Woodrow Wilson

President, Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (established in 1825 by sixteen disgruntled members of the now-defunct Patrick Henry Society). Fellow members include Edgar Allan Poe, President James Madison (Honorary), The Marquis de Lafayette (Honorary), William Faulkner (Honorary) and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Honorary).

Woodrow Wilson was born on December 28, 1856 in Staunton, Virginia, USA as Thomas Woodrow Wilson. He was married to Edith Galt Wilson and Ellen Axson Wilson.

When Confederate president, Jefferson Davis was being taken to prison in May, 1865, his carriage passed through Augusta, Georgia. Woodrow Wilson was among the onlookers along with his father, the town's Presbyterian minister.

Taught at Bryn Mawr (1885-1888) and Wesleyan (1888-1890).

Children: Margaret Wilson (16 April 1886 - 12 February 1944); Jessie Woodrow Wilson (28 August 1887 - 15 January 1933); Eleanor Randolph Wilson (5 October 1889 - 5 April 1967). Jessie married Francis Bowes Sayre Sr. on 25 November 1913 at the White House. They had two children, Francis Sayre and Eleanor Axson Sayre. Eleanor married William Gibbs McAdoo Jr. on 7 May 1914 at the White House. They had two daughters, Ellen Wilson and Mary Faith McAdoo.

Unanimously elected president of Princeton University (1902).

Elected governor of New Jersey without having held public office. Term of service: 17 January 1911 - 1 March 1913.

28th President of the United States, 4 March 1913 - 3 March 1921.

He refused to condemn the British naval blockade of Germany in 1914, even though many felt it was illegal under international law as it violated the Hague Convention of 1907.

He condemned the sinking of RMS Lusitania in May 1915, although the ship had regularly transported war munitions for the Western Front.

When he ran for re-election in 1916 he ran with the campaign slogan "He kept us out of war". Five months into his second term the sinking of the Lusitania caused him to very reluctantly ask the Congress for a declaration of war against Germany.

When he went to the Paris peace conference in 1918, he made a proposal for an international body to handle disputes between nations by negotiation rather than force. It was called the League of Nations. This was the forerunner for the United Nations.

Met his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt, by chance at the White House. They married nine months later. When Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke on 2 October 1919, she imposed a "stewardship" of the Presidency, serving as the only conduit to her husband until he clawed his way back to moderate health. Though she carefully controlled his days, charges that she usurped the duties of the Presidency were exaggerated.

Pictured on a US 17¢ regular-issue postage stamp issued 28 December 1925.

Appears on the Series 1934 $100,000 bill. This rare U.S. currency was printed in limited quantities and was not for general circulation.

Pictured on the $1.00 US postage stamp in the Presidential Series, issued 29 August 1938.

Pictured on the 7¢ US postage stamp in the Liberty series, issued 10 January 1956.

Pictured on one of fifteen 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps in the "Celebrate the Century" series, issued 3 February 1998, celebrating the 1910s.

According to PBS's American Experience documentary, Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of the American Century (2002), when he allowed his cabinet to segregate government offices, black journalist William Monroe Trotter led a delegation to meet with him. When Wilson explained that the policy was enacted not "to injure or humiliate the colored clerks, but to avoid friction," an infuriated Trotter engaged in a shouting match with the president. After he was thrown out, Trotter then re-enacted what had happened to reporters on the White House grounds. Because of Trotter's stunt, an act Wilson considered unforgivable, he refused to do anything to promote civil rights for the rest of his life. Ironically, he had won the support of many black male voters in the 1912 presidential election.

He was nominated in 2007 and 2008 for inclusion in the New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services and contributions to history.

He was nominated for the 2008 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services and contributions to history.

He was inducted into the 2010 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his services and contributions to history.

Appears with Ignacy Jan Paderewski on a Polish 3.30z commemorative postage stamp, issued 20 December 2019 to celebrate the centennial of diplomatic relations between the USA and Poland.