The word president is derived from the Latin prae- "before" + sedere "to sit." As such, it originally designated the officer who "sits before" a gathering and ensures that debate is conducted according to the rules of order (see also chairman and speaker). This usage survives today in the title of such offices as "President of the Board of Trade" and "Lord President of the Council" in the United Kingdom, as well as "President of the Senate" (one of the roles constitutionally assigned to the Vice-President of the United States). The officiating priest at certain Anglican religious services, too, is sometimes called the "President" in this sense. It has been suggested that History of the Latin language be merged into this article or section. ... Rules of order, also known as standing orders or rules of procedure, are the written rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by a deliberative assembly, which detail the processes used by the body to make decisions. ... A chairman is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. ... The term Speaker is usually the title given to the presiding officer of a countrys lower house of parliament or congress. ... The President of the Board of Trade the title of a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... The Office of Lord President of the Council is a British cabinet position, the holder of which acts as presiding officer of the Privy Council. ... The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the United States government, the person who is, in the words of Adlai Stevenson, a heartbeat from the presidency. ... The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ...

In pre-revolutionary France, the president of a Parlement evolved into a powerful magistrate, a member of the so-called noblesse de robe ("nobility of the gown"), with considerable judicial as well as administrative authority. The name referred to his primary role of presiding over trials and other hearings. In the 17th and 18th centuries, seats in the Parlements, including presidencies, became effectively hereditary, since the holder of the office could ensure that it would pass to an heir by paying the crown a special tax known as the paulette. The post of "first president" (premier président), however, could only be held by the King's nominees. The Parlements were abolished by the French Revolution. In modern France the chief judge of a court is known as its president (président de la cour). Parlements (pronounced in French) in ancien régime France — contrary to what their name would suggest to the modern reader — were not democratic or political institutions, but law courts . ... A magistrate is a judicial officer with limited authority to administer and enforce the law. ... The nobility (la noblesse) in France in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period had specific legal and financial rights and prerogatives (the first official list of these prerogatives was established relatively late, under Louis XI of France after 1440), including exemption from paying the taille (except for non... The Lords and Barons prove their Nobility by hanging their Banners and exposing their Coats-of-arms at the door of the Lodge of the Heralds. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... A tax (also known as a duty, or Zakat in Islamic economics) is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (e. ... La Paulette (after the financier Charles Paulet, who proposed it) was the name commonly given to the annual right (droit annuel), a special tax levied by the French Crown during the ancien régime. ... Kings ruled in France from the Middle Ages to 1848. ... Liberty Leading the People, a painting by Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 but which has come to be generally accepted as symbolic of French popular uprisings against the monarchy in general and the French Revolution in particular. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ...

The modern usage of the term "president" to designate the heads of state of a republic can be traced directly to the United States Constitution of 1787, which created the office of President of the United States. Previous American governments had included "Presidents" (see Continental Congress and President of the United States in Congress Assembled), but these were presiding officers in the older sense, with no executive authority. It has been suggested that the executive use of the term was borrowed from early American colleges and universities, which were usually headed by a president. British universities were headed by an official called the "Chancellor" (typically a ceremonial position) while the chief administrator held the title of "Vice-Chancellor". But America's first institutions of higher learning (such as Harvard and Yale) didn't resemble a full-sized university so much as one of its constituent colleges. A number of colleges at Cambridge University featured an official called the "President." The head, for instance, of Magdalene College, Cambridge was called the master and his second the president. The first president of Harvard, Henry Dunster, had been educated at Magdalene. Some have speculated that he borrowed the term out of a sense of humility, considering himself only a temporary place-holder. The presiding official of Yale College, originally a "Rector" (after the usage of continental European universities), became "President" in 1745. Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people who do not base their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... The Continental Congress is the label given to three successive bodies of representatives: The First Continental Congress met from September 5, 1774 to October 26, 1774. ... The President of the Continental Congress was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress elected by the delegates to the congress. ... The term college (Latin collegium) is most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctor) in a variety of subjects. ... Various governments have a Chancellor who serves as some form of junior or senior minister. ... A Vice-Chancellor (commonly called the VC) of a university in the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth countries, and some universities in Hong Kong, is the de facto head of the university. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Yale redirects here. ... The term college (Latin collegium) is most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... The University of Cambridge (often called Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Full name The College of Saint Mary Magdalene Motto Garde ta Foy Keep your Faith Named after Mary Magdalene Previous names - Established 1428 Sister College(s) Magdalen College Master Duncan Robinson Location Magdalene Street Undergraduates 335 Postgraduates 169 Homepage Boatclub Magdalene College (pronounced ) was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... Henry Dunster(c. ... // Events May 11 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch June 4 – Frederick the Great destroys Austrian army at Hohenfriedberg August 19 - Beginning of the 45 Jacobite Rising at Glenfinnan September 12 - Francis I is elected...

