Washington’s Birthday, AKA Presidents’ Day

Katarina Marceta, Editor-in-Chief|February 17, 2020

Photo from https://www.centralfloridalifestyle.com/orlando-local-stories/presidents-day-sales/

Presidents’ Day falls on the third Monday of February and usually serves to honor all of our past presidents. What most people don’t know, however, is that February 17th (Presidents’ Day), 2020, will be George Washington’s 288th birthday. Presidents’ Day celebrates both the Father of our Country and Honest Abe, Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday was the 12th of February.

Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

Originally, President’s Day, known as Washington’s Birthday, was created to celebrate George Washington’s Birthday. It became a national holiday in the 1880s, but it wasn’t until 1968 when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill that Presidents’ Day began to fall on the third Monday of February (George Washington’s actual birthday was February 22nd). Soon after, Congress rejected the idea that the name of the holiday be changed to “Presidents’ Day”, which was meant to commemorate both Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday was February 12th. However, the phrase “Presidents’ Day” was coined by retailers and soon became the common name for the holiday.

America has had a plethora of presidents, and while most of the time we remember them for wars, acts, or other great services, it’s fun to learn funny little random facts about the men who once ran the country. Below is a list of some fun facts about America’s presidents, from number one to number 45.

Photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both passed away on the same day (same year!), which also happened to be the day the Declaration of Independence was approved.
Andrew Jackson was shot in the chest during a duel, but miraculously survived. The bullet, however, stayed lodged in his chest until he died 40 years later.
James Madison was the shortest president, coming to a height of 5’4, while Abe Lincoln was 6’4.
Teddy Roosevelt was blind in his left eye.
James Monroe also passed away on July 4th.
The S in Harry S. Truman has no meaning.
When South Carolina planned to secede in 1832, Andrew Jackson (Old Hickory) privately told Carolina politicians that he would come down to the South and hang them. South Carolina revoked its “secession”.
Lincoln stored letters and documents in his famous hat.
Ronald Reagan was the oldest president to hold office (age 69) while Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest man to be president (age 42).
Obama used to work for Baskin-Robbins. He no longer likes ice cream.
Bill Clinton likes to play the saxophone.
John Tyler was called “His Accidency”.
Teddy Roosevelt was shot during a speech, but his glasses case and speech manuscript saved him from dying. He stubbornly continued to speak and would not go to the hospital until his speech was over.