John Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4,1872 in Plymouth Notch, Vermont in a room behind the general store his father operated. He was the only president born on the Fourth of July. (Two of our presidents, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on the Fourth of July in 1826, exactly fifty years to the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. President Monroe died on the same date in 1831.)

Coolidge was named after his father, but the name John was dropped in his boyhood and he was called Calvin, "Cal" or "Red" because of his red hair. His sister Abbie was born in A PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY 1875. The family moved to a home across the street from the store a short time later. An excellent starting point to learn more about President Coolidge is "The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge" available through the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 97, Plymouth Notch,VT 05056.(802-672-3389.) Some of

Coolidge's father, John Coolidge, was a man of many talents, serving three terms in the Vermont legislature, and as a storekeeper, road commissioner, deputy sheriff, notary public and farmer. Coolidge attributed much of his success to his father. "My father had qualities that were greater than I possess. I cannot recall that I ever knew of his doing a wrong thing." He said he was never half the man his father was.

Coolidge said his family used to get lots of visitors. His description of these visits reveals a great deal about his nature: "Most of the visitors to our house would sit in the kitchen with my mother and father. The hardest thing in the world for me was to go through that kitchen door and greet the visitors. By fighting hard, I used to manage to get through the door. I got all right with old friends. But every time I met a stranger, I'd have to stand by that kitchen door for a minute. It was hard."

As he grew up, Coolidge said there were no class distinctions: "Those who assumed superior airs were held in contempt. Whenever the hired man or girl wanted to go anywhere, they were always understood to be entitled to my place in the wagon, in which case I remained home. This gave me very early training in democratic ideas and impressed on me very forcibly the dignity and power, if not the sup

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