Woodrow Wilson: Quick Facts

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American scholar and statesman Woodrow Wilson served as the 28th president of the United States (1913–21) and was best remembered for his legislative accomplishments and his idealism. Wilson, whose presidency saw the United States' entry into World War I and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, became the creator and leading advocate of the League of Nations. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1919.

Facts

Also Known As	Thomas Woodrow Wilson
Born	December 28, 1856 • Staunton • Virginia
Died	February 3, 1924 (aged 67) • Washington, D.C. • United States
Title / Office	presidency of the United States of America (1913-1921), United States • governor (1911-1913), New Jersey
Political Affiliation	Democratic Party
Awards And Honors	Nobel Prize (1919) • Hall of Fame for Great Americans (1950) • Nobel Peace Prize (1919)
Notable Family Members	spouse Edith Wilson • spouse Ellen Wilson • son of Joseph Ruggles Wilson • son of Janet Woodrow • married to Edith Wilson (married 1915) • married to Ellen Wilson (1885–1914 [her death]) • father of Margaret Woodrow Wilson (b. 1886–d. 1944) • father of Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre (b. 1887–d. 1933) • father of Eleanor Wilson McAdoo (b. 1889–d. 1967) • brother of Joseph Ruggles Wilson, Jr. • brother of Marion Wilson Kennedy • brother of Annie Wilson Howe
Role In	Fourteen Points • Paris Peace Conference • Selective Service Acts • Sussex Incident • Treaty of Versailles • Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act • United States occupation of Veracruz • United States presidential election of 1912 • United States presidential election of 1916 • World War I • Zimmermann Telegram • Clayton Antitrust Act
Education	Princeton University (B.A., 1879) • Johns Hopkins University (Ph.D., 1886) • Davidson College • University of Virginia (graduated 1881)
Taught At	Bryn Mawr College • Wesleyan University • Princeton University
Published Works	"When a Man Comes to Himself" (1901) • "The State: Elements of Historical and Practical Politics" (1889) • "Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics" (1885) • "Constitutional Government in the United States" (1908) • "On Being Human" (1916) • "Division and Reunion, 1829–1889" (1893) • "A History of the American People" (1902)

Top Questions

When did Woodrow Wilson declare war on Germany?

Woodrow Wilson went before Congress on April 2, 1917, to ask for a declaration of war against Germany so that the United States could strive to fulfill his injunction that "the world must be made safe for democracy." Congress voted in support of Wilson's request, and the United States officially declared war on Germany on April 6.

Where is Woodrow Wilson buried?

Woodrow Wilson is buried at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., with his second wife, Edith Wilson.

What is Woodrow Wilson best known for?

Woodrow Wilson led the United States into World War I and was a leading proponent of the League of Nations. He suffered a paralytic stroke while seeking public support in his country for the Treaty of Versailles (October 1919), and his incapacity, which lasted for the rest of his term of office, caused the worst crisis of presidential disability in American history. Wilson is also well known for his Fourteen Points speech on January 8, 1918, which outlined his proposals for a post-World War I settlement.

Where did Woodrow Wilson go to college?

Woodrow Wilson attended Davidson College near Charlotte, North Carolina, for a year before entering what is now Princeton University in 1875. After graduation from Princeton in 1879, Wilson studied law at the University of Virginia, with the hope that law would lead to politics. Two years of humdrum legal practice in Atlanta disillusioned him, and he abandoned his law career for graduate study in government and history at Johns Hopkins University, where in 1886 he received a Ph.D.

When was Woodrow Wilson inaugurated as president?

Woodrow Wilson's first presidential inauguration took place on March 4, 1913; after he was reelected to a second term, his second public inauguration was held on March 5, 1917, though Wilson had already taken the oath of office in private the previous day.

When was Woodrow Wilson reelected?

Woodrow Wilson was reelected as president on November 7, 1916, when he defeated Republican Charles Evans Hughes in the electoral college 277–254.