Signature of Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

At a Glance

Term: 22nd and 24th President of the United States (1885-1889 and 1893-1897)

Born: March 18, 1837, Caldwell, New Jersey

Full Name: Stephen Grover Cleveland

Nickname: "Big Steve", "Uncle Jumbo"

Education: Some common school; Read law (1855-1859)

Religion: Presbyterian

Marriage: June 2, 1886, to Frances Folsom (1864-1947)

Children: Ruth (1891-1904), Esther (1893-1980), Marion (1895-1977), Richard Folsom (1897-1974), Francis Grover (1903-1995)

Career: Lawyer

Political Party: Democrat

Writings: Presidential Problems (1904)

Died: June 24, 1908, Princeton, New Jersey

Buried: Princeton, New Jersey

A Life in Brief: Stephen Grover Cleveland fell into politics without really trying. In 1881, local businessmen asked Cleveland, then a young lawyer, to run for mayor of Buffalo, New York. He agreed and won the Democratic nomination and the election. More....

Essays on Grover Cleveland and His Administration


Grover Cleveland
A Life in BriefLife Before the PresidencyCampaigns and ElectionsDomestic AffairsForeign AffairsLife After the PresidencyFamily LifeThe American FranchiseImpact and LegacyKey Events
First Lady
Rose Cleveland, Frances Cleveland
Vice President
Thomas A. Hendricks (1885)Adlai E. Stevenson (1893 - 1897)
Secretary of State
Thomas F. Bayard (1885 - 1889)Walter Q. Gresham (1893 - 1895)Richard Olney (1895 - 1897)
Secretary of War
William C. Endicott (1885 - 1889)Daniel S. Lamont (1893 - 1897)
Postmaster General
William F. Vilas (1885 - 1888)Donald M. Dickinson (1888 - 1889)Wilson S. Bissell (1893 - 1895)William L. Wilson (1895 - 1897)
Secretary of the Interior
Lucius Q. C. Lamar (1885 - 1888)William F. Vilas (1888 - 1889)Hoke Smith (1893 - 1896)David R. Francis (1896 - 1897)
Secretary of the Treasury
Daniel Manning (1885 - 1887)Charles S. Fairchild (1887 - 1889)John G. Carlisle (1893 - 1897)
Attorney General
Augustus H. Garland (1889 - 1885)Richard Olney (1893 - 1895)Judson Harmon (1895 - 1897)
Secretary of Agriculture
Norman J. Coleman (1889 - 1889)Julius S. Morton (1893 - 1897)
Secretary of the Navy
William C. Whitney (1885 - 1889)Hilary A. Herbert (1893 - 1897)

Consulting Editor: Henry F. Graff

Professor Graff is a professor emeritus of history at Columbia University. His writings include:

Grover Cleveland (Times Books, 2002)

The Presidents: A Reference History (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1984)

This Great Nation: A History of the United States (Riverside Publishing, Co., 1983)


Presidential Speeches

Below are selections from the Miller Center's Grover Cleveland speech collection. To view the Miller Center's other speeches by Grover Cleveland or by another President, please click the link below.

March 4, 1885 - Inaugural Address

Miller Center Scholarship and Speakers

The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on Grover Cleveland.

 In 1893, President Cleveland was diagnosed with mouth cancer. He underwent surgery aboard a yacht without telling the public or his cabinet. Listen to Dr. Norman Knorr’s 1987 presentation at the Miller Center on the Psychological and Mental Aspects of Presidential Disability.

Click here to learn more about the Center’s National Commission on Federal Election Reform and its relationship to Cleveland.

Scripps Library Reference Resources

Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center's Scripps Library that are designed to help students and scholars quickly conduct their research.

Information on Grover Cleveland's Private and Public Papers

Presidential Speeches
Academic Programs | Public Programs
Policy Programs
Presidential Bibliographies | Presidential Papers
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