Harry S. Truman Facts

There are many fun things here to help you learn about our 33rd President, Harry S. Truman. We collected the most interesting facts about him!

• Harry S Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, on May 8, 1884.

• The “S” does not stand for anything. It comes from his grandfathers’ names.

• He was the only president in the 1900s who did not attend college.
  

  The famous motto ‘The Buck Stops Here’ was displayed on his desk, indicating that he was ultimately responsible for what occurred in government during his administration.

• In 1945, when Harry Truman was 60 years of age, he became the 33rd president of America.

• Truman was playing poker when he found out he was going to be president.

• He made the authoritative decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945.

• In 1950, in an effort to contain the spread of communism, Truman involved the U.S. in the Korean War.

• Truman created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

• Truman helped start the United Nations.

• He was the first president to be paid $100,00.00 salary.

• Harry Truman would get up at 5 AM to practice the piano for two hours.

• Two Puerto Rico nationalists tried to kill Truman in 1950 when he was staying at Blair House.

• Truman left the White House with the lowest approval ratings of any president up to that time.

• On December 26, 1972, Harry S. Truman died in Kansas City, MO at the age of 88.