What Tragic Life Experience Have Many U.S. Presidents Shared?

Despite the incredible burden of responsibility that comes with serving as President of the United States, the most challenging moments of a presidency often spring from personal tragedy, rather than political or professional setbacks.

The loss of a child is arguably the worst kind of personal tragedy. Such a bereavement has been experienced by a surprising number of U.S. presidents, even into the 20th century and beyond. John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy were all serving in the White House when they suffered the death of a child. In fact, according to the non-profit bereavement organization Evermore, more than half of all U.S. presidents lost at least one child - some, like Thomas Jefferson and William Henry Harrison, lost many more than that, prior to the development of modern medicine that improved childhood survival rates.

In the 20th century alone, Theodore Roosevelt, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush lost children, with Coolidge and Kennedy losing sons during their presidencies. The current U.S. President, Joe Biden, is certainly no stranger to this type of devastating loss. In 1972, just weeks after his election to the U.S. Senate, Biden's first wife, Neilia, was killed in a car accident along with their one-year-old daughter, Naomi. His sons, Beau and Hunter, survived the crash with serious injuries. Beau died from brain cancer at age 46 in 2015, an event that halted Joe Biden's 2016 presidential run.

An incomplete history of presidential loss: