It was the habit of President Ulysses S. Grant [1822-1885] to drink brandy and smoke a cigar while relaxing in Washington, D.C.'s, Willard hotel lobby. Folklore, promulgated by publicists for the hotel, holds that this is the origin of the term "lobbying", as Grant was often approached by those seeking favors. However, this is probably false, as the verb to lobby is found decades earlier and did not originally refer to Washington politics. [source]
