Connect with your kids: Presidents Day @ your library
Your kids probably have school holiday on Monday, for what most of us know as Presidents Day, but did you know that the holiday is still on the federal calendar as George Washington’s Birthday?
Today many states choose to take this holiday to celebrate the contributions of all 43 men who have held the office.
But wait - 43 men? Don’t you mean 44? Read through our list of interesting facts and you and your kids will learn why.
Presidential Facts:
It is mathematically impossible for Presidents Day/Washington’s Birthday to fall on Washington's actual birthday. Since Washington’s Birthday is celebrated the third Monday of February, it can never be later then Feb. 21. Washington’s actual birthday is Feb. 22.
Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States, but there have been only 43 men who have held the title of U.S. president, since Grover Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and is counted twice.
In celebration of the United States Bicentennial, then-president Gerald R. Ford posthumously appointed George Washington General of the Armies of the United States, specifying that he would forever rank above all officers.
Washington is known as the “Father of his country,” however he never had any children of his own.
The college that has the most presidents as alumni is Harvard (John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush).
Ronald Reagan was the oldest president at the time he was elected (age 69) and John F. Kennedy was the youngest (age 43) when elected. However, Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest man to become president at 42 when he succeeded McKinley, who had been assassinated.
Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president at 6'4" and 
James Madison was a foot shorter, making him the shortest president at 5'4".
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the only two presidents to have signed the Declaration of Independence. They both died on the 50th anniversary of its signing. Jefferson’s last words were, “Is it the fourth?” While not knowing that Jefferson had already died, Adams is remembered as saying, “Thomas Jefferson still lives.”
Looking for more information on our nation's presidents? Check out these resources:
- So you want to be president?, written by Judith St. George and illustrated by David Small
-George Washington Loved Ice Cream and Other U.S. Presidential Fun Facts (National Geographic Kids)
-White House 101: Facts and Fun for All Ages (whitehouse.gov)
For more ideas on how you can spend quality family time with your kids, check out the Connect with your kids @ your library Family Activity Guide.
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