Q 01/05

James Buchanan, who died at 77 in 1868, remains the only US president never to have done what?

A) Gone abroad

B) Got married

C) Owned a home

D) Attended college

Answer · why

B) Got married

He never got married, staying single for life after an engagement ended in tragedy in 1819. A female relative handled the hostess duties in his White ...

Q 02/05

The ruler of Siam offered James Buchanan a herd of which animals, a gift his successor later turned down?

A) Peacocks

B) Water buffalo

C) Leopards

D) Elephants

Answer · why

D) Elephants

Elephants came with a ceremonial sword and a photograph of the royal family. The letter arrived after Buchanan left office, and the next president rep...

Q 03/05

James Buchanan sent a general to calm an 1859 standoff with Britain sparked by the shooting of which animal?

A) A pig

B) A cow

C) A sheep

D) A horse

Answer · why

A) A pig

A pig rooting in an American settler's potato patch on San Juan Island was the only casualty of the so-called Pig War. The standoff ended with no huma...

Q 04/05

Which monarch exchanged greetings with James Buchanan over the first transatlantic telegraph cable in August 1858?

A) Napoleon III

B) Tsar Alexander II

C) Queen Victoria

D) Emperor Franz Joseph

Answer · why

C) Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria sent congratulations that took about 16 hours to cross the Atlantic. Buchanan's reply called the cable a triumph more useful than any w...

Q 05/05

Which niece of James Buchanan acted as White House hostess for his whole presidency, with her dresses widely copied?

A) Emily Donelson

B) Harriet Lane

C) Angelica Van Buren

D) Martha Patterson

Answer · why

B) Harriet Lane

Harriet Lane was orphaned at eleven and asked for Buchanan as her guardian. She later left her art collection to the nation, and it went to the Smiths...