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<\/figure>\nThere have been 46 U.S. Presidents. The tallest was Abraham Lincoln at 6\u20194\u201d and shortest was James Madison at 5\u20194\u201d.<\/p>\n
The heaviest President was William Howard Taft at 332 lbs.<\/p>\n
Four died in office: Harrison, Taylor, Harding, Franklin Roosevelt. Four were assassinated: Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy. One resigned, Nixon.<\/p>\n
The youngest elected President was John F. Kennedy, at age 43, but the youngest to serve was actually Theodore Roosevelt, who assumed the office at age 42, when William McKinley was assassinated.<\/p>\n
The oldest person to be President was Joe Biden at age 78.<\/p>\n
But did you know President\u2019s Day is actually George Washington\u2019s Birthday?<\/p>\n
Washington\u2019s birthday was recognized by an Act of Congress for government offices in Washington, D.C., in 1879, and for all federal offices in 1885.<\/p>\n
In 1971, the\u00a0Uniform Monday Holiday Act\u00a0<\/strong>to create more three day weekends\u00a0moved the observance of Washington\u2019s birthday<\/strong>\u00a0to the\u00a0third Monday in\u00a0<\/strong>February.<\/p>\n As\u00a0Abraham Lincoln<\/strong>\u00a0was also born in\u00a0February,<\/strong>\u00a0so many States include him in the observance, and still other States include all the Presidents.<\/p>\n George Washington<\/strong>\u00a0was born FEBRUARY 22, 1732. He was;<\/p>\n George Washington<\/strong>\u00a0was an Anglican, and, after the Revolution, an Episcopalian.<\/p>\n George\u2019s great-great-grandfather,<\/strong>\u00a0Rev. Lawrence Washington,<\/strong>\u00a0was an\u00a0Anglican minister<\/strong>\u00a0who taught at Oxford.<\/p>\n Lawrence\u00a0<\/strong>and his wife,\u00a0Amphyllis Twigen,\u00a0<\/strong>had a son named\u00a0John.<\/strong><\/p>\n When the\u00a0Puritans<\/strong>\u00a0won the\u00a0English Civil War<\/strong>\u00a0in 1651,\u00a0Anglican ministers<\/strong>\u00a0were demoted.\u00a0Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0was reduced to being an assistant minister \u2013 a vicar \u2013 at an impoverished parish in Essex, England.<\/p>\n It was during this time that\u00a0John Washington,<\/strong>\u00a0George Washington\u2019s great-grandfather,\u00a0<\/strong>apprenticed as a merchant in London.<\/p>\n He sailed as second officer on a ship to the\u00a0Colony of Virginia<\/strong>\u00a0to purchase tobacco.<\/p>\n In 1657, when a storm partially\u00a0sank their vessel<\/strong>\u00a0in the Potomac River,\u00a0John<\/strong>\u00a0swam ashore.<\/p>\n While the ship was being repaired,\u00a0John<\/strong>\u00a0stayed at the home of a planter\u00a0Colonel Nathaniel Pope,<\/strong>\u00a0and fell in love with his daughter,\u00a0Anne. John<\/strong>\u00a0never returned to England.<\/p>\n John and Anne<\/strong>\u00a0married, and her father gave them 700 acres in\u00a0Westmoreland County.<\/strong><\/p>\n John Washington<\/strong>\u00a0became a successful planter and a member of the\u00a0Virginia House of Burgesses.<\/strong><\/p>\n He was\u00a0a militia leader\u00a0<\/strong>during\u00a0Nathaniel Bacon\u2019s Rebellion<\/strong>\u00a0against Governor William Berkeley in 1676.<\/p>\n A local Anglican church was renamed \u201cWashington\u201d in honor of\u00a0John Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n When\u00a0John\u00a0<\/strong>died, he left to the church a tablet of the Ten Commandments. His Will stated:<\/p>\n \u201cIn the\u00a0Name of God,<\/strong>\u00a0Amen. I,\u00a0John Washington,<\/strong>\u00a0of Washington Parish, in the\u00a0County of Westmoreland,<\/strong>\u00a0in Virginia, gentleman, being of good and perfect memory, thanks be unto\u00a0Almighty God<\/strong>\u00a0for it,<\/p>\n and calling to remembrance the uncertain state of this transitory life, that all flesh must yield unto death, do make, constitute, and ordain this\u00a0my last will and testament \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2026 First, being heartily sorry, from the bottom of my heart, for my sins past, most humbly desiring forgiveness of the same from the\u00a0Almighty God, my Savior and Redeemer,\u00a0<\/strong>in whom and by the merits of\u00a0Jesus Christ,<\/strong>\u00a0I trust and believe assuredly to be saved, and to have full remission and forgiveness of all my sins,<\/p>\n and that my soul with my body at the general resurrection shall rise again with joy.