Discover the Intriguing: Top 10 Fun Facts About Harry S. Truman You Never Knew

1. The Mysterious "S" Middle Name

Harry S. Truman's middle name was like a real-life game of Wheel of Fortune, where everybody tried to guess the meaning behind the single, mysterious letter and the man himself played along, spinning tales of a name that stood for nothing: Yet, the truth reveals that the "S" was actually a clever compromise between the names of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young, and Truman's own signature featuring a period after the "S" proves its significance. Spin the wheel and solve the puzzle, folks!
Source => trumanlibrary.gov

2. From Guns Blazing to Presidential Decision-Maker

Before he became "The Buck Stops Here" prez, Harry S Truman was more like "The Guns Blaze Here" kinda guy: As a captain in the US Army during World War I, Truman commanded a battery in France, showcasing his courage and leadership, and earning the Distinguished Service Medal for his wartime efforts.
Source => en.wiktionary.org

Did you know Franklin D. Roosevelt was a stamp-collecting enthusiast during his presidency? He even collaborated on designs and attended stamp shows! Discover his fascinating philatelic legacy that now resides in the National Postal Museum.📬💡

=> Fun Facts about Franklin-D-Roosevelt

3. Truman's Pied Piper Military Record

Who knew Harry was the Pied Piper of soldiers, leading them all safely back home? Well, it's true: Harry S. Truman commanded a World War I unit that didn't lose a single man while under his command in France, ultimately propelling his post-war political career in Missouri.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. White House Maestro

Harry S. Truman: A maestro in the White House, serenading his way through unlikely musical battles, tickling the ivories better than a presidential pianist has any right to, and sporting an impressive collection of axe-wielding composers and theatrical tunesmiths waiting in the wings: Truman cultivated a lifelong love for music, amassing over 680 records of classical music and Broadway scores, taking piano lessons as a youth, and even receiving a brief piano lesson from Ignace Jan Paderewski before setting aside his musical aspirations for a career in politics.
Source => nps.gov

5. Presidential Carnivore Diet

Rumored to have existed on a diet that could make coyotes howl, Harry Truman was quite the presidential carnivore: He enjoyed his steak well-done, famously quipping that "only coyotes and predatory animals eat raw beef," while maintaining a healthy waistline by opting for non-fattening veggies and fruits for dessert—and he's not alone in the well-done club, having been joined by the likes of Ulysses S. Grant and Ronald Reagan.
Source => mashed.com

6. Truman's Personal Google: His Book Collection

While most people look to Google for life advice, Harry S. Truman was just a *little* more old school: He relied on his collection of over 1,000 books, including historical masterpieces like Plutarch's Lives and Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, to guide his decision-making and shape his understanding of leadership.
Source => trumanlibraryinstitute.org

7. The Buck Stops… With His Memoirs

Before becoming a bestselling author, Harry S. Truman was known for saying "the buck stops here"; little did he know, those bucks wouldn't be there when his presidential term stopped: After leaving office, Truman faced financial troubles and had to depend on his military pension to make ends meet, since presidential pensions didn't exist until 1958. Rather than capitalize on his fame, he sold his memoirs to Life magazine for a cool $600,000, ensuring that, in the end, the bucks did indeed stop with him.
Source => forbes.com

8. Truman's Thrifty Road Trips

Taking thrifty road trips to a presidential level: Harry Truman, an avid Chrysler fan, insisted on paying a symbolic $1 for a gifted 1953 Chrysler New Yorker to dodge any corporate indebtedness, and then proceeded to hit the highway with Bess, exploring the sights and sounds of New York City – even enjoying a meal at the famed 21 nightclub.
Source => jmarkpowell.com

9. Ravenclaw President: A Reading Machine

Harry Potter fans wouldn't be the only ones sorted into the Ravenclaw house; ol' Harry S. Truman could've given Hermione a run for her money with his voracious appetite for reading: The 33rd President of the United States was known to devour as many as five books a week, leading him to declare, "Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers," and eventually establish National Library Week in 1958.
Source => archives.gov

10. Truman's Dog-Gone Controversy

In a classic case of "dog-gone political pooch-licity", President Harry Truman found himself embroiled in a canine controversy, unlike any ruff situation he had encountered before: He was gifted a cocker spaniel named Feller that generated negative publicity, causing him to pass the pup to his physician, then to the man in charge of Shangri-La (now Camp David), and eventually to an Ohio family farm for a tail-waggingly happy life. Meanwhile, Truman's family had a pet Irish Setter named Mike, who steered clear of digging up any White House lawn scandals.
Source => americacomesalive.com