Who was the first U.S. president to live in the White House?

John Adams.

The first U.S. president to live in the White House was John Adams, the second president of the United States. He moved into the newly constructed residence in 1800 during the final year of his presidency. The White House, designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban, was built between 1792 and 1800, with its site chosen by George Washington, the first president, and the city planner Pierre L’Enfant.

The building was not yet completed when Adams and his wife, Abigail, moved in on November 1, 1800. At the time, the nation’s capital was in the process of moving from Philadelphia to the new city of Washington, D.C., a district chosen for being at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, a strategic location that offered proximity to both the North and the South. The White House was one of the first buildings constructed in this nascent city, symbolizing the new government’s permanence.

Adams’s stay in the White House was relatively short, as he lost his bid for reelection to Thomas Jefferson in 1800. However, his time there was marked by the initial challenges of making the presidential residence a home. His wife, Abigail, famously wrote letters expressing the solitary and unfinished state of their new residence, noting how the building was cold and damp and echoed loudly. She even hung her laundry in the East Room to dry.

Despite these humble beginnings, the White House would go on to become the symbol of the American presidency. It has been renovated, rebuilt, and restored numerous times over the centuries, witnessing history and shaping the lives of those who lived and worked there. John Adams’s move into the White House was a significant event that marked the beginning of an enduring tradition for every president that followed him.