The first formal observance of Lincoln's birthday took place in 1865, when both houses of Congress gathered for a memorial address. While Lincoln's Birthday did not become a federal holiday like George Washington's, it did become a legal holiday in several states. In 1971 President Richard Nixon proclaimed one single federal holiday, the Presidents' Day, to be observed on the third Monday of February, honoring all past presidents of the United States of America. |
click each picture to visit the Internet Public Library page for
that President<
Presidential Portraits by Chas Fagan
 George Washington 1789-1797 |
 John Adams 1797-1801 |
 Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809 |
 James Madison 1809-1817 |
 James Monroe 1817-1825 |
 John Quincy Adams 1825-1829 |
 Andrew Jackson 1829-1837 |
 Martin Van Buren 1837-1841 |
 William H. Harrison 1841 |
 John Tyler 1841-1845 |
 James Polk 1845-1849 |
 Zachary Taylor 1849-1850 |
 Millard Fillmore 1850-1853 |
 Franklin Pierce 1853-1857 |
 James Buchanan 1857-1861 |
 Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865 |
 Andrew Johnson 1865-1869 |
 Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877 |
 Rutherford B. Hayes 1877-1881 |
 James Garfield 1881 |
 Chester Arthur 1881-1885 |
 Grover Cleveland 1885-1889 |
 Benjamin Harrison 1889-1893 |
Grover Cleveland 1893-1897 |
 William McKinley 1897-1901 |
 Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 |
 William H. Taft 1909-1913 |
 Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921 |
 Warren Harding 1921-1923 |
 Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929 |
 Herbert Hoover 1929-1933 |
 Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945 |
 Harry S. Truman 1945-1953 |
 Dwight Eisenhower 1953-1961 |
 John F. Kennedy 1961-1963 |
 Lyndon Johnson 1963-1969 |
 Richard Nixon 1969-1974 |
 Gerald Ford 1974-1977 |
 James Carter 1977-1981 |
 Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 |
 George Bush 1989-1993 |
 William Clinton 1993-2001 |
 George W. Bush 2001-present |
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Construction of the President's House began when the first
cornerstone was laid in October of 1792. Although President
Washington oversaw the construction of the house, he never lived
in it. It was not until 1800 that its first residents,
President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, moved in. Since
that time, each President has made his own changes and additions.
The house has survived a fire at the hands of the British in 1814 and another fire in the West Wing in 1929. Throughout much of Harry Truman’s presidency, the interior of the house, with the exception of the third floor, was completely gutted and renovated. The exterior stone walls are those first put in place when the White House was constructed. There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels in the residence. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators. For recreation there is a variety of facilities available: including a tennis court, jogging track, swimming pool, movie theater, and bowling lane. The White House is open to the public, free of charge, and receives an average of 5,000 visitors a day. Nevertheless, it is the President’s private home.
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The Presidential Seal has not always been as we recognize it
today. Originally it was fixed featuring a coat of arms similar to the one found on
The Great Seal of the United States, with an eagle clutching
thirteen arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other.
Prior to 1945, however, the coat of arms of the presidential
seal bore a marked difference to the coat of arms of The Great
Seal of the United States. The eagle on the presidential
seal faced to the viewer's right, towards the talon with the
arrows, while the eagle on the Great Seal faced toward the viewer's
left, toward the talon with the olive branches.
One morning, standing at his desk, President Truman presented to the press a new presidential flag ... "This new flag faces the eagle toward the staff," Truman explained, "which is looking to the front all the time when you are on the march, and also has him looking at the olive branch for peace, instead of the arrows for war ..." On October 25, 1945 President Truman issued Executive Order 9646. This order made several alterations to the presidential flag and seal, among which was the reversal of the eagle's head so that it pointed in the same direction as the one on the Great Seal. The new seal featured an eagle facing to it's right, the direction of honor; and toward the olive branches in it's right talon, symbolizing peace. The former design, first used in 1880 by President Rutherford B. Hayes, featured the eagle facing toward arrows in its left talon, symbolizing war. |
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"Hail to The Chief" Words by Albert Gamse Music by James Sanderson 1812
Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation, |
Interesting Presidential Trivia
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George Washington John Adams Thomas Jefferson James Madison |
James Monroe John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson William Harrison |
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Presidential Birthplaces
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ARKANSAS William Clinton
CALIFORNIA
THE CAROLINAS
CONNECTICUT
GEORGIA
ILLINOIS
IOWA
KENTUCKY |
MASSACHUSETTS John Adams John Quincy Adams John Kennedy George Bush
MISSOURI
NEBRASKA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
NEW YORK |
OHIO Ulysses Grant Rutherford Hayes James Garfield Benjamin Harrison William McKinley William Taft Warren Harding
PENNSYLVANIA
TEXAS
VERMONT
VIRGINIA |
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Presidential Religions
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BAPTIST Warren Harding Harry Truman James Carter William Clinton
CONGREGATIONALIST
DEIST
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
DUTCH REFORMED
EPISCOPALIAN |
METHODIST James Polk (originally Presbyterian) Ulysses Grant William McKinley George W. Bush
PRESBYTERIAN
QUAKER
ROMAN CATHOLIC
UNITARIAN
NO CHURCH AFFILIATION |
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Presidents related to earlier Presidents
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James Madison Half first cousin twice removed of George Washington
Son of John Adams
Zachary Taylor
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
Theodore Roosevelt
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Franklin Roosevelt Fourth cousin once removed of Ulysses Grant, Fourth cousin three times removed of Zachary Taylor, Fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt
Harry Truman
Richard Nixon
George Bush
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George W. Bush Son of George Bush |
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PRESIDENTIAL MARRIAGES James Tyler Grover Cleveland Woodrow Wilson
BACHELOR PRESIDENT
DIVORCED PRESIDENT |
ADOPTED CHILDREN George Washington Andrew Jackson Ronald Reagan
CHILDLESS PRESIDENTS |
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William Harrison - April 4, 1841 Zachary Taylor - July 9, 1850 Abraham Lincoln - April 15, 1864 (assassinated) James Garfield - September 19, 1881 (assassinated) William McKinley - September 14, 1901 (assassinated) Warren Harding - August 2, 1923 Franklin D. Roosevelt - April 12, 1945 John F. Kennedy - November 22, 1963 (assassinated) |
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The song playing is
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© 2001-2002 - Cathy
"Hail to The Chief"