President's Day

Today we celebrate the services of the American Presidents. Two of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, were born in February (Lincoln February 12, 1809 and George Washington February 22, 1732).

I'm old enough to remember that once upon a time, we celebrated these days as separate events. Then, at some point it was decided to combine the two days into one and make it a Federal Holiday on the third Monday in February. If I had to guess, I would think that most people don't even consider what the day is all about. They are just happy to have the day off. 

Today we celebrate Presidents Day. We usually think of Lincoln and Washington on Presidents Day, but it's really a day to remember the 44 men who have been elected to the highest office an American can aspire to. Some of our presidents are very well known, such as Washington and Lincoln. Others are less well known. Who really remembers Chester Alan Arthur or Franklin Pierce? What do Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton have in common? How many were related to one another? How many were actually born in a log cabin? How many began life dirt poor and how many came from privileged backgrounds? Do you know which president's wife was accused of bigamy? We tend to know the most about the more current presidents, and the more famous and less about past presidents who didn't do much while in office or didn't suffer from scandal-ridden terms.

There are many sites on the Internet where you can find more information on all the presidents. This is just one, and includes all 44 men who served as president from Washington to Obama.

An interesting fact: some people claim that Washington was not the first president, but the second. Do you know the name of the name who some consider the first president?