Presidents Day is right around the corner in the U.S., but most of us are thinking about the Super Bowl right now. So, since Presidents Day is on February 21, 2022, here are 21 fun facts about Presidents (and bonus the National Parks) that won’t take away your time enjoying the Super Bowl! Thanks to Encyclopedia Britannica
and the National Parks Foundation for most of the info!
1. The U.S. celebrates Presidents Day on the third Monday in February, thanks to the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
2. It was established in 1885 in honor of President George Washington’s birthday
3. Washington’s birthday was on February 22, 1732 (this would be his 282nd birthday!)
4. Washington’s birthplace is a national monument and is located in Colonial Beach, VA
5. It is still officially called Washington’s Birthday by the federal government
6. The government debated renaming the holiday to Presidents Day to include President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, but the proposal failed in committees.
7. Lincoln’s birthday was on February 12, 1809 (this would be his 205th birthday!)
8. Lincoln’s birthplace is a national historical park and is located in Hodgenville, Kentucky
9. President Ulysses S. Grant established Yellowstone as the first national park.
10.President Theodore Roosevelt has the most national parks named in his honor (Lincoln is a close runner-up for that title).
11.Roosevelt’s birthplace is a national historic site and is located in New York City, NY.
12.Adams National Historical Park was the birthplace of two presidents: John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
13.The most recent presidential birthplace added to the National Park System belonged to William Jefferson Clinton.
14.There are 35 parks named after American Presidents, and one park that celebrates four of them (but it’s named after a New York attorney).
15.Warrant G. Harding was the first President to be heard on the radio on June 14, 1922 (but Calvin Coolidge was the first President to give a speech on the radio in 1925).
16.Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was the only U.S. president to serve for more than two terms. In 1947, the 22nd Amendment was passed limiting a president to two terms.
17.FDR was also the first president to appear on (black and white) television on April 30, 1939 - for the opening ceremony for the World’s Fair.
18.There were 11 presidents with a disability. Find out who they are on Inc.com.
19. Eight presidents have died in office - William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy (JFK).
20. The smallest was James Madison - 100 lbs. and 5’ 4”. The biggest was William Howard Taft at over 330 lbs. The tallest president was Abraham Lincoln at 6’ 5”.
21.The youngest elected president was JFK who was 43, but the youngest to serve was Theodor Roosevelt, who was 42 when he became president after McKinley was assassinated. The oldest president is Joe Biden at 78.
