With an eye towards the Prairie State’s history in the White House, Illinois celebrates President’s Day today Monday, February 19. General Washington’s victories at Yorktown and other battlefields helped force Britain to officially cede Illinois Territory to the new United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, making it possible to create the future state of Illinois thirty-five years later. Washington’s birthday is the ancestor of what is now President’s Day, and 2018 marks the first President’s 286th birthday. One of Washington’s veterans, James Monroe, as President signed the bill in 1818 that made Illinois the 21st state.
The first President who lived in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, was elected in 1869 when Illinois as a state was only 42 years old. Lincoln, whose 209th birthday was observed last week on February 12, has become a symbol of the State’s bicentennial celebration. Ronald Reagan is the only President actually born in Illinois (Tampico), while Ulysses S. Grant lived in Galena, Illinois. The most recent President who lived in Illinois was former State Senator Barack Obama who lived in Chicago.