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Presidents’ Day first began as a national holiday in 1885 in honor of George Washington’s birthday (February 22), but was later moved to the third Monday in February and commonly celebrates all American presidents.
The holiday is officially known as “Washington’s Birthday,” but is referred to by its more popular name in part because three other presidents—William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan—also share February birthdays.
In honor of this federal holiday, here are some interesting facts about our presidents.
- Gerald Ford was a model, and Ronald Reagan an actor, in their lives before president
- Four presidents—Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama—have received the Nobel Peace Prize
- Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to name a woman to his cabinet; Frances Perkins Wilson served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945
- Trump was elected at 70 years old, making him our oldest elected president. The youngest elected president was John F. Kennedy, at 43
- Franklin D. Roosevelt served the longest term in U.S. history, 12 years and 1 month
- At 5-foot-4 and 100 pounds, James Madison has been our smallest president
- Bill Clinton has two Grammy awards
- The official candy of the White House is M&Ms
- Trump is the 45th president but only the 44th man to hold the position (Grover Cleveland served nonconsecutive terms as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States)
- The White House website was launched during Bill Clinton’s presidency