One of the interesting facts about John McCain is he had some nicknames. John McCain was a wrestler at Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria, where he excelled. He consequently received the moniker “Punk” and “McNasty.”

McCain enrolled in the United States Naval Academy, following in the traditions of his father and grandfather. There, he became a buddy and unofficial leader for many of his classmates, and occasionally spoke up for those who were the objects of bullying. He boxed as a lightweight as well. Because of his attitude and popularity with people of the opposite sex, he was given the nickname “John Wayne.”

On October 26, 1967, McCain was taken prisoner of war in the Vietnam War. His A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile over Hanoi when he was flying his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam. McCain nearly drowned as he parachuted into Trc Bch Lake and broke both of his arms and a leg when he fell from the plane. He was carried into the shore by some North Vietnamese, who later bayoneted him and crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt. McCain was then taken to the main Ha L Prison in Hanoi, also known as the “Hanoi Hilton.” McCain received subpar care throughout his six weeks in the hospital. He was in a chest cast, having lost 50 pounds (23 kg), and his gray hair had gone white. His moniker became “the white tornado.”

Scotch-Irish and English forebears are represented in McCain's family tree. In Rockingham County, North Carolina, his great-grandparents operated the plantation known as High Rock Farm. Both his father and John S. McCain Sr., his paternal grandfather, were graduates of the Naval Academy and rose to the rank of four-star admiral in the US Navy. As their father accepted numerous Navy assignments in the United States and the Pacific, the McCain family relocated. John McClain was born into the military. He was born on a naval installation, and like his father and grandfather before him, he and his brother would later join the US military.

One of the interesting facts about John McCain is his father and grandfather, who were both highly regarded fighters, share a unique and honorable distinction: they are the only father and son team to have served as four-star admirals in the US Navy. McCain's upbringing would undoubtedly have benefited greatly from this as a source of pride and inspiration.

At the age of 28, McCain married Carol Shepp, a former runway model and secretary, on July 3, 1965. Shepp had two young children, Douglas and Andrew, from a previous marriage, and McCain adopted them. After, he and Carol gave birth to a girl they called Sidney.

When McCain returned to the United States following the Vietnam War, he was reunited with his family. In December 1969, his wife Carol was involved in a car accident that left her with serious injuries. She was significantly overweight than when he had last seen her, four inches shorter, and either in a wheelchair or on crutches. About McCain, he gained some notoriety as a former POW.

McCain met Cindy Lou Hensley, a teacher from Phoenix, Arizona, whose father had established a sizable beer distribution company, in April 1979. They started dating, and he encouraged his wife, Carol, to grant him a divorce. Carol complied, and the uncontested divorce became effective in April 1980. They remained friendly, and the settlement included two houses and money for her continuing medical care related to her car accident in 1969. On May 17, 1980, McCain and Hensley were wed, with Senators William Cohen and Gary Hart serving as groomsmen. McCain's kids chose not to go, and it took them a while before they could get along again. With the help of a prenuptial agreement, John and Cindy McCain were able to keep their money separate and file separate tax returns while keeping the majority of her family's assets in her name.

On September 27, 1999, in Nashua, New Hampshire, McCain declared his intent to run for president. He promised to wage “a fight to take our country back from the power brokers and special interests, and restore it to the people and the noble cause of freedom it was designed to serve.” George W. Bush, the governor of Texas, was the front-runner for the Republican nomination and enjoyed the financial and political backing of the majority of the party establishment, while John McCain was backed by many moderate and some conservative Republicans.

McCain concentrated on New Hampshire, where his message resonated with independent voters. He rode the Straight Talk Express, a political campaign bus. He used free media to make up for his lack of resources by holding numerous town hall meetings where he responded to every question posed by citizens. He defeated Bush in the New Hampshire primary on February 1, 2000, receiving 49% of the vote to Bush's 30%.

One of the interesting facts about John McCain is that many people thought the two candidates represented distinct facets of the Republican party throughout their contentious campaign.

During that time, an anonymous smear campaign was launched against McCain, which had a significant negative impact, costing him a crucial South Carolina vote. McCain would eventually resign in the middle of February and endorsing George Bush a few months later. He never fully recovered from this.

On April 25, 2007, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, McCain formally announced his desire to run for President of the United States. “I'm not running for president to be somebody, but to do something,” he declared. “I want to do the difficult but important things, not the simple and unnecessary things.” McCain's strengths as a candidate for president in 2008 were frequently listed as his name recognition, sponsorship of significant lobbying and campaign finance reform initiatives, ability to work across the aisle, well-known military service and experience as a POW, experience from the 2000 presidential campaign, and expectation that he would win over Bush's top donors.

After a difficult campaign, John McCain defeated Mitt Romney in March and was declared the presumed front-runner for the 2008 presidential election.

That election's rival for John McCain was going to be Barack Obama. Early surveys showed a tight race between the two men. Sarah Palin's selection by McCain as his running mate stunned the globe, and it turned out to be a very divided decision.

Barack Obama was predicted to win the election on November 4 at around 11:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; McCain made his concession address in Phoenix, Arizona, about 20 minutes later. In it, he highlighted Obama's historic election as the country's first African American president and its unique significance. McCain ultimately earned 173 electoral votes to Obama's 365; McCain lost some normally Republican states and failed to win the majority of the battleground states. McCain received 46% of the popular vote nationwide, compared to Obama's 53%.

In 1997, Time magazine named McCain as one of the "25 Most Influential People in America". McCain was awarded multiple honorary degrees from American and foreign colleges and universities. Colgate University (LL.D 2000), The Citadel (DPA 2002), Wake Forest University (LL.D May 20, 2002), the University of Southern California (DHL May 2004, Northwestern University (LL.D June 17, 2005), Liberty University (2006), The New School (2006), and the Royal Military College of Canada are among them (D.MSc June 27, 2013). In 2005, Trinity College Dublin named him an Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society.

The USS John S. McCain, which was initially dedicated in the senator's father and grandfather's names, was renamed in his honor on July 11, 2018. After the senator's passing in August 2018, the Phoenix City Council unanimously decided to rename Terminal 3 of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in his honor, and it officially opened on January 7, 2019. The Kyiv City Council changed the name of a roadway that had been named after NKVD agent Ivan Kudria to "John McCain Street" on April 4, 2019.