\u201d<\/p>\n The oldest of John Washington\u2019s sons was\u00a0Lawrence,<\/strong>\u00a0the\u00a0grandfather of George Washington.<\/strong><\/p>\n Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0married\u00a0Mildred Warner,<\/strong>\u00a0the daughter of\u00a0Col. Augustine Warner, Jr.,<\/strong>\u00a0an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II.<\/p>\n Lawrence and Mildred<\/strong>\u00a0had three children, the second being\u00a0Augustine,<\/strong>\u00a0who would become\u00a0George Washington\u2019s father.<\/strong><\/p>\n When\u00a0Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0died in 1698,\u00a0Mildred<\/strong>\u00a0married\u00a0George Gale<\/strong>\u00a0and moved\u00a0back to England<\/strong>\u00a0with her children.<\/p>\n When\u00a0Mildred<\/strong>\u00a0died, a relative in America petitioned to get custody of her children, including\u00a0Augustine,<\/strong>\u00a0and they were\u00a0returned to Virginia in 1704.<\/strong><\/p>\n Augustine Washington<\/strong>\u00a0served as a\u00a0vestryman<\/strong>\u00a0in the\u00a0Anglican Truro Parish.<\/strong><\/p>\n He and his wife\u00a0Jane Butler<\/strong>\u00a0had two sons live to adulthood,\u00a0Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Augustine Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n Both\u00a0Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Augustine, Jr.,\u00a0<\/strong>went\u00a0back to England<\/strong>\u00a0to study at the prestigious\u00a0Appleby Grammar School.<\/strong><\/p>\n Jane<\/strong>\u00a0died in 1729.<\/p>\n Augustine\u00a0<\/strong>married\u00a0Mary Ball<\/strong>\u00a0in 1731, and together they had 6 children, with the oldest,\u00a0George Washington,\u00a0<\/strong>being born\u00a0February 22, 1732.<\/strong><\/p>\n Augustine<\/strong>\u00a0died in 1743 when\u00a0George<\/strong>\u00a0was only 11-years-old.<\/p>\n George hand copied the\u00a0Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation,<\/em>\u00a01744, which included Rule #110:<\/p>\n \u201cLabor to keep alive in your breast that\u00a0little spark of celestial fire<\/strong>\u00a0called\u00a0conscience.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n George\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0older\u00a0half-brother Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0fought in the\u00a0British navy<\/strong>\u00a0under\u00a0Admiral Edward Vernon,<\/strong>\u00a0who had captured\u00a0Porto Bello, Panama,<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Spain<\/strong>\u00a0in 1739.<\/p>\n When\u00a0Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0returned to\u00a0Virginia<\/strong>\u00a0in 1742, he named his farm after his navy\u00a0Admiral<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Mount Vernon.<\/strong><\/p>\n Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0married\u00a0Anne Fairfax.<\/strong><\/p>\n Her father,\u00a0Col. William Fairfax,<\/strong>\u00a0had been Collector of Customs in\u00a0Barbados,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Chief Justice and Governor of the Bahamas,<\/strong>\u00a0as well as a first cousin of\u00a0Thomas Fairfax,<\/strong>\u00a0who was\u00a0the largest land owner in America<\/strong>\u00a0with five million acres.<\/p>\n Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0arranged for\u00a0George,<\/strong>\u00a0at age 15, to begin a\u00a0career in the British navy<\/strong>\u00a0as a cabin boy, but his mother,\u00a0Mary Ball Washington,<\/strong>\u00a0refused.