George Washington’s birthday, often called “Presidents’ Day,” is a federal holiday in the USA, celebrated on the third Monday in February. Washington himself wasn’t born on a Monday, but celebrating the day on a Monday creates a three-day weekend for Americans.
What is closed on Presidents’ Day?When Are Most Presidents Born?
Most US presidents have so far been born on a Monday or on a Thursday. Both days have eight US presidents under their belt.
Finding the day of the week that most US presidents were born is not as easy as it seems. Believe me, I tried. While birthdays and birth months are widely published, weekdays are rarely listed. Luckily, our Weekday Calculator makes short work of it.
Born on a Monday
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Bill Clinton
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Ronald Reagan
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Gerald Ford
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Herbert Hoover
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Chester A. Arthur
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James K. Polk
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John Tyler
Born on a Thursday
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George H.W. Bush
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Richard Nixon
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Lyndon B. Johnson
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Harry Truman
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Calvin Coolidge
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Warren Harding
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Andrew Johnson
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Martin Van Buren
Friday Is Catching Up
So far, Monday and Thursday have been the leading presidential birthdays. But Friday is catching up—the last three US presidents were born on a Friday: Joe Biden (November 20, 1942), Donald Trump (June 14, 1946), and Barack Obama (August 4, 1961).
Never before have three consecutive US presidents been born on the same weekday. If the next US president is also born on a Friday, that would definitely surprise many people. Or a handful of people. Ok, just me.
Find the weekday for any dateAll US Presidents and Their Birthdays
Which president was born when? Which months, days, and weekdays are popular for a presidential birthday? Find out more in our big birthday table:
* Note: Washington’s birthday and all other birthdays in this table are according to the Gregorian calendar. Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, and Madison were all born before the British colonies switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752.
The Big Birthday Switcheroo: Washington’s Birthday
George Washington was not only the first US president, he was also the first president whose birthday has been switched and switched again.
Washington was born on a Thursday: February 11, 1731. He was born in Virginia, back then a colony of the British Empire. The British followed the Julian calendar and switched to the modern Gregorian calendar when Washington was 21 years old, in 1752.
The switch shifted dates by 11 days since that was the difference between the Julian and the Gregorian calendars. Washington’s birthday became a Friday: February 22, 1732. Yes, they also added a year because this date lay between January and March… It’s complicated.
When the US Congress decided it wanted to celebrate the first president’s birthday in 1885, February 22 was a Sunday. In the following years, Washington’s Birthday was celebrated on different weekdays.
In 1971, the US Congress changed Washington’s Birthday to the third Monday in February to create a three-day weekend. Congress didn’t target Washington specifically; the act also changed the dates for Memorial Day and Columbus Day, as well as Veterans Day (although the latter was changed back in 1978).