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Calvin Coolidge Shaved Himself For Marriage

A photo of Calvin Coolidge, looking jaunty, in a suit and bowler hat

A delightful bit of Calvin Coolidge trivia:

While Grace was watering flowers outside the school one day in 1903, she happened to look up at the open window of Robert N. Weir’s boardinghouse and caught a glimpse of Calvin Coolidge shaving in front of a mirror with nothing on but long underwear and a hat. Coolidge later explained that he wore the hat to keep his unruly red hair out of his eyes while shaving.

Grace was Grace Goodhue, who became Mrs. Calvin Coolidge in 1905. The story is from Robert Sobel’s 1998 biography Coolidge: An American Enigma

Sobel also relates Coolidge’s unusual proposal technique:

One day, in the spring of 1905, Coolidge appeared uninvited at the Goodhue residence in Burlington. When Mr. Goodhue entered his living room, he found Coolidge sitting there, reading a magazine. “Hello Calvin, what are you doing in Burlington? Got some business here?” he asked.  “No,” Coolidge replied. “Came up to marry Grace.”  “Why, have you spoken to her yet?” the father asked, to which Coolidge said, “No, I can wait a few days if it’s any convenience to you.”

The old romantic.

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