Before They Were U.S. Presidents: 10 Trivia Questions (With Answers)

Long before they became commanders-in-chief, America's presidents were students, athletes, soldiers, and ordinary citizens with fascinating stories of their own. From football fields and college campuses to childhood homes around the world, these 10 trivia questions explore the lesser-known early lives of U.S. presidents. See how well you know the people behind the presidency before they entered the Oval Office!

Play along! Click the questions to reveal the answers.

• 1. What future U.S. president played football at West Point alongside future General Omar Bradley in 1912?

  Dwight D. Eisenhower

• 2. What president, born in Missouri in 1884, had a middle initial that didn't actually stand for a name?

  Harry S. Truman

• 3. Which future president was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. before taking the surname by which he became famous?

  Gerald Ford

• 4. What president was the first born in a hospital, and claimed to have witnessed a UFO, in 1969?

  Jimmy Carter

• 5. Before becoming an actor and later president, Ronald Reagan worked as a radio broadcaster for what Major League Baseball team?

  Chicago Cubs

• 6. While attending Yale University, George W. Bush became a member of what well-known secret society?

  Skull and Bones

• 7. In 1963, a teenage Bill Clinton traveled to Washington, D.C., and met what sitting U.S. president?

  John F. Kennedy

• 8. Between the ages of six and ten, Barack Obama lived in what world capital city?

  Jakarta

• 9. In 1972, Donald Trump received a permanent military deferment because of what medical condition?

  Bone spurs

• 10. Joe Biden was born in 1942 in what Pennsylvania city that later became the setting for the U.S. version of The Office?

  Scranton, Pennsylvania

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