Coolidge, Calvin (1872–1933)

THE 30TH PRESIDENT of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, was born on Independence Day, 1872, in Plymouth, Vermont, as John Calvin Coolidge. Later in his life he dropped the “John” from his name. He was the son of John Calvin Coolidge, a man of many trades (including storekeeper, teacher, politician, and farmer) and Victoria Josephine Moor Coolidge. His mother died at age 39 when Coolidge was 12. In 1895, he graduated from Amherst College with honors. Following his graduation, he studied law in Northampton, Massachusetts, in the offices of John Hammond and Henry Field. After being accepted to the bar in 1897, he opened his own practice where he did collection work for business houses, managed estates, performed title work for banks, and dealt with ...