President’s Day
Washington’s Birthday, known today as Presidents Day, begin as a federal holiday to honor George Washington’s birthday, the first president of the United States of America. The federal holiday was implemented by an Act of Congress in 1879 for government offices in Washington, DC and then expanded to all federal offices in 1885. The federal holiday was celebrated on February 22, the actual birthday of Washington but was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act on January 1, 1971. Presidents Day was started by President Richard Nixon to honor past presidents of the United States. Both Washington and Abraham Lincoln celebrated birthdays in February.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was president from 1789-1797 and died two years later in 1799 in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Virginia provided eight presidents in all, and four were the first five presidents, more than any other state.
On this Presidents Day, most banks, schools, state and federal government offices, post offices, libraries and courts are closed.
Learn more about the Presidents of the United States of America from Virginia here.
