January 31, 1879: Washington's Birthday Is Declared a Federal Holiday

January 31, 1879: Congress establishes the anniversary of the birth of the 1st President of the United States, George Washington, as a federal holiday: "Washington's Birthday."

Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, 70 miles south of the national capital that would be built at a site he chose and would be named after him. His great-grandfather, John Washington, had settled a plantation there in 1657, during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, between the reigns of the House of Stuart. His father, Augustine Washington, built what became the birth house there in 1718, during the reign of King George I of Britain. The future "Father of Our Country" was born there during the reign of King George II.

The house burned down on Christmas Day, December 25, 1779, during the War of the American Revolution, and thus during the reign of King George III. However, it appears to have been an accident, not the work of the British Army. The Memorial House was built on the site in 1932, to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of Washington's birth.

Washington's Birthday was celebrated on February 22 from 1879 until 1970. To give federal employees a three-day weekend, in 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved it to the 3rd Monday in February, which can occur between February 15 and 21, starting in 1971.

The day soon became known as Presidents(') Day -- the presence and placement of the apostrophe varies -- and provides an occasion to remember all the U.S. Presidents, to honor Abraham Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays together, or any single President of choice.

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky, 59 miles south of Louisville, in, yes, a log cabin. But the cabin in question had been dismantled at some point prior to his death from assassination on April 15, 1865. A replica was built in 1911.

Contrary to popular belief, Lincoln's Birthday has never been a federal holiday, although some States, including my own New Jersey, observed it as a State holiday. When I started in public school in 1975, we got both Lincoln's Birthday on February 12 and Washington's Birthday on the 3rd Monday in February off from school. By the time I reached junior high school in 1981, we were observing just one February holiday, Presidents Day.

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January 31, 1879 was a Friday. There were no scores on this day: Baseball and football were both out of season, basketball didn't exist yet, and hockey barely did.