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50 free Presidents' Day trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Presidents' Day trivia quiz covers the February holiday from every angle: the 1879 act that made Washington's Birthday the first federal holiday honouring a president, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act that shifted it to the third Monday and guaranteed it never falls on February 22, the tangle of state names from 'Washington–Lincoln Day' to 'George Washington/Thomas Jefferson Birthday', and the traditions that have grown around it, from cherry pie to the Senate reading of the Farewell Address. Because the day honours George Washington above all, half the questions dig into the man himself: Mount Vernon, Trenton, Valley Forge, Yorktown, his unanimous elections and the legends Parson Weems attached to him. The easy rounds work for a classroom; the later rounds reward real history buffs. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Monday of February is Presidents' Day?
3rd
That places it somewhere between February 15 and 21, so it never lands on Washington's real birthday.
Q 02Which 1794 agreement with Britain did Washington back despite French Revolution tensions?
Jay Treaty
He kept the United States neutral during the French Revolution while defending the unpopular treaty at home.
Q 03In which year did the federal holiday honoring Washington begin?
1879
It first applied only to government offices in Washington, D.C., and was extended to all federal offices in 1885.
Q 04Which 1968 law gave federal workers a three-day weekend in February?
Uniform Monday Holiday Act
It also moved Memorial Day and made Columbus Day a federal Monday holiday, taking effect on January 1, 1971.
Q 05In which year did the Monday observance of Washington's Birthday take effect?
1971
The law was signed in 1968 but did not kick in for another two and a half years.
Q 06Between which dates of February can the holiday fall?
15th–21st
Because the window ends on the 21st, the holiday can never coincide with Washington's February 22 birthday.
Q 07On what date was George Washington born, by the modern calendar?
February 22, 1732
Under the old Julian calendar still used by Britain at the time, the date was recorded as February 11, 1731.
Q 08In which year did the British Empire switch to the Gregorian calendar?
1752
Washington was alive for the change and adjusted his own birthday to match the new calendar.
Q 09How many days behind the Gregorian calendar was the Julian calendar by the 1730s?
Eleven
On top of that, the British civil year began on March 25, so February dates belonged to the previous year.
Q 10Which president's birthday, February 12, do some states fold into Presidents' Day?
Abraham Lincoln
His birthday was never a federal holiday, but nearly half the states honour him alongside Washington.
Q 11Which state pairs Washington with Thomas Jefferson in its holiday name?
Alabama
Jefferson was actually born in April, which makes the February pairing a little odd.
Q 12Which state calls the holiday "George Washington's Birthday and Daisy Bates Day"?
Arkansas
Daisy Bates was a civil rights leader who mentored the Little Rock Nine.
Q 13Which state officially calls it "George Washington Day"?
Virginia
It is Washington's home state, and his adopted hometown of Alexandria holds celebrations throughout February.
Which state uses the generic term "The third Monday in February" for the holiday?
Q 21Which group is credited with pushing "Presidents' Day" into public use by the mid-1980s?
Advertisers
The holiday has since become best known for deep discounts on appliances, furniture and especially mattresses.
Q 22Which food is traditionally linked to the holiday?
Cherry pie
It comes from the legend of young Washington chopping down a cherry tree, a tale spread by biographer Mason Locke Weems.
Q 23Which medal bearing Washington's image was revived on his 200th birthday in 1932?
Purple Heart
Washington created the first military badge of merit for the common soldier.
California
California also keeps Lincoln's Birthday as a separate state holiday on February 12.
Q 15Which state does not observe the Washington's Birthday federal holiday at all?
Delaware
It has no day celebrating Washington or presidents in general.
Q 16Which state's governor issues a "Presidents Day" proclamation on May 29, JFK's birthday?
Massachusetts
It honours the presidents with roots in the state: Kennedy, both Adamses and Calvin Coolidge.
Q 17Which state observes Washington's Birthday on Christmas Eve?
Indiana
Its Lincoln's Birthday observance falls on the day after Thanksgiving.
Q 18In New Mexico, when is Presidents' Day taken as a paid state holiday?
The Friday after Thanksgiving
The legal public holiday is still the third Monday in February; the paid day off is just moved.
Q 19Who formed the President's Day National Committee in 1951?
Harold Stonebridge Fischer
The Compton, California, man wanted to honour the office of the presidency rather than any one president.
Q 20Which date did the 1951 campaign first propose as Presidents Day?
March 4
It was the original inauguration day, but the bill stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Q 24Which document has been read in the US Senate on Washington's birthday since 1862?
Farewell Address
Citizens requested the reading in light of the ongoing Civil War.
Q 25Which Florida town has held an annual GeorgeFest since 1902?
Eustis
Laredo, Texas, and Alexandria, Virginia, both host monthlong tributes as well.
Q 26Which city claims the nation's longest-running George Washington Birthday parade?
Alexandria, Virginia
It was Washington's adopted hometown, and its celebrations run throughout February.
Q 27Which sports league holds its All-Star festivities over the Presidents' Day weekend?
NBA
No games are played on the holiday itself; the season resumes the following Thursday.
Q 28Which NASCAR race is traditionally run the day before Presidents' Day?
Daytona 500
Bad weather has occasionally pushed the finish onto the holiday itself, most recently in 2024.
Q 29Which style guide uses the form "Presidents Day" with no apostrophe?
Associated Press Stylebook
The possessive 'President's Day' is the legal rendering in eight states.
Q 30Which other holiday did the 1968 law move, before it returned to its date in 1978?
Veterans Day
It had been shifted to the fourth Monday in October before Congress restored November 11.