What US Presidents were born as British subjects?

Answer 1

Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams, Jackson, and W. Harrison were all born before 1776 when the colonies declared independence.

(Barack Obama may also be correct answer. He was born to a Kenyan father during a time in which Kenya was a British possession, giving him British citizenship as well as US citizenship due to his place of birth. He is not a British citizen today, nor a Kenyan one, due to changes in citizenship laws in Kenya . }

Answer 2

No US President has ever been born in England, or anywhere outside the states or possessions of the US.

However, Chester Alan Arthur, the 21st US President, was once alleged to have been born in Canada in 1829, rather than in Fairfield, Vermont. Arthur was legally a British subject by legacy, as his father was born in Ireland and emigrated to Canada.

Answer 3

William Henry Harrison (9th president) was the last president to be a British born citizen.

However, John Tyler (10th president) is the first president who was born a U.S. citizen.

Answer 4

None you have to be a American citizen to be President.

Answer 5

8

Answer 6

British Subject Status is regulated by British and some other Commonwealth Countries' laws. It is therefore a more complex question than many would assume. It is not good enough to look at just which was born before 4 July 1776.

For early presidents, the important date is 1783, which is the year that the UK recognised US Independence. So all President's born in the 13 Colonies/ States (even after 4 July 1776) before the UK recognised American Independence were British Subjects.

Also it is very likely that any President born to a father born in the 13 Colonies/ States (before 1783) were also British Subjects. Also we need to consider the possibility of an American President having parents, (in particular historically fathers from the era when citizenship tended to only be passed by fathers and not married mothers) who were immigrants born in the British Empire. So it looks like President Buchanan in office until 1861 was a British Subject, (his father appears to have been Irish Born). Another candidate for British Subject Status would be President Andrew Johnson, a post Civil War President, whose own father was born before 1783, although the question of where is important in determining whether President Johnson was a British Subject.

Barack Obama was born a British Subject due to his father being from Kenya then a British Colony. When Kenya became independent Barack Obama held Kenyan Citizenship for some time, and so in British Law remained a "British Subject" until 31 December 1982, when he became a "Commonwealth Citizen", this status lapsed when under he ceased to be a Kenyan Citizen under the terms of Kenyan Law on 4 August 1984. Barack Obama however remained a "British Subject" in Australian law until 3 August 1984 when his Kenyan Citizenship expired. Barack Obama was not a British Subject during his Presidency.

President Trump is also an interesting case, his father was American but his mother was born in Scotland, and so born a British Subject. At the time mothers did not pass on Citizenship, and when legislation was changed to allow this it was not intended to be retrospective. However there have been changes in British Policy to allow some retrospective claiming of British Citizenship in such cases. So he may be able to claim British Citizenship, but the case would likely need to go to court. There appears no question of President Trump being a "British Subject", since that status he may be able to claim under British law would now be called "British Citizenship by Descent", and does not come under the current category of "British Subject" which is very narrow one.

Answer 7

Whashingto, Jackson