[ilovesarah2012]

6 presidents never held public office before becoming president

1. George Washington
2. Herbert Hoover
3. Ulysus S. Grant
5. Dwight D. Eisenhower
6. Zachary Taylor
7. William Howard Taft

[9YearLurker]

All generals or high-ranking cabinet secretaries.

[Theodore R.]

Hoover was secretary of commerce under Harding and Coolidge. Coolidge once said all the advice he got from Hoover was bad; some speculate that “Silent Cal” may have joined his Democrat in-laws in voting for Al Smith.

[DoodleDawg]

Both Hoover and Taft had considerable political and international experience. Hoover was a cabinet secretary and had run relief aid to Europe post World War I. Taft had been Secretary of War and also governor of the Philippines and Cuba. Carson is a doctor.

[A'elian' nation]

Herbert Hoover was the Commerce Secretary in the cabinets of Presidents Harding and Coolidge. He was the last cabinet member to be elected president.

Now if you mean presidents who never held elected public office then Hoover belongs on your list.

[Jim Noble]

Washington - don’t even get me started.
Hoover - public administrator of European WW I recovery - fantastic skills
Grant - largest administrative task in history, except emperors, until...
Eisenhower - are you serious?
Zachary Taylor - organized invasion of Mexico
William Howard Taft - Governor General of the Phillippines

I have the greatest respect for the skill set need to run the Neurosurgery program at Johns Hopkins, having run a few Medical Center programs myself, but President of the United States? Seriously?

I think even less of the track record of less-than-one-term U.S. Senator, and I would hope that present experience would make everyone here agree.