Presidents Day, officially still called “Washington’s Birthday” at the federal level, began as a federal holiday in 1879, when Congress created a holiday honoring George Washington’s birthday for federal offices in Washington, D.C., and then expanded it nationwide in 1885.

Quick Scoop: Key dates

  • Late 1700s: Americans were already informally celebrating George Washington’s birthday on February 22 while he was still alive.
  • 1879: Congress made Washington’s Birthday an official federal holiday, first just in Washington, D.C.
  • 1885: The holiday expanded to all federal offices, becoming one of the earliest federal holidays honoring an individual American.
  • 1968–1971: The Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved the observance from February 22 to the third Monday in February, which helped turn the public perception from “Washington’s Birthday” into the broader “Presidents Day.”

So if you’re asking “when did Presidents Day start?” in the sense of an official federal holiday, the origin is 1879, and the modern third‑Monday-in- February version dates from the early 1970s.

In everyday life now, people use “Presidents Day” to honor Washington, Lincoln, and often all U.S. presidents, even though the federal law still names it “Washington’s Birthday.”

TL;DR:

  • First federal start: 1879 (Washington’s Birthday).
  • Nationwide federal holiday: 1885.
  • Shift to third Monday and “Presidents Day” vibe: early 1970s.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.