James Madison’s birthday, March 16


James Madison, portrait from Whitehouse.gov, and Wikimedia

Freedom of Conscience Day?

James Madison’s birth day is March 16, Sunday. He was born in 1751, in Conway, King George County, Virginia.

Father of the Constitution, fourth President of the U.S., Great Collaborator, and life-long champion for religious freedom and freedom of speech, press and thought: How should we mark his birthday?

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 10:39 am and is filed under 1787, Bill of Rights, Education, First Amendment, Free press, Free speech, Freedom - Political, Freedom of Information, Freedom of the Press, History, James Madison, Politics, U.S. Constitution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

9 Responses to James Madison’s birthday, March 16

  1. March 16, Freedoms Day – How to celebrate James Madison? | Millard Fillmore's Bathtub says:
    March 16, 2013 at 1:49 pm

    […] James Madison’s birthday, 2008 […]

    Like

  2. mpb says:
    March 27, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    One of my most favorite science/math tools is Calendar Magic which can do the calculations for you (among other things).

    http://www.stokepoges.plus.com/ (and its free)

    Like

  3. Ed Darrell says:
    March 27, 2008 at 2:29 am

    March 16, 2008, was Sunday.

    The answer to your question about his birthdate is, yes. Here’s the footnote on Madison’s birthdate from James Madison, Ralph Ketcham’s thorough biography (on page 8):

    Because of his birth just before Great Britain’s calendar reform in 1752, Madison has two “birthdates,” a Julian, or Old Style, one and a Gregorian, or New Style, one. A calendar on the wall the night of his birth would have read March 5, 1750, reflecting the eleven-day lag accumulated by the inaccurate Julian calendar, and the designation of March 25 rather than January 1 as the first day of the new year. Adoption of the Gregorian calendar added eleven days to Old Style dates and changed the first of the year date, thus making Madison’s birthdate March 16, 1751, New Style, though like many of his contemporaries he sometimes used the Old Style date and/or year in speaking of his birth.

    I hope that resolves some of the confusion.

    Like

  4. Col says:
    March 27, 2008 at 1:16 am

    March 16 1751 (NS) was a Tuesday not a Sunday.

    Was James Madison actually born on March 5 1750 (OS)? And was this date converted to the Gregorian (NS) much like George Washington’s birthday?

    I’m still a bit puzzled by this!!

    Like

  5. Ediacaran says:
    March 16, 2008 at 10:22 am

    Oops, 2nd “their” should be “there”. Not enough sleep last night or caffeine this a.m.

    Like

  6. Ediacaran says:
    March 16, 2008 at 10:20 am

    Repeal laws that violate the Constitution and their vestiges.

    For instance, their in Texas, legislators could fix the Unconstitutional phrases in the Texas Constitution, such as Article 1 Section 4:

    The Texas Constitution
    Article 1 – BILL OF RIGHTS
    Section 4 – RELIGIOUS TESTS
    No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.

    Happy Birthday, James. And thanks again.

    Like

  7. tan crayon says:
    March 16, 2008 at 4:21 am

    Jelly and Ice cream!

    Like

  8. j a higginbotham says:
    March 15, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    And be sure to pay for everything with the Madison dollars (should be in PO vending machines). http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l301/arlington_2005/Blog_Photos/Madison_dollar.jpg

    I was unaware of these:

    oldie but goody – remember these?

    list
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_by_currency_appearances#James_Madison

    Like

  9. eyeingtenure says:
    March 15, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    We could found a egalitarian religion based on flag-burning, spread pamphlets on the subject. That’s a bit extreme for my tastes.

    Like

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