--- title: Warren Harding: DNA Tests Show No Black Ancestors description: DNA tests that proved Warren Harding had a child by his mistress have solved another historical mystery: He did not have African-American ancestors. canonical: https://time.com/4002116/warren-harding-african-american/ author: Aditya Agrawal article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-18T20:36:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:15:55.448Z article:section: History og:title: DNA Tests Show This President Did Not Have Black Ancestors og:description: It had long been rumored. og:url: https://time.com/4002116/warren-harding-african-american/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b8ab8ffacf0f216/69885f29cf40a87c33c3f342/warren-harding.jpg?branch=production&width=394&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 394 og:image:height: 222 og:image:alt: Warren G Harding, 29th President of the United States, (1933). Harding (1865-1923) was President from 1921 until 1923. Published in The American Presidents, (London, 1933). og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: DNA Tests Show This President Did Not Have Black Ancestors twitter:description: It had long been rumored. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b8ab8ffacf0f216/69885f29cf40a87c33c3f342/warren-harding.jpg?branch=production&width=394&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # DNA Tests Show This President Did Not Have Black Ancestors > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Aditya Agrawal](https://time.com/author/aditya-agrawal/) ## Aditya Agrawal Aug 18, 2015 8:36 PM UTC  Warren G Harding, 29th President of the United States. Published in The American Presidents, (London, 1933). Warren G Harding, 29th President of the United States. Published in The American Presidents, (London, 1933). Print Collector/Getty Images by [Aditya Agrawal](https://time.com/author/aditya-agrawal/) ## Aditya Agrawal Aug 18, 2015 8:36 PM UTC DNA tests that proved Warren Harding had a child by his mistress have solved another historical mystery: He did not have African-American ancestors. For decades, some have claimed that Harding had some African-American heritage, an argument that received renewed attention after President Obama’s election in 2008\. Harding himself once [told](https://books.google.com/books?id=ldvcd6G-FMAC&pg=PA165&lpg=PA165&dq=one+of+my+ancestors+may+have+jumped+the+fence+harding&source=bl&ots=s%5FuUGCnv3o&sig=eDSf%5FqtFRDHBsj7LKmhciWdLArM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBmoVChMI%5FuTQ5K6zxwIVAaYeCh3ktw2H#v=onepage&q=one%20of%20my%20ancestors%20may%20have%20jumped%20the%20fence%20harding&f=false) a reporter that “one of \[his\] ancestors may have jumped the fence.” But Julie Granka, population geneticist at genealogy company Ancestry.com, which conducted the tests, [told](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/us/politics/dna-that-confirmed-one-warren-harding-rumor-refutes-another.html?smid=tw-share&%5Fr=0) the New York _Times_ that the tests did not find any “detectable genetic signatures of sub-Saharan African heritage” in any of Harding’s close relatives tested in the DNA exercise. It was “very unlikely” that Harding had a black ancestor within four generations, she said. Dr. Peter Harding, the president’s grandnephew and also part of the DNA tests, said that he was disappointed. “I was hoping for black blood,” he told the _Times_. **Read Next:**[_DNA Tests Proved This 92-Year-Old Presidential Rumor_](http://time.com/3996052/warren-harding-mistress/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4002116/warren-harding-african-american/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4002116/warren-harding-african-american/"},"headline":"DNA Tests Show This President Did Not Have Black Ancestors","datePublished":"2015-08-18T20:36:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:15:55.448Z","description":"DNA tests that proved Warren Harding had a child by his mistress have solved another historical mystery: He did not have African-American ancestors.","url":"https://time.com/4002116/warren-harding-african-american/","keywords":["White House","History"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b8ab8ffacf0f216/69885f29cf40a87c33c3f342/warren-harding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aditya Agrawal","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aditya-agrawal/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b8ab8ffacf0f216/69885f29cf40a87c33c3f342/warren-harding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Warren G Harding, 29th President of the United States, (1933). 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