This Monday the nation observes President’s Day. It was established in 1885, and initially was a day to honoring our first president, George Washington. In 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act shifted the celebration from February 22nd to the third Monday in February, and eventually the day morphed from Washington’s Birthday to President’s Day, as a day honoring all presidents (are they really all worth being honored though?), and an opportunity for sales on things like furniture and cars.
According to this article about presidential visits from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, more than half of U.S. Presidents have visited Champaign-Urbana, most either before or after their terms. Here are some notable ones:
- 1911 – William Taft was the first sitting president to visit the University of Illinois
- 1960 – John F. Kennedy drove through campus in a motorcade and gave a speech on the quad three weeks before he was elected
- 1998 – Bill Clinton, the second sitting president to visit, got stuck in the mud at Willard Airport
- 2018 – Barack Obama spoke at Foellinger, then hung out at Caffe Paradiso
Honorable mentions: former presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris lived in C-U for a spell, and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders hosted a rally at the ARC back in 2016.
As we gird our loins for another presidential election, I hope that you can find some moments of zen on this national holiday.
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