Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
International

Most US presidents to fade from memory

Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Nov, 2014 12:33 PM
  • Most US presidents to fade from memory
Most American presidents are destined to be forgotten in within 50-100 years of their serving as president, a study suggests.
 
"By the year 2060, Americans will probably remember as much about the 39th and 40th presidents - Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan - as they now remember about our 13th president Millard Fillmore," predicted Henry L. Roediger III, human memory expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
 
Hillary Clinton, if elected in 2016, has the potential to be much better remembered than her husband because her presidency would represent a unique first in American history.
 
Barack Obama may be well remembered for the same reason, the study authors said.
 
Roediger has been testing the ability of undergraduate college students to remember the names of presidents since 1973, when he first administered the test to undergraduates while a psychology graduate student at Yale University.
 
Among the six presidents who were serving or had served most recently when the test was first given in 1973, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson and Gerald R. Ford are now fading fast from historical memory whereas John F. Kennedy has been better retained.
 
"The findings estimate that Truman will be forgotten by three-fourths of college students by 2040, 87 years after his leaving office, just like Zachary Taylor and William McKinley," Roediger said.
 
Kennedy was president less than three years, but is remembered today much better than Lyndon Johnson.
 
"One idea is that his assassination made him memorable, but that does not apply to James Garfield or William McKinley who were also assassinated and are remembered relatively poorly," Roediger found.
 
"Kennedy may be well recalled because his brothers and other family members were (and are) active in politics and help to keep his memory alive," Roediger speculated.
 
The current study compares results from the presidential-recall tests Roediger has given to three generations of undergraduate college students (1974, 1991 and 2009) and a similar test offered online to 577 adults ages 18-69 in 2014.

MORE International ARTICLES

US urges India to look beyond IPR in affordable healthcare

US urges India to look beyond IPR in affordable healthcare
India was Tuesday urged by the US to look beyond intellectual property rights (IPR) and compulsory licensing in affordable healthcare, and to address concerns...

US urges India to look beyond IPR in affordable healthcare

India, Nepal ink 10 deals; Modi inaugurates trauma centre, bus service

India, Nepal ink 10 deals; Modi inaugurates trauma centre, bus service
Nepal's happiness "gives us joy", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here Tuesday on his second visit to the Himalayan country in 100 days as both sides inked...

India, Nepal ink 10 deals; Modi inaugurates trauma centre, bus service

China ready to hold fresh border talks with India

China ready to hold fresh border talks with India
China welcomes India's newly-appointed special representative on border talks, Ajit Doval, and expects a new round of parleys soon, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday....

China ready to hold fresh border talks with India

IS, militant groups received $120 mn in ransoms: UN

IS, militant groups received $120 mn in ransoms: UN
The Sunni radical group Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups operating in Syria and Iraq have received as much as $120 million in ransoms since 2004, a UN expert said....

IS, militant groups received $120 mn in ransoms: UN

33 IS militants killed in Iraq's Mosul, two towns retaken

33 IS militants killed in Iraq's Mosul, two towns retaken
At least 33 militants of the Islamic State (IS) died Monday in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the surrounding area, including a leader who was responsible for the sale...

33 IS militants killed in Iraq's Mosul, two towns retaken

Stand up for your rights, Imran Khan tells Pakistanis

Stand up for your rights, Imran Khan tells Pakistanis
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said Sunday that the people of Pakistan must stand up for their rights, when the party holds a rally Nov 30 in Islamabad....

Stand up for your rights, Imran Khan tells Pakistanis