<\/p>\n George<\/strong>\u00a0complied with his mother\u2019s wishes and returned home.<\/p>\n In 1748, the 16-year-old\u00a0George Washington<\/strong>\u00a0was employed by\u00a0Thomas Fairfax<\/strong>\u00a0to survey the western area of his vast estate.<\/p>\n In 1751,\u00a0Lawrence Washington<\/strong>\u00a0contracted tuberculosis.<\/p>\n In hopes that a change of climate would help him recover, doctors recommended he travel to\u00a0Barbados,<\/strong>\u00a0where his father-in-law had been Collector of Customs.<\/p>\n He brought along his 17-year-old half-brother\u00a0George.<\/strong><\/p>\n In\u00a0Barbados,<\/strong>\u00a0George<\/strong>\u00a0contracted\u00a0smallpox,<\/strong>\u00a0but recovered. This providentially\u00a0inoculated George<\/strong>\u00a0so that he was immune during the\u00a0Revolutionary War,<\/strong>\u00a0where it is estimated that\u00a0more soldiers died of smallpox than in battle.<\/strong><\/p>\n Lawrence<\/strong>\u00a0died in 1752 and his Mount Vernon estate eventually was inherited by\u00a0George,<\/strong>\u00a0making him one of the youngest and largest landowners in Virginia.<\/p>\n George<\/strong>\u00a0became vestryman in\u00a0Truro Parish,<\/strong>\u00a0and was godfather in baptism to several nephews and a niece.<\/p>\n From 1753-1758,\u00a0George<\/strong>\u00a0served in the\u00a0French and Indian War.<\/strong><\/p>\n He was a colonel under\u00a0General Edward Braddock,\u00a0<\/strong>Commander of the British forces in America.<\/p>\n George<\/strong>\u00a0miraculously survived the\u00a0Battle of Monongehela<\/strong>\u00a0in 1755.Braddock<\/strong>\u00a0was killed, leaving George in command.<\/p>\n On July 18, 1755,\u00a0Washington<\/strong>\u00a0wrote from Fort Cumberland to his brother,\u00a0John A. Washington:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBy the\u00a0All-Powerful Dispensations of Providence,<\/strong>\u00a0I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had\u00a0four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me,\u00a0<\/strong>yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!\u201d<\/p>\n Colonel Washington<\/strong>\u00a0wrote to Fort Loudoun, April 17, 1758:<\/p>\n \u201cThe last Assembly \u2026 provided for a chaplain to our regiment. On this subject I had often without any success applied to Governor Dinwiddie. I now flatter myself, that your honor will be pleased to appoint a sober, serious man for this duty. Common decency, Sir, in a camp calls for the services of a divine.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1759,\u00a0George<\/strong>\u00a0fell in love\u00a0Martha \u201cPatsy\u201d Dandridge Custis,<\/strong>\u00a0a 26-year-old widow and mother with two children,\u00a0John \u201cJacky\u201d Parke Custis<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Martha \u201cPatsy\u201d Parke Custis.<\/strong><\/p>\n Martha<\/strong>\u00a0had inherited five plantations totaling 17,500 acres.<\/p>\n Martha\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0daughter\u00a0Patsy<\/strong>\u00a0died at age 16 of an\u00a0epileptic seizure<\/strong>\u00a0in 1773, while\u00a0George<\/strong>\u00a0held her in his arms. He wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cThe sweet, innocent girl entered into a more happy and peaceful abode than she had met in the afflicted path she had hitherto trod.\u201d<\/p>\n In 1775, after the Battle of Bunker Hill,\u00a0George Washington<\/strong>\u00a0was commissioned as the\u00a0General of the Continental Army.<\/strong><\/p>\n He wrote to\u00a0Martha,<\/strong>\u00a0June 18, 1775:<\/p>\n \u201cMy Dearest \u2026 It has been determined in Congress, that\u00a0the whole army raised for the defense of the American cause shall be put under my care,<\/strong>\u00a0and that it is necessary for me to proceed\u00a0immediately to Boston<\/strong>\u00a0to take up command of it.