WOODROW WILSON

28th U.S. President 1913-1921
LIFETIME: 1856-1924, of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry


Woodrow Wilson homes

BIRTHPLACE (top left): the manse of the First Presbyterian Church in Staunton VA - an 1846 Greek Revival townhouse with a brick exterior and two-story pillared portico
PHOTO CREDIT: 2003 Calendar of Presidential Homes, designed by Presidential Avenue

PRIMARY HOME (top right): 82 Library Place in Princeton NJ
PHOTO CREDIT: Historical Society of Princeton , Princeton NJ

RETIREMENT HOME (bottom): 2340 South Street N.W. , Washington D.C. - a Georgian red brick mansion with four stories and a formal walled garden
PHOTO CREDIT: 2004 Calendar of Presidential Homes, photographer Garren Zuck


The son of a Presbyterian minister, "Tommy" Wilson grew up in church parsonages throughout the South. Woodrow studied law and political history at Princeton University. His multiple careers led him to move from the academic world as a college professor and president of his alma mater, to service as New Jersey governor and international statesman.

With the entry of the United States into World War I in 1917, President Wilson led America into a modern era of international responsibility. He authored the famous Fourteen Points as a basis for world peace and pressed for a League of Nations at the Versailles Peace Treaty, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

A paralytic stroke in his second term left Wilson disabled. Woodrow and his second wife Edith stayed in Washington D.C. after his presidency. Wilson's last years were difficult, but he spent the time in a cheery solarium overlooking a beautiful garden.

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