REGION – Today, Presidents’ Day, also known as Washington’s Birthday, is the holiday when the entire country celebrates all of the (so far) men who have served as president of the United States.
Quick―and no using Google―how many U.S. presidents are from Massachusetts?
Especially if you’re from Quincy, the names that often come to mind first are John Adams (the second president, from 1797 to 1801) and his son John Quincy Adams (the sixth president, from 1825 to 1829), since they were both born and raised in that South Shore city.
Then of course there’s John F. Kennedy (the 35th president, from 1961 to 1963), the youngest person elected to the office who was tragically assassinated during his first term. While not always thought of as a Massachusetts native, George H.W. Bush (the 41st president, from 1989 to 1993), was born in Milton and attended Phillips Academy in Andover.
Calvin Coolidge (the 30th president, from 1923 to 1929), was born in Vermont, but graduated from Amherst College in Amherst, and worked his way up in state politics from being a councilman in Northampton to governor of Massachusetts before becoming president.
And George Washington (the first president, from 1789 to 1797), for whom the holiday was created, has a brief, but notable tie to Massachusetts as well. During the Revolutionary War, Washington lived in Cambridge from 1775 to 1776 as he commanded the Continental Army during the Siege of Boston.
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