<\/p>\n You may believe me, my dear\u00a0Patsy,<\/strong>\u00a0when I assure you, in the most solemn manner that, so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my power to avoid it \u2026<\/p>\n But as it has been\u00a0a kind of Destiny,<\/strong>\u00a0that has thrown me upon\u00a0this service,<\/strong>\u00a0I shall hope that my undertaking it\u00a0is designed to answer some good purpose \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I shall rely, therefore, confidently on that\u00a0Providence<\/strong>\u00a0which<\/strong>\u00a0has heretofore\u00a0preserved<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0been bountiful to me,<\/strong>\u00a0not doubting but that I shall return safely to you in the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n On July 4, 1775,\u00a0General Washington<\/strong>\u00a0ordered:<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0General<\/strong>\u00a0\u2026 requires \u2026 observance of those articles of war \u2026 which forbid profane cursing, swearing and drunkenness; And \u2026 requires \u2026 punctual attendance of Divine Services.\u201d<\/p>\n On October 2, 1775,\u00a0General George Washington<\/strong>\u00a0issued the order:<\/p>\n \u201cAny \u2026 soldier who shall hereafter be detected playing at toss-up, pitch, and hustle, or any other games of chance \u2026 shall without delay be confined and punished \u2026<\/p>\n The General does not mean by the above to discourage sports of exercise or recreation, he only means to discountenance and punish gaming.\u201d<\/p>\n On February 26, 1776,\u00a0General Washington<\/strong>\u00a0issued the orders:<\/p>\n \u201cAll \u2026 soldiers are positively forbid playing at cards and other games of chance. At this time of public distress men may find enough to do in the service of their God and their country, without abandoning themselves to vice and immorality.\u201d<\/p>\n Washington<\/strong>\u00a0acknowledged God throughout the Revolution, as he wrote on May 15, 1776:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Continental Congress having ordered Friday the 17th instant to be observed as\u00a0a day of fasting,\u00a0<\/strong>humiliation, and prayer, humbly to supplicate\u00a0the mercy of Almighty God,<\/strong><\/p>\n that it would please Him to pardon all our manifold sins and transgressions<\/strong>, and to prosper the arms of the United Colonies, and finally establish the peace and freedom of America upon a solid and lasting foundation;<\/p>\n the General commands all officers and soldiers to pay strict obedience to the orders of the Continental Congress;<\/p>\n that, by their unfeigned and pious observance of their religious duties, they may incline\u00a0the Lord and Giver of victory<\/strong>\u00a0to prosper our arms.\u201d<\/p>\n On July 2, 1776, from his Head Quarters in New York,\u00a0General Washington<\/strong>\u00a0issued his General Orders:<\/p>\n \u201cThe time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own;<\/p>\n whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them.<\/p>\n The fate of\u00a0unborn millions<\/strong>\u00a0will now depend,\u00a0under God,<\/strong>\u00a0on the courage and conduct of this army.<\/p>\n Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission.\u00a0We have, therefore to resolve to conquer or die \u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n He continued:<\/p>\n \u201cOur own country\u2019s honor calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and\u00a0if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world.<\/strong><\/p>\n Let us rely\u00a0<\/strong>upon the goodness of the cause, and\u00a0the aid of the Supreme Being in whose hands victory is,<\/strong>\u00a0to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions.\u201d<\/p>\n When the\u00a0Declaration of Independence\u00a0<\/strong>was written, a copy was rushed out to\u00a0Washington,<\/strong>\u00a0who was fortifying New York City.<\/p>\n He had it read to his troops, then ordered chaplains placed in each regiment, stating July 9, 1776:<\/p>\n \u201cThe General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a\u00a0\n