Did You Know? Fun U.S. History Facts

Many people know July 4, 1776 is when the U.S. declared its independence from Britain, but just how much more do you know about the history of the country?

The official website for the White House has 24 fun facts about U.S. presidents, Congress and other events in our past.

Here are some of the website's "Did you know?" trivia:

Did you know?

1. Before he became president, Lyndon Johnson was a teacher at a small school in South Texas.
2. Before he became president, Woodrow Wilson was president of Princeton University.
3. Only one president was a preacher -- James Garfield.
4. Did you know that William Howard Taft is the only President who served as both President and Chief Justice of the United States?
5. President John F. Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for his collection of essays, Profiles in Courage.
6. Both George Washington and Jimmy Carter were farmers before they became president -- President Washington was a planter and a farmer at his home in Mount Vernon, and Before he was President, Jimmy Carter ran his family's peanut farm in Plains, Georgia.
7. Before he became president, Barack Obama was a U.S. Senator. Before that, he was an Illinois State Senator, and before that he was a community organizer in Chicago.
8. The President's personal office is called the oval office. Any plane he flies on is called Air Force One, and any helicopter is called Marine One.
9. The "S" in Harry S. Truman's name isn't short for anything. The President was named after both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shippe Truman and Solomon Young. The initial honors them both.
10. The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place in Philadelphia -- where the bell now-known as the Liberty Bell rang out to call the city's population together on July 8, 1776.

Click here to read the rest of the fun facts: http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/white_house_101/fun_facts/.

-- Get More information about July 4th, including other fun facts and safety reminders: http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence_Day.shtml