Today marks Presidents’ Day, a day known for celebrating both George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s combined February birthdays. Presidents’ Day was created in 1971, when President Richard Nixon combined the birthdays of two of our most well-known presidents into one single federal holiday. Presidents’ Day also marks a hard-earned day off from work and school for a lot of our patients at Dr. Paul J. Styrt, Specialists in Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry.
Here are a few fun facts about our nation’s presidents we thought you might enjoy:
*Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, supposedly carried letters, bills and notes in his tall stovepipe hat.
*George Washington is the first president to be featured on a postage stamp.
*Ronald Reagan, our 40th president, broke the so-called “20-year curse,” in which every president elected in a year ending in 0 died in office.
*Harry S. Truman was the first president to have his Inauguration and speeches televised.
*Not only was James A. Garfield the first president to be ambidextrous, but it was said he could write a sentence in Latin with one hand and write it in Greek with the other hand.
*Fourteen presidents served as vice presidents: J. Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, A. Johnson, Arthur, T. Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, Nixon, L. Johnson, Ford, and George H.W. Bush.
*Abraham Lincoln was the tallest of the U.S. presidents measuring 6’ 4” tall.
*Virginia is the birthplace of more United States presidents than any other state, followed by Ohio and Massachusetts.