Daily Calendar for Monday, February 16, 2026

Though this day is commonly called Presidents’ Day, the federal holiday is still called “Washington’s Birthday,” contrary to popular belief. It is one of eleven permanent holidays established by Congress. George Washington’s actual birthday is February 22, but we observe federal holidays on Mondays (in this case, the third Monday of February). To complicate matters, Washington was actually born on February 11 in 1731 because the country switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar during his lifetime (something most of Europe had done in 1582). As a result of this calendar reform, people born before 1752 were told to add 11 days to their birth dates. Those born between January 1 and March 25, as Washington was, also had to add one year to be in sync with the new calendar. By the time Washington became president in 1789, he celebrated his birthday on February 22 and listed his year of birth as 1732. Upon entering office, Washington was not convinced that he was the right man for the job. He wrote, “My movements to the chair of government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit, who is going to the place of his execution.” Fortunately for the young country, he was wrong. Learn more facts and folklore about Presidents’ Day.

Born

  • Edgar Bergen (ventriloquist)
  • Sonny Bono (singer, actor, & politician)
  • LeVar Burton, Jr. (actor)
  • John McEnroe (tennis player)
  • Jerome Bettis (football player)

Died

  • John Gardner (health, education, and welfare secretary)
  • Doris Troy (singer who wrote and sang the top 10 hit Just One Look)
  • Nicole DeHuff (actress)
  • Gary "Kidd" Carter (baseball catcher)
  • Lesley Gore (singer)

Events

  • Future Canadian prime minister (Sir) John A. Macdonald married Susan A. Bernard
  • Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks founded in NYC
  • Canadian Pacific Railway Company incorporated
  • Ladies Home Journal was published for the first time
  • First fruit tree patent (for a peach) issued in the United States
  • Nylon (“Linear Condensation Polymers”) patented
  • Fidel Castro became prime minister of Cuba
  • The nation’s first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated, in Haleyville, Alabama
  • Basketball player Wilt Chamberlain scored his 30,000th point in a game between the Lakers and the Suns. He was the first player in NBA history to amass 30,000 points
  • A scrapbook with locks of hair from the first 12 U.S. presidents went on display at The Academy of Natural Science
  • 250-hour, 3-minute, 20-second ice hockey marathon ended, Saiker’s Acres, Alberta

Weather

  • Thirty-two degrees below zero F, Falls Village, Connecticut
  • Massive ice storm in Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Carolinas. In some areas, ice accumulated to three inches. Across south central Kentucky, 16,000 people were without power for three days, making this the worst ice storm in 35 years for the area.

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