Regardless of what you think of their politics, their policies or their personality, one thing is for certain – you don’t get to become the President of the United States if you’re a dummy. Sure, some of them may show questionable judgment and may do things that make you wonder sometimes (the sheer number of presidents who have fallen down the stairs at some point during their run is staggering), but generally speaking you need to be pretty smart in most respects if you’re going to ascend to the position of being the most powerful person in the free world. Some presidents, for example, have IQs so high that you will be literally shocked when you read about them. Keep in mind that the average IQ for someone who is considered to be of normal intelligence is between 95 and 105 – that means that there are definitely more than one person on this list that have the vast majority of us beat when it comes to what is going on inside their head at any given time.
Gerald Ford is another former president who seems to have developed a reputation as being a bit on the aloof side over the years. His IQ of 127.1 says differently, so his demeanor coupled with the fact that he was another famous president to be lampooned time and again on Saturday Night Live (in this case by Chevy Chase) probably have a lot to do with the fact that people see him this way so long after his presidency was over.
Besides having the coolest name of any president, Calvin Coolidge wasn’t actually one of the smartest - he had an IQ of 127.1 and is tied for the fifth.
Harry S. Truman was known for his aggressive personality, but he probably should have been known for his intelligence - he had an IQ of 127.6.
Lyndon B. Johnson became famous for taking over after John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in 1963. He then led the country into the Vietnam War, which is probably second only to the Invasion of Iraq as far as bungled foreign policy moves. Despite this, Johnson was quite the smart guy, reportedly having an IQ of 128. This doesn’t make him the smartest former president on this list, but he’s certainly right there in the middle and a lot smarter than the average population, all things considered.
