Presidents’ Day, officially Washington’s Birthday, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served in the office of president of the United States.
The federal holiday specifically honors George Washington, who led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War.
Washington’s Birthday was the first federal holiday to honor an individual’s birth date.
In 1885, Congress designated February 22 as a holiday for all federal workers.
Nearly a century later, in 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Law changed the date to the third Monday in February.
The position of the holiday between the birthdays of Washington and Abraham Lincoln gave rise to the popular name of Presidents Day.
Explore selected documents and images from the National Archives Catalog related to Washington’s Birthday.