A common style of address for presidents, "Mr. President," is borrowed from British Parliamentary tradition, in which the presiding Speaker of the House of Commons is referred to as "Mr. Speaker." Coincidentally, this usage resembles the older French custom of referring to the president of a parlement as "Monsieur le Président", a form of address that in modern France applies to both the President of the Republic and to chief judges. Similarly, the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons is addressed by francophone parliamentarians as "Monsieur/Madame Président(e)". In Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses of 1782, the character identified as Madame la Présidente de Tourvel ("Madam President of Tourvel") is the wife of a magistrate in a parlement. The fictional name Tourvel refers not to the parlement in which the magistrate sits, but rather, in imitation of an aristocratic title, to his private estate. British House of Commons Canadian House of Commons In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... The President of the French Republic (French: Président de la République française) colloquially referred to as President of France, is Frances elected Head of State and also the ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the Légion dhonneur. ... The House of Commons (French: Chambre des communes) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. ... Francophone means French-speaking. ... Pierre Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos Pierre Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos, a French official and army general, was born on October 18, 1741 in Amiens, France and died in Taranto, Italy on September 5, 1803. ... Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) is a famous French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in 1782. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... An Estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. ...

Once the United States adopted the title of "President" for its Republican Head of State, many other nations followed suit. Haiti became the first presidential republic in Latin America when Henri Christophe assumed the title in 1807. Almost all of American nations that became independent from Spain in the early 1810s and 1820s chose a US-style president as their chief executive. The first European president was the President of the French Second Republic of 1848. (The First Republic had harkened back to the ancient Roman Republic by appointing several consuls at its head.) The first African President was the President of Liberia (1848), while the first Asian president was the President of the Republic of China (1912). Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... -1... 1807 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Events and Trends End of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe (1803 - 1815). ... Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ... The President of the French Republic (French: Président de la République française) colloquially referred to as President of France, is Frances elected Head of State and also the ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the Légion dhonneur. ... The French Second Republic (often simply Second Republic) was the republican regime of France from February 25, 1848 to December 2, 1852. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The French people proclaimed Frances First Republic on 21 September 1792 as a result of the French Revolution and of the abolition of the French monarchy. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Consul (abbrev. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia. ... The following is a list of Presidents of Liberia: Joseph Jenkins Roberts 1847-1856 Stephen Allen Benson 1856-1864 Daniel Bashiel Warner 1864-1868 James Spriggs Payne 1868-1870 Edward J. Roye 1870-1871 Joseph Jenkins Roberts 1871-1876 James Spriggs Payne 1876-1878 Anthony W. Gardiner 1878-1883 Alfred... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... The Office of the President of the Republic of China is located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei City. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Presidential timeline

• 1640- Henry Dunster succeeds Nathaniel Eaton as the head of Harvard College. He creates for himself the title of President of Harvard.
• 1783- The independence of the United States of America is recognized, with the President of the United States in Congress Assembled as acting head of state.
• 1787 - The United States Constitution creates the office of President of the United States, the powerful chief executive of the federal government.
• 1789- George Washington becomes the first President of the U.S.
• 1806- Haiti separates from France and becomes a republic. Henri Christophe declares himself President of Haiti, while Alexandre Pétion does so too in opposition to him.
• 1819- Colombia declares independence from Spain with Simón Bolívar as first president.
• 1822- Greece proclaims independence from the Ottoman Empire with Alexandros Mavrokordatos claiming to be president.
• 1847- Liberia, after the settlement of former US slaves, becomes Africa's first republic with Joseph Jenkins Roberts as president.
• 1848- After the fall of King Louis-Philippe France proclaims its Second Republic with a president as the new head of state.
• 1910- The monarchy of Portugal is deposed and the post President of Portugal is created.
• 1912- The Republic of China is founded after the Qing Dynasty is deposed, Sun Yat-sen becomes China's first president.
• 1959- Madagascar separates from France and establishes Africa's second presidency.