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Business Insider
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Tailors, teachers, and peanut farmers: See the jobs US presidents held before taking office
You'll be surprised to learn some of the jobs presidents had before they became commander in chief. Abraham Lincoln was a postmaster in New Salem, Illinois. John F. Kennedy was a journalist and reported on the end of World War II. Though many presidents of the United States had jobs in politics before they were in the White House, some were employed in positions you might not expect. Abraham Lincoln delivered mail in New Salem, Illinois, and John. F Kennedy was a foreign correspondent for Hearst Newspapers. Take a look at the jobs these 21 US presidents had before they were in office. John Adams John Adams was a diplomat in France, the Netherlands, and Great Britain between 1778 and 1788. However, PBS reported, "His independent, unbending temperament was not ideal for diplomacy, and his diplomatic triumphs were offset by feelings of alienation." Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren served two terms in the New York State Senate and was elected New York attorney general in 1815. During his terms, he "proved himself to be an adept politician, using political appointments and financial contributions to secure votes, and effectively establishing what would prove to be the foundations of the modern political machine," as reported by Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was appointed postmaster of New Salem, Illinois, in 1833 and served until 1836. The mail arrived in New Salem once a week, and if someone didn't collect it from the post office, Lincon would hand-deliver it to them, per USPS. Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson started working as a tailor in Greeneville, Tennessee, when he was just 17 years old. According to the National Park Service, Johnson said, "When I was a tailor I always made a close fit, and was always punctual to my customers, and did good work." Grover Cleveland Grover Cleveland was sheriff of Erie County, New York, from 1871 to 1873. There, he sentenced three convicted murderers to death by hanging during his two-year term, as reported by Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt became a rancher after a hunting trip to North Dakota's Badlands in 1883, per the NPS. He was so taken by the beauty of the area and its opportunities that he bought a ranch and cattle. William Taft Woodrow Wilson Woodrow Wilson became the president of Princeton University in 1902 and held the position until 1910. Wilson's name was removed from Princeton's public policy school in June 2020. "We have taken this extraordinary step because we believe that Wilson's racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake for a school whose scholars, students, and alumni must be firmly committed to combating the scourge of racism in all its forms," the board said. Warren Harding Warren Harding was a newspaper editor in Marion, Ohio. Harding and two friends purchased the failing Marion Star for $300 in 1884. He turned the near-defunct paper into a successful publication. According to the Marion Star, "He said once someone asked him, 'Why newspapering?' and he said, 'It combines my two passions, writing and the opportunity to affect change.'" Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1918 and served during the Boston Police Strike. Coolidge sent a telegram to union leader Samuel Gompers that said, "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime." His response to the strike made him famous across the country, and led him to be chosen as Warren Harding's vice presidential candidate. Herbert Hoover Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a lawyer in New York City at a law firm called Carter Ledyard and Milburn from 1907 to 1911. However, Roosevelt disliked the profession and didn't even graduate law school at Columbia University; he left after he passed the bar in 1907, as reported by the Miller Center. Harry Truman Harry Truman operated his family farm in Grandview, Missouri, for 11 years. According to the National Archives, Truman was working a bank job in Kansas City when his father asked him to help manage the family farm owned by his widowed grandmother. "It was on the farm that Harry got his common sense. He didn't get it in town," his mother, Martha Truman, said of her son. Dwight Eisenhower Dwight Eisenhower was the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II. During that time, he "developed diplomatic skills that he would later employ as America's 34th president," wrote John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy was a journalist for Hearst Newspapers. He covered World War II news during the summer of 1945. As a foreign correspondent, Kennedy attended the first United Nations meeting, the Potsdam Conference, and other key meetings following the end of World War II. Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson was a teacher in Cotulla, Texas, when he was just 20 years old, in 1928. For a year, he taught Mexican-American students who were so poor he saw them "going through a garbage pile, shaking the coffee grounds from the grapefruit rinds and sucking the rinds for the juice that was left," as reported by NPR, which added he used part of his salary to buy softball equipment for students. Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter managed his family's peanut farm and warehouse in Plains, Georgia, after his father died in 1953. When he became president, he put his peanut farm into a blind trust to ensure that there were no conflicts of interest, as reported by the Washington Post. However, due in part to mismanagement, the peanut business was $1 million in debt by the time Carter left office. Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan was the host of General Electric Theater for eight years, between 1954 and 1962. During his time working for General Electric, his politics shifted from a "liberal anticommunist" to "so far to the right that the company felt it had to drop him as a spokesman," as reported by Slate. George H.W. Bush Bush co-founded an oil drilling company, Zapata Petroleum Corporation, in 1953. The company worked with international offshore drilling, having a contract with Shell in Kuwait, as reported by The National. Barack Obama Donald Trump
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Besty Ross Probably Didn't Design the American Flag. History Points to This Founding Father Instead
Welcome back for a simply patriotic episode of I Never Knew That! You know the American flag by its plethora of nicknames: Old Glory; the Star-Spangled Banner; and the Red, White, and Blue, to cover the basic ones. But do you know who designed the flag in the first place? While folklore points to Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross, historians say a lesser-known Founding Father is most likely responsible. Allow editor Tyler to introduce you to lawyer, musician, and statesman Francis Hopkinson. If you enjoyed the video, let us know at editor@ Be sure to catch up with our previous surprising true stories, including Jackie Mitchell's showdown with baseball legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and a fateful crossroads for pop star Chappell Roan. You Might Also Like Nicole Richie's Surprising Adoption Story The Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Her Mother Queen Camilla's Life in Photos
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
A Tomb Once Said to Hold ‘Jesus's Midwife' Might Instead Hold Ancient Royalty
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: For centuries, a cave near Jerusalem was believed by Christian pilgrims to be the tomb of an attendant to the birth of Christ. Salome is depicted in the apocryphal Gospel of James as doubting the 'virgin birth' only to repent and be visited by angels. A new study suggests that the Salome buried in this tomb was, in fact, not the apocryphal Biblical figure, but rather the younger sister of Judean king Herod the Great. This story is a collaboration with For centuries, a subset of Christian pilgrims have journeyed to a cave southwest of Jerusalem in Israel referred to as the 'Cave of Salome,' due to its asserted connection to a figure associated with Jesus of Nazareth. Now, a new study in the Israel Antiquities Authority's journal 'Atiqot posits that this cave does serve as a tomb to someone named Salome, but not the one it's long been purported to have been. Rather than the Biblical figure sometimes described as 'Jesus' midwife,' the tomb might have held a figure of Judean royalty. But if you've only read the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you might find yourself wondering just who this Salome was supposed to be in the first place (while there is a Salome briefly alluded to in Mark 15:40 said to be present at the crucifixion, this is not the Salome in question). For that, we need to dip into a subset of Christian texts known as 'the apocrypha.' Given the underground origins of Christianity amidst the Roman Empire, it's no surprise that there was not one single written text relied upon to spread the word of the new faith. Even the four Gospels widely considered part of the Biblical Canon are traditionally believed to have been originally composed with different audiences in mind (Matthew wrote for those with a familiarity with Jewish tradition while Mark for a Roman audience, for example). This means that there are an array of texts, both extant and lost, that offer different, divergent, and at times even contradictory tellings of the story of Jesus than those that were ultimately determined by church bodies to be the 'canonical' works. One particular and prominent subset of these are what is called the 'infancy gospels,' stories of Jesus during his childhood. Little is said of Jesus' youth in the four canonical gospels, with only Matthew and Luke mentioning the story of his birth, and Luke alone including a single anecdote of a child Jesus visiting a Temple (Luke 2:41-52). But the apocryphal infancy gospels contain a wide array of events allegedly involving a child Jesus, including a confrontation with a literal dragon (the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew). One of these texts, the apocryphal Gospel of James, introduces the character of Salome. While Salome is present for the birth of Jesus in this text, she was not actually 'Jesus' midwife.' Rather, this gospel depicts the actual midwife during Jesus' birth, referred to only by her title of 'Emea,' crying out to Salome about the virgin birth she had witnessed, only for Salome to dismiss it: 'And the midwife went forth of the cave and Salome met her. And she said to her: Salome, Salome, a new sight have I to tell thee. A virgin hath brought forth, which her nature alloweth not. And Salome said: As the Lord my God liveth, if I make not trial and prove her nature I will not believe that a virgin hath brought forth.' Salome then goes to witness the newborn child herself and decries her earlier doubts, seeking atonement, and is visited by an angel, healed, and told not to speak of what she had witnessed 'until the child enter into Jerusalem.' Some scholars point to this story of Salome as a predecessor and/or parallel to the more famous story, post-Resurrection, of Doubting Thomas. As Live Science reports, the aforementioned Cave of Salome gained its religious reputation when an ossuary, a casket filled with bones, was discovered in that cave bearing the name Salome. Adherents to the Gospel of James took to attributing these bones, and therefor the tomb that held them, as belonging to the Salome of the birth story, and began making pilgrimages there. As Live Science notes, those pilgrimages were a common enough occurrence that they continued for two hundred years after the area had been conquered by the Islamic Caliphate in the 7th century. The cave was excavated in 1984, where they found 'hundreds of clay oil lamps from the eighth and ninth centuries, which archaeologists think were sold to Christian pilgrims so they would have light while exploring the dark cave.' But to determine who might really have been interred in this tomb, the 2025 IAA study, co-authored by Vladik Lifshits and Nir-Shimshon Paran, they looked not at what had been left within the tomb, but rather how the tomb itself had been constructed: 'Lifshits noted the monumental architecture — including a large courtyard at the entrance — indicated that a member of the royal family may have been buried there. The authors also discovered the remains of several luxurious villas nearby, which indicates the site once belonged to a very wealthy family.' Their study suggests the possibility that the Salome in question may not have been connected to Jesus' birth, but rather to a different figure who factors into the story of the young Jesus: Herod I, also known as Herod the Great. Biblical tradition holds that Herod I, who ruled from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C., ordered the death of all male babies in Bethlehem, but no objective historical evidence has yet emerged that supports that particular tale. Instead, what is known about Herod I, as Live Science recounts, are his contributions to the kingdom he oversaw: 'For example, he was a prolific builder who restored the decrepit Second Temple on the Temple Mount, and the massive rock walls he had built are still standing today as the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.' The study asserts that the Salome buried within the cave was Herod I's younger sister, who died in approximately 10AD. This Salome is not to be confused with Herod I's granddaughter who also bore that name. That Salome, recorded in the Bible as ordering the beheading of John the Baptist, would later be immortalized in an array of fictional works like Oscar Wilde's 1893 play and the subsequent 1905 opera by Richard Strauss. When Live Science spoke to Boaz Zissu of Israel's Bar-Ilan University, a scholar unaffiliated with the study, they conceded that 'The authors correctly identify the original phase as a monumental tomb belonging to local elites of the Herodian period' but suggested 'more rigorous evidential support' was required before it could be firmly established to be the tomb of Salome. For their part, study co-author Vladik Lifshits conceded as much. 'It's not that I think it must be the tomb of Salome the sister of Herod,' Lifshits told Live Science. 'I'm suggesting that this is one of the possibilities.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Sylvester Stallone, Richard Gere almost brawled over Princess Diana at Elton John party: new book
