The 15 smartest US presidents of all time - Natasha Bertrand

Found here. Reproduced here for fair use and discussion purposes. My comments in bold.

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What is of particular interest to me is if there might be a correlation between intelligence and success. One does not guarantee the other, but it helps. Sometimes it hinders. 

First is a list of of successful presidents. I suspect that success is defined as achieving legislation. If so, a president's success in passing his agenda is not necessarily a good thing for the country. 

1 George Washington Died at 67 (1732-1799)
2 Abraham Lincoln Died at 56 (1809-1865)
3 Thomas Jefferson Died at 83 (1743-1826)
4 Theodore Roosevelt Died at 61 (1858-1919)
5 John F. Kennedy Died at 46 (1917-1963)
6 Franklin D. Roosevelt Died at 63 (1882-1945)
7 Dwight D. Eisenhower Died at 79 (1890-1969)
8 Ronald Reagan Died at 93 (1911-2004)
9 James Madison Died at 85 (1751-1836)
10 Harry Truman Died at 88 (1884-1972)
11 John Adams Died at 91 (1735-1826)
12 Bill Clinton age 69
13 James Monroe Died at 73 (1758-1831)
14 Andrew Jackson Died at 78 (1767-1845)
15 George H. W. Bush age 91

You'll note some surprises here. Ronald Reagan, for instance. That he even made the list is remarkable. He has been mercilessly attacked and impugned from the time he came into public life up to even the present day for his "trickle down" economics, the "Star Wars" missile system, his supposed stupidity, and general ineptness. Yet despite the full-on smear campaign by the Left, Reagan somehow remains a popular president.

Another surprise is Bill Clinton. Though he had some notable accomplishments (much of which can be attributed to the Republican congress), his presidency will forever be tarnished for lying under oath to a grand jury, for his sexual indiscretions, and for being impeached and disbarred.

And last, George H.W. Bush, of "read my lips" fame. What successes he might have had continue to elude me.

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And now the smartest presidents. FDR, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Clinton, Jefferson, JFK, Madison, and Adams appear on both lists. 

Notably, Barack Obama does not appear on this list. I find it interesting that much is made of his supposed intellect. I say "supposed" because no evidence has been offered. No college transcripts, no IQ tests. And, nothing in his behavior or actions has suggested a high level of intellect. He's clearly not a stupid man, but a world class intellect? I don't think so.
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In 2006, University of California at Davis psychology professor Dean Simonton completed a comprehensive study examining the "intellectual brilliance" of 42 US presidents.

The top 15 who appear on this list were compiled by Libb Thims — an American engineer who compiles high IQ scores as a hobby — using the results of Simonton's study.

Because IQ scores weren't available for all of the presidents, Simonton estimated their scores based on certain personality traits noted in their biographies that would indicate a higher-than-average level of intelligence, such as "wise," "inventive," "artistic," "curious," "sophisticated," "complicated," and"insightful."

Simonton then gave each president a score based on his personality traits, which he then interpreted as a measure of the chief executives' "Intellectual Brilliance."

Each president's resulting IQ score, then, is based on a measure of his intellectual brilliance, which in turn was evaluated based on their personality traits, openness to experience ( receptiveness to actions, ideas, values, etc.), and achievements relative to their age.

Franklin Pierce was the 14th president and served between 1853 and 1857. By Simonton's estimates, Pierce had an IQ of 141.

After graduating from Bowdoin College, Pierce was elected to the New Hampshire legislature at the age of 24 and became its speaker two years later.

John Tyler served as the 10th US president after his predecessor, William Henry Harrison, died in April 1841.

Tyler attended the College of William and Mary and studied law. Although he had an (estimated) IQ of 142, his peers often didn't take him seriously because he was the first vice president to become president without having been elected.

Despite his detractors, Tyler passed a lot of positive legislation throughout his term, including a tariff bill meant to protect northern manufacturers.

Millard Fillmore was the 13th president and the last Whig president.

He had an IQ of 143, according to Simonton's estimates, and lived the quintessential American dream. Born in a log cabin in the Finger Lakes country of New York in 1800, Fillmore became a lawyer in 1823 and was elected to the House of Representatives soon after.

When Zachary Taylor died, Fillmore was thrust into the presidency, serving from 1850 to 1853.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office during the Great Depression, serving an unprecedented four terms as the nation's 32nd president from 1933 from 1945.

With an estimated IQ of 146, Roosevelt attended Harvard University and Columbia Law School before entering politics as a Democrat and winning election to the New York Senate in 1910.

Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio in 1921 but that didn't stop him from winning the presidency in 1932. He's perhaps best remembered for his New Deal program, a sweeping economic overhaul enacted shortly after he took office that aimed to bring recovery to businesses and provide relief to the unemployed.

