Feb 18, 2007 - 03:59:43 CST
Monday is, officially, Washington's birthday. And it isn't.George Washington, America's first elected president under the U.S. Constitution, was born on Feb. 11, 1732.
At least, according to the inaccurate Julian calendar, which was still used by many at the time of Washington's birth.
Under the more accurate Gregorian calendar, which also was used at the time (and is our current calendar today), Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732.
In 1796, when people first celebrated Washington's birthday as a way to honor the revered American hero, some held festivities on Feb. 11 while others waited until Feb. 22.
Eventually, the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian and everyone settled on Feb. 22 as a national holiday to honor Washington.
Then, Abraham Lincoln came along.
He was born on Feb. 11, 1809, and people began celebrating Lincoln's birthday in 1866, following his assassination the year before. For many years, Lincoln's birthday was celebrated as a legal holiday in several states. But, unlike Washington's birthday, it never rose to the level of a federal holiday.
Until 1968.
That year, Congress passed legislation making the third Monday in February the official federal holiday for Washington's birthday, regardless of whether the day fell on Feb. 22 or not.
Officially, the holiday is known as Washington's Birthday, but it has become popularly known as Presidents Day to honor both Washington and Lincoln. In recent years, it has come to be known as a day to celebrate all presidents.
In honor of Presidents Day, I've compiled a collection of Web sites that offer general information about the holiday and the two primary presidents honored (Washington and Lincoln), as well as sites with interesting information linked to various presidents.
Presidential biographies
www.whitehouse.gov/history/ presidents
Solid, short, authoritative biographies of the nation's presidents, presented at the official White House Web site.
Presidential libraries
Below are the official Web sites of the existing presidential libraries in the U.S. Many offer great online exhibits and tours focusing on specific aspects of the particular president:
3 Herbert Hoover: www.hoover.archives.gov
3 Franklin D. Roosevelt: www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu
3 Harry S. Truman: www.trumanlibrary.org
3 Dwight D. Eisenhower: www.eisenhower.archives.gov
3 John F. Kennedy: www.jfklibrary.org
3 Lyndon B. Johnson: www.lbjlib.utexas.edu
3 Richard M. Nixon: www.nixon.archives.gov
3 Gerald R. Ford: www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov
3 Jimmy Carter: www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov
3 Ronald Reagan: www.reagan.utexas.edu
3 George W. Bush: www.bushlibrary.tamu.edu
3 William J. Clinton: www.clintonlibrary.gov
When Elvis met Nixon
www.archives.gov/exhibits/when_nixon_met_elvis/index.html
An interesting online exhibit from the National Archives, chronicling the short December 1970 meeting between President Nixon and pop music icon Elvis Presley. See all the photos from the meeting and read Presley's handwritten note requesting the meeting. You also can browse the White House memos and notes surrounding the occasion.
Presidential recordings
www.archive.org/details/presidential_recordings
Listen to and download public speeches by presidents as well as secret White House recordings made by Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Listen in on phone conversations and meetings and discover what went in to making several important presidential decisions.
Vincent Voice Library
www.lib.msu.edu/vincent/presidents/index.htm
Listen to and download numerous public speeches by 20th century presidents, from Benjamin Harrison to George W. Bush. It's a little weird to actually hear the voices of Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley and others you know only through silent films and photographs. Teddy Roosevelt, especially, sounds nothing like I imagined based on his words and pictures.
(Keith Darnay is the webmaster and designer for bismarcktribune.com. His Web site, featuring this column going back to 1995, is at www.darnay.com.iec.)
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