President's Day

The original version of the holiday was in commemoration of George Washington's birthday in 1796 (the last full year of his presidency). Washington, according to the calendar that has been used since at least the mid-18th century, was born on February 22, 1732. According to the old style calendar in use back then, however, he was born on February 11. At least in 1796, many Americans celebrated his birthday on the 22nd while others marked the occasion on the 11th instead.

By the early 19th century, Washington's Birthday had taken firm root in the American experience as a bona fide national holiday. Its traditions included Birthnight Balls in various regions, speeches and receptions given by prominent public figures, and a lot of revelry in taverns throughout the land. Then along came Abraham Lincoln, another revered president and fellow February baby (born on the 12th of the month). The first formal observance of his birthday took place in 1865, the year after his assassination, when both houses of Congress gathered for a memorial address. While Lincoln's Birthday did not become a federal holiday like George Washington's, it did become a legal holiday in several states.

In 1968, legislation (HR 15951) was enacted that affected several federal holidays. One of these was Washington's Birthday, the observation of which was shifted to the third Monday in February each year whether or not it fell on the 22nd. This act, which took effect in 1971, was designed to simplify the yearly calendar of holidays and give federal employees some standard three-day weekends in the process.

Apparently, while the holiday in February is still officially known as Washington's Birthday (at least according to the Office of Personnel Management), it has become popularly (and, perhaps in some cases at the state level, legally) known as "President's Day." This has made the third Monday in February a day for honoring both Washington and Lincoln, as well as all the other men who have served as president.

Previous Presidents Of United States:

1. George Washington...1789-1797
2. John Adams...1797-1801
3. Thomas Jefferson...1801-1809
4. James Madison...1809-1817
5. James Monroe...1817-1825
6. John Quincy Adams...1825-1829
7. Andrew Jackson...1829-1837
8. Martin Van Buren...1837-1841
9. William Henry Harrison...1841 (First president die in office)
10. John Tyler...1841-1845
11. James K. Polk...1845-1849
12. Zachary Taylor...1849-1850 (Second president die in office)
13. Millard Fillmore...1850-1853
14. Franklin Pierce...1853-1857
15. James Buchanan...1857-1861
16. Abraham Lincoln...1861-1865
17. Andrew Johnson...1865-1869
18. Ulysses S Grant...1869-1877
19. Rutherford B. Hayes...1877-1881
20. James A. Garfield...1881 (Shot on July 2 and died Sept. 19,1881 from bullet infection)
21. Chester A. Arthur...1881-1885
22. Grover Cleveland...1885-89 & 1893-97
23. Benjamin Harrison...1889-1893
24. Grover Cleveland...1893-1897
25. William McKinley...1897-1901
26. Theodore Roosevelt...1901-1909
27. William H. Taft...1909-1913
28. Woodrow Wilson...1913-1921
29. Warren G. Harding...1921-1923 (Fourth president died in office)
30. Calvin Coolidge...1923-1929
31. Herbert Hoover...1929-1933
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt...1933-1945
33. Harry S. Truman...1945-1953
34. Dwight D Eisenhower...1953-1961
35. John F. Kennedy...1961-1963 (Killed by an assassin's bullet)
36. Lyndon B. Johnson...1963-1969
37. Richard M. Nixon...1969-1974
38. Gerald R. Ford...1974-1977
39. Jimmy Carter...1977-1981
40. Ronald Reagan...1981-1989
41. George H.W. Bush...1989-1993
42. William J. Clinton...1993-2001

George W. Bush will be our forty third president.