George Washington was born February 22, 1732.

George Washington was the first President of the United States of America. He took his oath of office as the President of the United States on April 30, 1789.

In 1968, legislation (HR 15951) was enacted that affected several federal holidays. One of these was Washington's Birthday, the observation of which was shifted to the third Monday in February each year whether or not it fell on the 22nd. This act was designed to simplify the yearly calendar of holidays.

In 1971 President Richard Nixon proclaimed the third Monday of February to be a federal holiday. Although popularly known as Presidents' Day, according to federal law it is the official observance of Washington's Birthday.

It should be noted that some people consider John Hanson as our first president since he was our first president after the signing of our Declaration of Independence. While it is true that he was elected President of the United States in 1781, this election was under what was known as the Articles of Confederation. His exact title was the "President of the United States in Congress Assembled".

In our country, as with most modern republics, the President is the head of state, and also serves the functions of chief executive and commander in chief of the armed forces. John Hanson and the seven other presidents that followed him held few powers that are now associated with the U.S. presidency and cannot be considered to have been heads of state or the "Chief Executive". The true head of state of a country is a person who represents the country in diplomatic protocol. This person would be responsible for sending and receiving ambassadors. John Hanson and the other seven men were simply heads of government with Congress holding all executive powers.