8-YEAR-OLD PERRY BOY GOING ON LETTERMAN

PERRYVILLE -- Quick! Which president had the most children?

Who was the youngest president to take office? And who was the youngest president elected to office?

Tune into "The Late Show" with David Letterman Monday night to find out the answers to these and other presidential trivia tidbits.

Tyson Koenig, 8, of rural Perryville will be showing off his knowledge of the White House and its inhabitants on the late-night talk show.

Producers of the show contacted the Koenigs at the end of August after a segment about Tyson aired on a local television station.

Tyson said his fascination with presidential history began "on President's Day 1994" after he saw a special section in the Southeast Missourian.

"It had all the presidents and a column on them. That just got me interested," he said.

Then he began memorizing.

"I can tell you their names in order, forwards and backwards, when they served, their birthdays and when they died and lots of facts about their lives," Tyson said.

Tyson's mother, Dianna Koenig, said he's always been quick to learn facts.

"He's always memorized things. He started with the presidents two and a half years ago," she said.

Before that, Tyson said, he memorized calendars. Give him a date and he could tell you what day of the week it fell on.

He also memorized birth dates, anniversaries and license plate numbers "and when they expired," Dianna said.

"That's when we said there's better things to memorize," she joked.

Tyson, who has "lots of books" about the presidents, said he has a trick for memorizing what he reads.

"I see a tiny picture of a page in my mind, and I can flip back through it. If I can think of how it looked on the page, I can see it," he said.

So which president did have the most offspring?

"John Tyler. He had 15 children from his two wives," Tyson said. Tyler, the 10th president, served from 1841-1845.

And who was the youngest president to take office?

Theodore Roosevelt, Tyson replied. Roosevelt took office at the age of 42 after his predecessor, William McKinley, was assassinated in 1901.

But, he's quick to add, John F. Kennedy was the youngest man ever elected to office when he won the presidency at age 43 after defeating Richard Nixon in 1960.

Who's going to win the 1996 election?

"I think Bill Clinton will win but I want Bob Dole to win," he said.

And what president was arrested while in office? Ulysses S. Grant.

"He was speeding in his horse and buggy," Tyson said. "When the officer came to arrest him, he said, `I'm sorry, Mr. President, I didn't know it was you,' and (Grant) said, `Officer, do your duty.'"

Grant had previously received three speeding tickets while in office, he added.

After leaving the White House, he got caught fishing out of season, and when the judge reduced the $20 fine, "he said the judge should have been more strict."

Tyson said he's looking forward to meeting Letterman and is ready to discuss "whatever he asks me about."

The highlight, though, will be meeting another guest, comedian Tim Allen. Tyson watches Allen's "Home Improvement" show regularly.

Since he's such an expert on the presidency, will Tyson seek the office some day?

"Oh, yeah," he replied.

The family planned to leave today for New York, and will return Tuesday.

Tyson is a third-grader at Immanuel Lutheran School in Perryville.