Monday, August 31, 2026

Question: Michigan claims just one U.S. president as its own, a Grand Rapids man who was actually born in Nebraska under a different name. Who was he?

Answer: Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States. He was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents separated within weeks of his birth, and his mother took him to Grand Rapids, where she married Gerald R. Ford Sr. The family began calling the boy Gerald R. Ford Jr., though his name wasn’t legally changed until 1935. Ford went on to become the only person to serve as both vice president and president without being elected to either office.