Before 1971, both February 12 and February 22 were observed as federal public holidays to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22).
In 1971 President Richard Nixon proclaimed one single federal public holiday, Presidents Day, to be observed on the third Monday of February, honoring all past presidents of the United States of America.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT PRESIDENTS
Who was the only President who did not win election to either the office of Vice President or President?.... Ford.
Who was the only President who had served as Speaker of the House?.... Polk.
Who was the largest President?.... Taft, who stood about 6 feet tall and weighed more than 300 pounds.
Who was the shortest?.... James Madison, at 5 feet 4 inches, was our shortest president.
Who was the only President to serve two nonconsecutive terms?.... Cleveland.
Who held the first regular presidential press conferences?.... Wilson.
Which President was sworn into office on an airplane?.... Lyndon B. Johnson.
Who was the only person to serve as both President and chief justice?.... Taft.
Which president was sworn into office by a woman?.... Lyndon B. Johnson by Judge Sarah T. Hughes.
Four Presidents have been elected whose closest opponent received more popular votes. Who were the Presidents?.... John Quincy Adams, election of 1824; Hayes, 1876; Benjamin Harrison, 1888 and George W. Bush, 2000.
Who was the first President to visit a foreign country while in office?.... Theodore Roosevelt.
Which Presidents are buried in Arlington National Cemetery?.... Taft and Kennedy.
Who were the only grandfather and grandson who both served as President?.... W. H. Harrison and B. Harrison.
Who were the only Presidents to be sworn into office by a former President?.... Coolidge and Hoover (by Taft).
Which President never married?.... Buchanan.
Who were the "two" father and son pairs who both served as President?.... John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and more recently George H. Bush and George W. Bush.
What two former Presidents died on the same day?... John Adams and Jefferson.
Which Presidents lived past the age of 90?.... John Adams and Hoover.
What President lived the shortest time?.... Kennedy, 46 years.
Who was the only former Vice President who became President but did not succeed the President under whom he served?.... Nixon.
Which President had the most children?.... Tyler, 15.
Who was the first President to live in the White House?.... John Adams.
Who was the first President to be inaugurated in Washington, DC?.... Jefferson.
Who was the first President to speak on radio?.... Wilson.
Who was the first President to speak on television?.... F. D. Roosevelt.
What two Presidents died in the White House?.... W. H. Harrison and Taylor.
Which President served the shortest time in office?.... W. H. Harrison, one month, 1841.
Which President served the longest?.... F. D. Roosevelt, 12 years, 1 month, 8 days.
Which President received the greatest number of electoral votes?.... Reagan in 1984, 525.
Which Presidents signed the Constitution?.... Washington, Madison.
Who was the only President who had a child born in the White House?.... Cleveland, in 1893.
Which Presidents were assassinated?.... Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy.
What other Presidents died in office?.... W. H. Harrison, Taylor, Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Which Presidents died on the Fourth of July?.... Jefferson, 1826; John Adams, 1826; and Monroe, 1831.
Who was the first President born after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution?.... Tyler.
Who was the first President to ride on a railroad train?.... Jackson.
Who was the only President to resign?.... Nixon.
Which Presidents served as university presidents before their election to the U.S. Presidency?.... Wilson (Princeton) and Eisenhower (Columbia).
Who was the first President nominated by a national political convention?.... Jackson.
Who was the youngest person ever to become President?.... T. Roosevelt, 42.
Who was the youngest person ever elected President?.... Kennedy, 43.
Who was the oldest person ever elected President?.... Reagan, 73.
More Presidential Trivia
George W. Bush is cited as our 43rd President, but there have actually only been 42: Grover Cleveland is the only one to have been elected to two non-consecutive terms, in 1885 and 1893.
Gerald Ford is the only President to never have been elected to the Presidency, or Vice Presidency. In 1973, he replaced Spiro Agnew as VP for Richard Nixon (1969-1974) when Agnew resigned. When Nixon resigned amidst the Watergate scandal, Ford became President. He then appointed Nelson Rockefeller as his Vice President. Thus, from 1974 to 1976, neither the President nor Vice President had been elected.
Before Bill Clinton (1993-2001), no President had won the seat without winning over the state of Texas.
Nine Presidents never attended college: George Washington (1789-97), Andrew Jackson (1829-37), Martin Van Buren (1837-41), Zachary Taylor (1849-50), Millard Fillmore (1850-53), Abraham Lincoln (1861-65), Andrew Johnson (1865-69), Grover Cleveland (1885-1889; 1893-97), and Harry S. Truman (1945-53).
The oldest President elected was Ronald Reagan (1981-89; elected at age 69); the youngest was John F. Kennedy (1961-63; elected at age 43). But Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) was the youngest man to become President — he was 42 when he succeeded William McKinley (1897-1901), who had been assassinated.
James Buchanan (1857-61) was the only bachelor President never to marry. Five presidents remarried after the death of their first wives — two of whom, John Tyler (1841-45) and Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921), remarried while in the White House. Reagan was the only divorced president (he was married to Jane Wyman from 1940-48; he remarried to First Lady Nancy in 1952).
Four Presidents were assassinated while in office: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy.
Eight Presidents died while in office: William Harrison (1841; of pneumonia, after having served only one month), Zachary Taylor (1849-50; of an illness), Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Warren Harding (1921-23; of a heart attack), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45; of a cerebral hemorrhage), and John F. Kennedy.
Nine Presidents are displayed on U.S. Currency: George Washington (on the quarter), Thomas Jefferson (on the nickel), Abraham Lincoln (on the penny), Andrew Jackson (on the $20 bill), Ulysses S. Grant (on the $50 bill), William McKinley (on the $500 bill, no longer in currency since 1969), Grover Cleveland (on the $1,000 bill, no longer in currency since 1969), James Madison (on the $5,000 bill, no longer in currency since 1969), and Woodrow Wilson (on the $100,000 bill, no longer in currency since 1935).
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