Leto Adult School

There have been 45 individuals who have served as President of the United States, even though the country has had 47 presidencies. This is because Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump each served non‑consecutive terms, so they are counted twice in the official numbering.

Presidents Day began as a holiday to honor George Washington, the first U.S. president. His birthday, February 22, was first celebrated as a federal holiday in 1879, and this made Washington one of the earliest individuals to be officially recognized with a national holiday in the United States.

As time passed, many states also celebrated the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president born on February 12 who led the country during the Civil War, although Lincoln’s birthday was never made a federal holiday.

In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Washington’s Birthday to the third Monday in February and placed it close to Lincoln’s birthday. This change encouraged people to think of the day as honoring both Washington and Lincoln, and eventually many states and the general public began calling it Presidents Day to celebrate more than one president. Even though the federal government still officially recognizes the day as Washington’s Birthday, most Americans now use the more common name, Presidents Day, and think of it as a time to reflect on the contributions of Washington, Lincoln, and all of the U.S. presidents.