# John F. Kennedy's birthday?? Really?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515 "2012-05-01T14:40:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515/1 "2012-05-01T14:40:03Z")
So it’s May, and I just got around to looking closely at my Google calendar for the month. Like most calendars, this one comes with prepackaged holidays and “special” non-holidays already marked (in this case, in a nice bright yellow-orange so you can’t possibly miss them). This month there are four of these days highlighted: Cinco de Mayo (okay, fine, a lot of people celebrate this day here in the US and not just in Spanish classes in schools) Mothers Day (okay, no problem, lots of people want to know when this is going to be, I’m fine with that) Memorial Day (okay, it’s a federal holiday and everything) and John F. Kennedy’s Birthday To which my reaction is, Huh? Who celebrates/observes this day? Who looks ahead on the calendar and says, Oh, May 29, JFK’s birthday, better get the gang together and have a party? Who takes advantages of the special JFK-Day discounts at bars and restaurants, the JFK-Day sales at the mall?? In short, who cares??? I guess the makers of the calendar do, or think we should anyway. But I’m curious–has anybody here ever felt the need to know when Kennedy’s birthday was? Anybody ever bought an item on sale for a JFK “special sales event”? Anybody have big (non-ironic) plans for a JFK birthday bash? (And if so, what would that consist of?) (I should probably specify that I am a lifelong Democrat who spent a number of day working for Obama in a swing state in '08 and plans to do so again in '12, so I’m not a right-winger who hates everything to do with the ‘welfare state’. It’s also probably worth pointing out that I’m not old enough to remember JFK’s presidency. And this is not a rant–I’m bemused, not upset–but really, I ask again, Kennedy’s birthday??) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515/2 "2012-05-01T14:47:33Z")
Does the calendar note any _other_ Presidential birthdays? Other than Washington and Lincoln, I mean? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515/3 "2012-05-01T14:55:15Z")
I thought all the Presidents were born on a Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515/4 "2012-05-01T15:08:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Does the calendar note any _other_ Presidential birthdays? Other than Washington and Lincoln, I mean? Lincoln’s birthday is noted, but Washington’s isn’t–just the generic “Presidents Day,” which this year was on the 20th of February, which is to say not Washington’s actual birthday. Beyond that, none of them. Which is part of what stands out. If they had, say, the birthdays of Jefferson and the Roosevelts, Reagan and a few other dead guys, it wouldn’t be so surprising. For that matter, I just looked back–the \*only \*two birthdays listed are Lincoln and Kennedy. Even ML King is noted as a “day” rather than a “birthday.” Even if you count Washington and King, that still gives you just four people worthy of being birthdayed in this calendar: Lincoln, Washington, King, and…Kennedy?? That’s just weird. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515/5 "2012-05-01T15:15:47Z")
The Kennedys probably own the printing company. 😃 That is weird. It’s not like it’s his 100th birthday or anything like that. 95th, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515/6 "2012-05-01T15:22:35Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Even if you count Washington and King, that still gives you just four people worthy of being birthdayed in this calendar: Lincoln, Washington, King, and…Kennedy?? That’s just weird. Well, and Jesus. I mean, they listed Christmas, right? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515/7 "2012-05-01T15:24:41Z")
Except Dec. 25th isn’t His birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-f-kennedys-birthday-really/620515/8 "2012-05-01T15:25:41Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Well, and Jesus. I mean, they listed Christmas, right? Good point. Though not specifically as Jesus’s birthday. 🙂 Not that it was actually his birthday anyway. But–and I just realized this–they do NOT list Easter. (Or Passover, or Hanukkah, or any other religious holidays.) Birthday, yes; resurrection, no!