Did You Know?

5 Fun Facts About Our Founding Fathers

America’s Founding Fathers helped shape our nation from the minute our country was born—much like how many of your fathers helped to shape who you are today! This Father’s Day, we’re sharing some lesser-known facts about the men who created and fought for our nation. How many of these facts did you know?

There’s no official list of Founding Fathers.

When you hear the term “Founding Fathers,” who do you think of? We’re guessing George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and the Adams cousins (John and Sam). In reality, there’s no official list of Founding Fathers! The term commonly refers to those who signed the Declaration of Independence—which George Washington missed out on, since he was in New York preparing to fight the British. More frequently, we call the men who helped start (and shape) our country the Founding Fathers, regardless of where they were and when.

Warren G. Harding first coined the term.

The Founding Fathers never knew of their famous title, since the term wasn’t uttered until Warren G. Harding mentioned it in his acceptance speech at the 1920 Republican National Convention when he said, “It was the intent of the founding fathers to give this Republic a dependable and enduring popular government.” By that time, the original Founding Fathers had all passed away.

Three Founding Fathers passed away on July 4.

July 4th marks America’s adoption of the Declaration of Independence, signaling our breakaway from England and the formation of the United States. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the 50th anniversary of this day in 1826, and James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.

Three men at the 1787 Constitutional Convention refused to sign the document.

George Mason, Edmund Randolph, and Elbridge Gerry refused to sign the Constitution because they believed it to be flawed, despite the fact that they helped write it. Mason suggested adding a bill of rights to preface the document but was denied. Later, James Madison introduced an official Bill of Rights based on Mason’s original idea.

George Washington’s birthday changed when he was in his 20s.

Born on February 11, 1731, George Washington became America’s first president—but did you know his birth date changed well after he was born? After England switched from the Julian calendar (established by Julius Caesar) to the Gregorian calendar (which added February 29 every four years), an eleven day and one year adjustment was declared by Parliament. That makes Washington’s birthday February 22, 1732!