The History and Origins of Presidents Day Holiday in the United States

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PRESIDENTS DAY - FEBRUARY 20, 2006

The White House The History and Origins of Presidents Day Holiday in the United States

America's presidents have represented many states, held different occupations and faced difficult challenges. Until 1971, both February 12 and February 22 were observed as federal holidays to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) and George Washington (Feb. 22). In 1971 President Richard Nixon proclaimed one single federal holiday, the Presidents' Day, to be observed on the third Monday of February, honoring all past presidents of the United States of America.

READ MORE ABOUT THE U.S. PRESIDENTS

The Presidents of the United States

43rd President of the United States of America, George W. Bush

U.S. Presidents - United on Service (a White House webpage for kids)

Presidential Biographies

Historical photographs of the Presidents and First Ladies in rooms of the White House

THE OVAL OFFICE

Of the 43 presidents, only 17 have occupied the Oval Office

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Biographies of U.S. Presidents - 1789 to Present
Washington, George 1789-97	Buchanan, James 1857-61	Harding, Warren 1921-23
Adams, John 1797-1801	Lincoln, Abraham 1861-65	Coolidge, Calvin 1923-29
Jefferson, Thomas 1801-09	Johnson, Andrew 1865-69	Hoover, Herbert 1929-33
Madison, James 1809-17	Grant, Ulysses S. 1869-77	Roosevelt, Franklin D. 1933-45
Monroe, James 1817-25	Hayes, Rutherford B. 1877-81	Truman, Harry 1945-53
Adams, John Quincy 1825-29	Garfield, James 1881	Eisenhower, Dwight 1953-61
Jackson, Andrew 1829-37	Arthur, Chester 1881-85	Kennedy, John F. 1961-63
Van Buren, Martin 1837-41	Cleveland, Grover 1885-89	Johnson, Lyndon 1963-69
Harrison, William Henry 1841	Harrison, Benjamin 1889-93	Nixon, Richard 1969-74
Tyler, John 1841-45	Cleveland, Grover 1893-97	Ford, Gerald 1974-77
Polk, James 1845-49	McKinley, William 1897-1901	Carter, Jimmy 1977-81
Taylor, Zachary 1849-50	Roosevelt, Theodore 1901-09	Reagan, Ronald 1981-89
Fillmore, Millard 1850-53	Taft, William H. 1909-13	Bush, George H.W. 1989-93
Pierce, Franklin 1853-57	Wilson, Woodrow 1913-21	Clinton, William J. 1993-2001
		Bush, George W. 2001-present

The President biographies presented here are from the book The Presidents of the United States of America written by Frank Freidel and Hugh S. Sidey (contributing author), published by the White House Historical Association with the cooperation of the National Geographic Society.