“America’s Forgotten 8th President Spoke English as a Second

Language. Not a founding father nor a figure in living memory, 8th president of the United States, Martin Van Buren, is understandably an unknown figure in American politics. Like any other president, however, he has a claim to fame through several unique and defining elements.

Kinderhook, originally “Kinderhoek,” means “children’s corner” in Dutch. This New York town got its name from the famous explorer Henry Hudson who’d seen Native American children playing there. By 1640, the Dutch began to settle the area. About 150 years later, a Dutch tavern keeper and his wife had a son. Growing up in such a community, Martin Van Buren’s first language was, understandably, Dutch. He is the first and still only American president to speak English as a second language.”