List of left-handed presidents of the United States
Wikimedia list article
At least 7 of the 45 men who have been President of the United States have been left-handed. Only one U.S. president prior to the 20th century is known to be left-handed. Of the fourteen U.S. presidents since World War II, six have been left-handed.
Various theories about why left-handers are overrepresented among U.S. presidents have been proposed. Biologist Amar Klar studied handedness and determined that left-handed people "...have a wider scope of thinking". In a 2019 Journal of Neurosurgery article Nathan R. Selden argued that since left-handed people are individuals who are dominant in their right-hemisphere, this might make presidents "more effective leaders or at least more effective political candidates". University of British Columbia psychology professor Stanley Coren, author of the book The Left-Handed Syndrome, said, "left-handers actually have a profile that works very well for a politician". In a 2021 Business Insider article reporters Alexandra Ma and Talia Lakritz state, "According to some research, lefties may be more creative, be better at 'divergent thinking' – generating new ideas based on existing information – and face challenges better."
Medical researcher Jonathan Belsey argued that, given a 13% prevalence of left-handedness, the long-term average is not statistically high, but rather has a p-value of 0.77, and that even the post-1881 prevalence has a 0.10 likelihood of occurring by chance.
Left-handed presidents of the United States
James A. Garfield (1881) was ambidextrous; he is the only known left-handed president prior to the 20th century.
Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) was left-handed as a child, he wrote with his right hand and used his left for most other activities.
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