. Their lives overlapped for 88 years.