If presidents’ birthdays were spread out through the months evenly, we’d be approaching four births per month as we approach 48 presidents (Obama is 44th administration, of 43 presidents; Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, screwing up numbering for all time).
August has just more than its share of presidential births, five. In date order as we go through August:
- Barack Obama, our 43rd President, was born August 7, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Herbert Hoover, 30th President, was born August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa
- Bill Clinton, 42nd President, was born August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas
- Benjamin Harrison, 22nd President, was born August 20, 1833, in North Bend, Ohio
- Lyndon Baines Johnson, 34th President, was born August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas
Obama will get cards and letters, and network news programs will probably make a light-hearted mention of his birthday. Are the other August presidents celebrated, even in their hometowns?
Photos of Benjamin Harrison as an infant or young child appear to be exceedingly rare.
March and November also feature births of five presidents.