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Driven by a winter wind, fire burned for three days across most of Edo, including the keep of Edo Castle, which was never rebuilt. Estimates of the dead run to 100,000. The shogunate rebuilt with firebreaks and moved temples to the outskirts. Japanese calendar: Meireki 3, 1st month, 18th to 20th day

He played the B flat concerto, K. 595, at a concert given by the clarinettist Joseph Bähr, his last public appearance as a concerto soloist.

Every elector voted for him: 69 of 69. He never joined a party, the only president not to. John Adams, the runner-up, became the first vice president.

Re-elected with all 132 electoral votes. His second inaugural address, in the Senate chamber of Congress Hall in Philadelphia, ran to 135 words, still the shortest.

In the House chamber of Congress Hall, Philadelphia, the office passed from one living president to another for the first time. Washington attended as Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth swore Adams in.

Re-elected with all 132 electoral votes. His second inaugural address, in the Senate chamber of Congress Hall in Philadelphia, ran to 135 words, still the shortest.

The first president to live in the White House, from 1 November 1800. Defeated in 1800, he left Washington before dawn on his successor’s inauguration day and did not attend it.

The Federalists handed the presidency to their opponents, and it was the first inauguration in Washington, in the Senate chamber of the half-built Capitol. Jefferson said: “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.”

The first president to live in the White House, from 1 November 1800. Defeated in 1800, he left Washington before dawn on his successor’s inauguration day and did not attend it.

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803, bought from France for $15 million, roughly doubled the country’s area.

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803, bought from France for $15 million, roughly doubled the country’s area.

Re-elected with 162 of 176 electoral votes. The Embargo Act of 1807 closed American ports to foreign trade until 1809; he then left after two terms, as Washington had.

A principal author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In June 1812 he became the first president to ask Congress to declare war, on Britain.

Re-elected with 162 of 176 electoral votes. The Embargo Act of 1807 closed American ports to foreign trade until 1809; he then left after two terms, as Washington had.

A principal author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In June 1812 he became the first president to ask Congress to declare war, on Britain.

On 24 August 1814 British troops burned the White House and the Capitol, hours after the Madisons had fled. The Treaty of Ghent ended the war that December.

On 24 August 1814 British troops burned the White House and the Capitol, hours after the Madisons had fled. The Treaty of Ghent ended the war that December.

The first outdoor inauguration, in front of the Old Brick Capitol, where Congress met while the burned Capitol was rebuilt.

The first outdoor inauguration, in front of the Old Brick Capitol, where Congress met while the burned Capitol was rebuilt.

Re-elected with every electoral vote but one, 231 of 232. 4 March 1821 fell on a Sunday, so the oath waited until the 5th: the first time. His message of December 1823 set out what became the Monroe Doctrine.

Re-elected with every electoral vote but one, 231 of 232. 4 March 1821 fell on a Sunday, so the oath waited until the 5th: the first time. His message of December 1823 set out what became the Monroe Doctrine.

The first son of a president to hold the office. After losing in 1828 he served 17 years in the House of Representatives, until his death in 1848.

The first president from west of the Appalachians and the first inaugurated on the Capitol’s East Portico. He signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, under which the southeastern nations were forced west.

The first son of a president to hold the office. After losing in 1828 he served 17 years in the House of Representatives, until his death in 1848.

The first president from west of the Appalachians and the first inaugurated on the Capitol’s East Portico. He signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, under which the southeastern nations were forced west.

On 30 January 1835 both of Richard Lawrence’s pistols misfired at the Capitol: the first attempt on a president’s life. The Senate censured Jackson in 1834 over the national bank and expunged the censure in 1837.

On 30 January 1835 both of Richard Lawrence’s pistols misfired at the Capitol: the first attempt on a president’s life. The Senate censured Jackson in 1834 over the national bank and expunged the censure in 1837.

The first president born a US citizen, in Kinderhook, New York, in 1782, and raised speaking Dutch. The Panic of 1837 began weeks into his term.

The first president born a US citizen, in Kinderhook, New York, in 1782, and raised speaking Dutch. The Panic of 1837 began weeks into his term.

At 68 the oldest president yet, he gave the longest inaugural address, about 8,400 words, in cold, wet weather. The term lasted 31 days, the shortest of any.

He pledged to serve a single term and kept to it. The Oregon Treaty (1846) and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), which ended the Mexican–American War, extended the country to the Pacific.

The first vice president to succeed. After he vetoed their bank bills, his whole cabinet but Daniel Webster resigned and the Whigs expelled him from the party in September 1841.

He pledged to serve a single term and kept to it. The Oregon Treaty (1846) and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), which ended the Mexican–American War, extended the country to the Pacific.

A career army officer who had never voted in a presidential election. 4 March 1849 was a Sunday, so he took the oath on the 5th.

He chose to affirm rather than swear the oath, and gave his inaugural address without notes. He signed the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854.

He signed the Compromise of 1850, including the Fugitive Slave Act. The last Whig president: his party did not nominate him in 1852.

He chose to affirm rather than swear the oath, and gave his inaugural address without notes. He signed the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854.

The only president who never married. Seven southern states declared secession between his successor’s election and inauguration.