There was a clash of the titans over the People's Princess. Princess Diana not only captivated the public, but she apparently made Hollywood heavyweights weak in the knees. In his new book, 'Dianaworld: An Obsession,' author Edward White explores how the late Princess of Wales not only rocked the monarchy but also impacted pop culture decades after her death in 1997 at age 36. Advertisement One story White shared in his book about the 'Diana Effect' claims Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere nearly went toe-to-toe over the British royal at Elton John's house in the '90s. The account in the book came from John's husband, David Furnish. Fox News Digital reached out to Stallone, 78, and Gere, 75, for comment. When a fan previously asked Stallone about the alleged incident in an old Instagram post, the actor responded, 'Complete fabrication,' reported. 'It's a story that [also] comes from Elton's autobiography,' White told Fox News Digital. 'He invited Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere to a house party that Diana was also at. I mean, it's Elton John, so probably everyone in the room was like an A-list celebrity or a member of some grand European royal family.' 'So they turned up,' White shared. 'According to Elton John, Sylvester Stallone turned up with the intention of picking up Diana, which is wishful thinking in several ways… But he did that.' Advertisement 'Sylvester Stallone walked in and saw Diana in deep conversation with Richard Gere,' White claimed. 'He felt that Stallone got angrier and angrier as the evening wore on, because Richard Gere was just dominating. That's how he felt – that he was dominating the conversation with Diana.' 'At some point, from what Elton John says, Sylvester Stallone's emotions got the better of him,' White continued. 'He then squared up to Richard Gere, and they had to be separated… It was these two alpha males squabbling over a woman who neither probably had a chance with, to be honest.' 4 Sylvester Stallone arrived at the party with the intention of picking up Diana Getty Images 4 Richard Gere would nearly brawl with Stallone at Elton John's party. í©Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy E John originally shared his account in his 2019 book, 'Me.' According to the singer, Gere and Diana were deep in conversation in front of the fireplace at his pad, which caused the mood of the party to change. Advertisement 'As the rest of us chatted, I couldn't help but notice a strange atmosphere in the room,' John recalled, as quoted by 'Judging by the kind of looks he kept shooting them, Diana and Richard Gere's newly blossoming friendship was not going down well with Sylvester Stallone at all. I think he may have turned up to the party with the express intention of picking Diana up, only to find his plans for the evening ruined.' John wrote, 'Straight away, Richard Gere and Diana seemed very taken with each other.' Advertisement According to John, the guests headed over to the dining room to eat. However, Gere and Stallone were noticeably missing. John said he then sent Furnish to find the men. 'He came back with both of them, but he was wearing a fairly ashen expression,' John wrote, noting that Furnish said there was 'a situation.' 'It transpired that he'd discovered Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere in the corridor, squaring up to each other, apparently about to settle their differences over Diana by having a fistfight,' wrote John, as quoted by the outlet. The outlet shared that Furnish managed to break up the situation in time for dinner. John, 78, wrote that Diana 'seemed completely unruffled' by it all. Tessa Baring of the Barnardo's children's charity claimed that on another occasion, it was clear that Stallone was, like many others, eager to be in Diana's presence. 4 Princess Diana, who was attending Elton's party, would be the catalyst for the brawl. SWNS According to Edward's book, Baring described that, during a lunch in London, Stallone 'really, really wanted to come and sit next to the Princess of Wales.' Advertisement 'We didn't let him do that, but we did let him sit next to a child who was sitting next to the Princess of Wales,' said Baring, as quoted by White's book. 'Baring remembered the occasion because she thought Diana hit upon an effective way of placating the film star, making the child feel included, and indulging her own desire to find out the latest gossip, by leaning over and asking Stallone questions about his love life as though she were asking them on Tracy's behalf: 'Tracy and I want to know if you're married,'' wrote White. Stallone and Gere weren't the only stars who were reportedly eager to spend a night with the princess. Advertisement White's book also described how Freddie Mercury, frontman of Queen, managed to get Diana to sneak out of the palace in disguise and head to 'one of London's most famous gay bars.' 'There are these stories of royals slipping out among the commoners in disguise, and they have this magical experience because they're living just like one of us,' White told Fox News Digital. 'By dressing up in male drag and going out, she felt embraced by a marginalized community. She felt an affinity with them because, rightly or wrongly, she felt like an outsider, and they were very accepting of her.' 'I also think she took huge pleasure in taking risks,' White continued. 'It was a huge part of her identity that came back time and time again as I was researching the book. She just took the most incredibly audacious risks. She didn't stop to think twice about things very often… But I think she also felt that she was a rolling stone without a real home. And I also think she felt like she wasn't living life properly unless she was taking risks.' 