Abraham Lincoln became the country's 16th president in 1861, shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War.

The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln worked on a farm and split rails for fences while teaching himself to read and write. He had an IQ of 148, according to Simonton's estimates, and was the only president to have a patent after inventing a device to free steamboats that ran aground.

He is best remembered for keeping the Union intact during the Civil War, and for his 1863 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation that forever freed slaves within the Confederacy.

Chester Arthur succeeded James Garfield as America's 21st president after Garfield was assassinated in 1881. He had an IQ of 148, according to Simonton's estimates.

Arthur graduated from Union College in 1848 and practiced law in New York City before being elected vice president on the Republican ticket in 1880.

When he assumed the presidency a little over a year later, he distinguished himself as a reformer and devoted much of his term to overhauling the civil service.

James Garfield was the 20th US president, serving for less than a year before being assassinated in 1882.

A graduate of Williams College, Garfield had an IQ of 148, according to Simonton's estimates. Alhough his presidency was short, Garfield had a big impact. He re-energized the US Navy, did away with corruption in the Post Office Department, and appointed several African-Americans to prominent federal positions, according to White House records.

He was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881, just 200 days after taking office.

Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th and youngest president in the nation's history at the age of 43. He had an IQ of 149, according to Simonton's estimates.

Roosevelt graduated Phi Betta Keppa from Harvard in 1880, according to the White House. He then went to Columbia to study law, which he disliked and found to be irrational. Instead of studying, he spent most of his time writing a book about the War of 1812.

Roosevelt dropped out to run for public office, ultimately becoming a two-term President best known for his motto, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president and leader of the Progressive Movement. He had an estimated IQ of 152.

Wilson was the p resident of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910 before serving as the governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913. After he was elected President, Wilson began pushing for anti-trust legislation which culminated in the signing of the Federal Trade Commission Act in September 1914.

He is perhaps best remembered for his speech, "Fourteen Points," which he presented to Congress towards the end of World War I. The speech articulated Wilson's long-term war objectives, one of the most famous being the establishment of a League of Nations — a preliminary version of today's United Nations.

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the 39th president of the US from 1977 to 1981. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work in advancing human rights around the world and has an IQ of 153 by Simonton's estimates.

Carter graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946 and was elected Governor of Georgia in 1970. After he was elected president — beating Gerald Ford by 56 electoral votes — he enacted a number of important policies throughout his four years, including a national energy policy and civil service reform.

Hailed as one of the fathers of the Constitution, James Madison had an IQ of 155, according to Simonton's estimates.

Madison graduated from what is now Princeton University in 1771 and went on to study law. He collaborated with fellow Federalists Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to produce the Federalist Papers in 1788. Madison also championed and co-authored the Bill of Rights during the drafting of the Constitution, and served as Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of State from 1801–1809.

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President, serving from 1993-2001. He has an IQ of 156 by Simonton's estimates.

After graduating from Georgetown, winning a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, and earning a law degree from Yale in 1973, Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas in 1978.

He went on to win the presidency with Al Gore as his running mate in 1992 and is perhaps best remembered for his efforts brokering peace in Ireland and the Balkans.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the US, serving less than 3 years before he was assassinated in 1963. He had an IQ of 158, according to Simonton's estimates.

Kennedy graduated from Harvard in 1940 and joined the Navy shortly thereafter, suffering grave injuries while serving in World War II.

He was elected president in 1960 and gave one of the most memorable inaugural addresses in recent memory, saying, "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."

He is perhaps best remembered for his successful fiscal programs which greatly expanded the US economy and his push for civil rights legislation that would enhance equal rights.

Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father and served as the country's third president between 1801–1809. He had an IQ of 160, according to Simonton's estimates.

Jefferson graduated from the College of William and Mary before going on to study law. He was a notably bad public speaker, according to White House records. He reluctantly ran for president after gradually assuming leadership of the Republican party.

As a staunch federalist and advocate of states' rights, Jefferson strongly opposed a strong centralized Government. One of his first policy initiatives after becoming President was to eliminate a highly unpopular tax on Whiskey.

John Adams was the second president from 1797 to 1801, after serving as the nation's first vice president under George Washington. He had an IQ of 173, according to Simonton's estimates.

Adams studied law at Harvard and was an early supporter of the movement for US independence from the British. Ambitious and intellectual — if not a little vain — he frequently complained to his wife that the office of Vice President was insignificant.

He is perhaps best remembered for his skills in diplomacy, helping to negotiate a peace treaty during the Revolutionary War and avoiding a war with France during his Presidency.