American President

Grover Cleveland (1837–1908)

Facts 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 »

It is a plain dictate of honesty and good government that public expenditures should be limited by public necessity . .. .: March 4, 1893

Essays on Grover Cleveland and His Administration

Grover Cleveland: A Life in Brief; Life Before the Presidency; Campaigns and Elections; Domestic Affairs; Foreign Affairs; Life After the Presidency; Family Life; The American Franchise; Impact and Legacy; Key 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)
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.

March 4, 1885—Inaugural Address

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.

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, designed to help students and scholars conduct their research quickly.

Information on Grover Cleveland’s Private and Public Papers

The Miller Center is committed to presenting the most accurate information on our American Presidents. Please make a gift to the Miller Center Foundation today. Your gift will ensure free access to American President for thousands of students, teachers and individuals who wish to learn more about the leaders whose contributions shaped our great country.