Top 10 Facts about Harry Truman


 

He was born in Lamar Missouri on the 8th of May, 1884. His parents were John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young Truman. He was the firstborn of his parents. His father was a livestock farmer dealer.

Later, he attended public schools in Independence and graduated from high school in 1901. He worked as a timekeeper for a railroad construction contractor and also worked as a clerk in Kansas City banks.

Besides, Truman was married to Bess Wallace on June 28, 1919. They had their first and only kid Mary Margaret on February 17, 1924.

Truman was elected as a judge in Jackson County court in 1922. He later became the 33rd president of the United States of America on April 12, 1945, after the death of President Roosevelt. 

Unfortunately, he died on December 26, 1972, at the age of 88 due to heart irregularity, kidney blockage, and failure of the digestive system.

1. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was his Plan

President Harry Truman signed a declaration called the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of the Japanese government giving them a warning of prompt and utter destruction.

This was after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

In their surprise attack, Japan sunk several ships, destroyed hundreds of, planes, and ended thousands of lives.

The Japanese goal was to cripple the US Pacific fleet. On the 6th of August 1945, eleven days after America sent the warning of the attack, having received no reply, President Harry Truman sent an American bomber Enola Gay.

The bomb was dropped at Hiroshima eight in the morning killing 80000 people in a matter of minutes.

On August 9, 1945, America dropped another bomb at Nagasaki killing 39000 lives and injuring more than 25000 people.

Japan was forced to surrender to the United States of America thus bringing the end of World War II.

2. He was a farmer for more than 10 years

Harry Truman moved to the farm in 1906 to help his family.  The farm was big and comprised 600 acres.

He stayed on the farm for a long time. In the farm he worked had to increase the farm’s fertility.

He did activities on the farm such as crop rotation, soil conservation, and weed control.

He instituted record-keeping of actual costs per acre on crops and he used labor-saving equipment instead of hiring more farmhands.

3. Harry Truman was a Judge

Photo by Wikimedia – Wikimedia

Harry Truman was a presiding judge of the Jackson County Court. He was elected in 1922, where his duties were more administrative rather than judicial. He built a reputation for honesty and efficiency in the management of county affairs.

4. Truman survived two assassination attempts

President Harry Truman escaped two assassination attacks on November 1, 1950. It was on an afternoon when the assassins tried to shoot at him when he was with his wife upstairs.

The assassins were unsure if Truman would be in the house when launched their attack.

The assassins were Torresola and Collazo, political activists and members of the extremist Puerto Rican Nationalist Party.

Collazo was sentenced to death but later on July 24, 1952, President Truman pardoned him and changed the sentence to life imprisonment.

5. He had an unusual middle initial

His parents could not come to a decision on what middle name they could Harry.

They later settled and gave the letter S. as his middle name which served as a tribute to his relatives whose names started with the letter S.

His maternal grandfather was named Solomon while his paternal grandfather had Shipp as his middle name. Harry did not use a period after it for most of his life since he felt that the letter meant nothing.

After he was elected President, the editors of the Chicago Style Manual informed Truman that omitting a period after his middle name was improper and a bad example for America’s youth.

From that moment he started signing his name as Harry S Truman or putting it all together as Harry S Truman.

6. Truman served as a Vice President for only 82 days

Photo by Wikimedia commons – Wikimedia

Harry Truman was inaugurated as the United States of America vice president in 1945.

His term as a Vice President was however cut short, him serving for less than three months.

In particular, he spent only 82 days in the office of the vice president then transited to become the 33rd President of America after the death of President Roosevelt.

7. Truman married his childhood friend Bess Wallace

Photo by Wikimedia commons – Wikimedia

Harry Truman and his wife Bess Truman knew each other throughout their school days. Their relationship had a slow beginning due to their social standing.

Their dates often consisted of visiting in the upstairs sitting room or on the back porch of the Gates home in their family homes.

They went on picnics and fishing trips with their friends and family and the relationship developed into a serious one. They got married after nine years of courtship on June 28, 1919.

8. He popularized ‘The buck stops’ here phrase

The buck stops here is a phrase that was popularized by US President Harry Truman.

It is derived from the slang expression pass the buck which means passing the responsibility to someone else. President Harry kept a sign with the phrase on his desk in the Oval office.

He used the phrase to refer to the notion that the president had to make decisions and accept the ultimate responsibilities for those decisions.

9. He owned a men’s clothing shop that failed

During his early days, President Truman had a clothing store with his partner Eddie Jacobson.

The name of the store was Jacobson haberdashery. It was located in Baltimore Kansas City, Missouri.

The store was opened in 1919. It started off well but later failed due to the economic downturn of the 1920s. The store came to its closure in 1921 leaving Truman almost bankrupt and heavily in debt.

10. He Became a Judge without a Law Degree

Photo by Harris & Ewing – Wikimedia

President Harry Truman became a judge in 1922. As an active member of the Democratic Party, Truman was elected a judge of the Jackson County Court.

His duties were more administrative rather than judicial and this no need for a law degree. The court exercised corporate powers.

President Harry Truman was a dedicated, hardworking, and resilient person. He believed in hard work as seen in his early days as a farmer and a dedicated businessman.

He was a leader who had to make tough decisions during his era. He was a tough leader and was determined to achieve his goals.

This was evident during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He promised an attack and failure of Japanese to comply he delivered his warning by bombing the places.

His act of bombing Japan brought World War II to an end.

Planning a trip to Paris ? Get ready !


These are Amazon’s best-selling travel products that you may need for coming to Paris.

Bookstore

  1. The best travel book : Rick Steves – Paris 2023 – Learn more here
  2. Fodor’s Paris 2024 – Learn more here

Travel Gear

  1. Venture Pal Lightweight Backpack – Learn more here
  2. Samsonite Winfield 2 28″ Luggage – Learn more here
  3. Swig Savvy’s Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle – Learn more here

Check Amazon’s best-seller list for the most popular travel accessories. We sometimes read this list just to find out what new travel products people are buying.