4 Princess Diana and Sylvester Stallone at the Barnado's Champion Children of the Year ceremony in 1993. Getty Images Advertisement 'You could argue that getting engaged to Prince Charles at age 19, having only met him a few times and not really knowing very much about what was expected of her, was a pretty gigantic gamble,' said White. 'Maybe one that didn't pay off.' In his book, White cited the memoirs of Cleo Rocos, who claimed she spent an evening with Mercury, Diana and Kenny Everett after the princess persuaded her to take her to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Everett warned the princess that the venue was 'not for you… full of hairy gay men.' 'Diana was insistent, however, so Everett helped her disguise herself in male drag: a camouflage army jacket, hair tucked up into a leather cap and dark aviator sunglasses,' Rocos recalled, as quoted by White's book. 'Scrutinizing her in the half-light, we decided that the most famous icon of the modern world might just…. JUST pass for a rather eccentrically dressed gay male model.' Advertisement White wrote that the disguise worked. 'It was fabulously outrageous and so bizarrely exciting… no one, absolutely no one, recognized Diana.' White wrote that the group reportedly stayed for one drink and left. Diana quietly returned to Kensington Palace and sent back Everett's clothes the next day.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How tall is Donald Trump, Google? 'Height' videos with Elon Musk, Prince William go viral
How tall is Donald Trump? The world already knows his youngest son, Barron Trump, towers over the president and his mother, former first lady Melania Trump. But a video of Donald Trump and Elon Musk during their appearance in Saudi Arabia has got the internet buzzing. Donald Trump is in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, May 13, to kick off his first major international trip of his second term in office. Along with key administration officials, tech leaders like SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, his brother Kimbal Musk, Sam Altman, and Reid Hoffman have accompanied the president on his trip. Saudi Arabia is the president's first stop on a tour of the Middle East, which is also scheduled to include the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Though the trip has its own business and political implications for Trump, the internet seems to be captivated by his height compared to Musk's. If the president's height fascination sounds like deja vu, it sort of is: Five months ago, a photo of Donald Trump and Prince William during their Dec. 7, 2024, appearance in Paris went viral, too. Donald Trump and Prince William met in Notre-Dame Cathedral after attending a ceremony to mark the reopening of the landmark cathedral following the 2019 fire in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron had invited Donald Trump along with former first lady Jill Biden, Prince William and other heads of state including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the special event. The legendary Notre-Dame could have gone viral anyway for its Cinderella-esque comeback − the 12th-century cathedral caught fire April 15, 2019, when the world watched the beloved tourist landmark in flames. In December 2024, however, Notre-Dame wasn't the hot topic on social media. In a now-deleted tweet on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, a photo of the British Royal and then-president-elect went viral Dec. 7, 2024. X user @revdaniel had said in his caption: "Trump says he is 6'3. Prince William is 'also' 6'3. What a liar the Prince of Wales is. (three eyeroll emojis)" According to Palm Beach Post reporting, on Dec. 9, 2024, the tweet had been viewed 2.8 million times with almost 5,000 comments. How tall is Barron Trump? Photos show the only son of Donald and Melania Trump towering over his parents for years According to sites like and Donald Trump is listed as 6 feet 3 inches, although some reports say he's actually 6-2. Elon Musk is 6-foot-2-inches, according to a USA TODAY report back when Musk and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg were talking about fighting one another. In a video posted by Donald Trump's communication team on X, Musk appears taller than the president as he greets Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inside the Saudi Royal Court. Prince William of Wales, the elder son of the late Princess Diana and King Charles III, is also 6-foot-3-inches tall. also lists the Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne at 6-3. In the video in this story, however, Prince William is visibly taller than Donald Trump. For those wondering, at 6-foot-7, Barron Trump is the tallest of the Trump siblings, and has been taller than his father since at least 2018 or 2019, when he was 12 or 13 years old. Barron Trump's mother, former model Melania Trump, is reportedly 5-foot-11-inches tall. Donald Trump's older sons −Barron Trump's half-brothers − Eric Trump is reportedly 6-foot-5, and Donald Trump Jr. is 6-foot-1. Contributing: Mike Snyder, USA TODAY Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Elon Musk, Prince William pics question Donald Trump's actual height