The first Republican president, inaugurated under the unfinished Capitol dome. The Civil War began at Fort Sumter five weeks later; the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on 1 January 1863.

The only president who never married. Seven southern states declared secession between his successor’s election and inauguration.

Under the Capitol’s unfinished dome, Lincoln denied any right to secede and appealed to the South: “We are not enemies, but friends.” He closed on “the better angels of our nature”.

The first Republican president, inaugurated under the unfinished Capitol dome. The Civil War began at Fort Sumter five weeks later; the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on 1 January 1863.

Re-elected in 1864 on the National Union ticket with Andrew Johnson, a Tennessee Democrat. The second inaugural address closed “With malice toward none, with charity for all”. The term lasted 42 days.

Seven hundred words that named slavery as the cause of the war and called the war God’s judgement on it. It closed: “With malice toward none, with charity for all … to bind up the nation’s wounds.”

Sworn in at the Kirkwood House hotel hours after Lincoln died. Congress overrode 15 of his vetoes, most of them Reconstruction bills, more than for any other president.

At 46 the youngest president yet. The Fifteenth Amendment, barring racial discrimination in voting, was ratified in February 1870.

At 46 the youngest president yet. The Fifteenth Amendment, barring racial discrimination in voting, was ratified in February 1870.

The first president since Jackson to serve two full terms. The Panic of 1873 opened a long depression.

4 March was a Sunday, so he took the oath privately in the White House’s Red Room on the 3rd. Federal troops left the last southern statehouses in April 1877, ending Reconstruction.

The first president since Jackson to serve two full terms. The Panic of 1873 opened a long depression.

Nominated on the 36th ballot of the 1880 Republican convention. He was shot four months into the term.

4 March was a Sunday, so he took the oath privately in the White House’s Red Room on the 3rd. Federal troops left the last southern statehouses in April 1877, ending Reconstruction.

He signed the Pendleton Act of 1883, which began hiring federal workers by competitive examination rather than party patronage.

The first Democrat elected since the Civil War, and the only president married in the White House, to Frances Folsom in June 1886. In 1888 he won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote.

Grandson of William Henry Harrison. Six states joined the Union in his term, more than under any other president: North and South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming.

The first Democrat elected since the Civil War, and the only president married in the White House, to Frances Folsom in June 1886. In 1888 he won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote.

Grandson of William Henry Harrison. Six states joined the Union in his term, more than under any other president: North and South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming.

The first president to serve non-consecutive terms, so he is counted twice, as the 22nd and the 24th. The Panic of 1893 began weeks after his return.

The first president to serve non-consecutive terms, so he is counted twice, as the 22nd and the 24th. The Panic of 1893 began weeks after his return.

After the Spanish–American War of 1898 the United States took Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines; Hawaii was annexed the same year.

After the Spanish–American War of 1898 the United States took Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines; Hawaii was annexed the same year.

His new vice president was Theodore Roosevelt, the former governor of New York. The term lasted six months.

In 1904 the United States took over the Panama Canal works abandoned by France, and Roosevelt won a full term of his own.

He won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the first American Nobel laureate.

In 1908 the Supreme Court had ruled that a piano roll was not a copy of the sheet music, so composers earned nothing from recordings. Congress answered with a compulsory licence: once a song had been recorded, anyone could record it, for two cents a copy to the composer. The rate stayed unchanged…

He won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the first American Nobel laureate.

The only person to serve as both president and Chief Justice, from 1921 to 1930. The Sixteenth Amendment, allowing a federal income tax, was ratified in his last month.

The only person to serve as both president and Chief Justice, from 1921 to 1930. The Sixteenth Amendment, allowing a federal income tax, was ratified in his last month.

In April 1913 he addressed Congress in person, a practice Jefferson had dropped in 1801. The Federal Reserve was created that December.

In April 1913 he addressed Congress in person, a practice Jefferson had dropped in 1801. The Federal Reserve was created that December.

The United States entered the First World War in April 1917. A severe stroke in October 1919 left him disabled for the rest of his term, largely hidden from the public: a gap the 25th Amendment later addressed.

Elected with 60.3 percent of the popular vote in 1920, the first election after the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the vote nationwide.

The United States entered the First World War in April 1917. A severe stroke in October 1919 left him disabled for the rest of his term, largely hidden from the public: a gap the 25th Amendment later addressed.

Unsure a state notary could give a federal oath, he took it again privately in Washington weeks later. He signed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

The first inauguration broadcast on radio across the country. In 1927 he handed reporters slips reading “I do not choose to run for President in nineteen twenty eight.”

The first inauguration broadcast on radio across the country. In 1927 he handed reporters slips reading “I do not choose to run for President in nineteen twenty eight.”

The stock market crash of October 1929 came seven months into his term and opened the Great Depression.

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” he said at his inauguration. The term was six weeks short of four years, ended early by the Twentieth Amendment.

The stock market crash of October 1929 came seven months into his term and opened the Great Depression.

Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first — rock ’n’ roll or Christianity. — Lennon to Maureen Cleave In the London Evening Standard nobody minded. When the…

PlayStation 2 launched in JapanPlayStation 2

It played DVDs as well, cheaper than many DVD players, which sold it into homes that had never bought a console. Sony puts its sales at over 160 million, more than any other console.