ObservanceMonday, October 11, 2027
Columbus Day
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- Celebration
Columbus Day falls on the second Monday in October and is one of the eleven legal public holidays named in federal law. Its statutory history is much shorter than its popular one: Americans marked October 12 for well over a century before Congress added the day to the federal list in 1968 — in the same act that moved it off October 12 and onto a Monday. Many states and cities now observe Indigenous Peoples' Day instead.
History
The first recorded Columbus Day celebration in the United States took place on October 12, 1792, organized by the Society of St. Tammany — the Columbian Order — for the 300th anniversary of Columbus's landing. The quadricentennial a century later produced what the Library of Congress calls the first official Columbus Day holiday in the country: Benjamin Harrison's 1892 proclamation "recommending to the people the observance in all their localities of the 400th anniversary."
State recognition came next, and it was campaigned for. The Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic fraternal benefit society, lobbied state legislatures to make October 12 a legal holiday; Colorado was first, on April 1, 1907. New York followed in 1909, when Governor Charles Evans Hughes led an October 12 parade of Italian American societies and Knights of Columbus legions.
Federal recognition then arrived in two steps that are often collapsed into one. On April 30, 1934, Congress passed Public Resolution 21 of the 73rd Congress, which — as Franklin D. Roosevelt's Proclamation 2253 of 1937 recites it — "authorized and requested" the President to proclaim October 12 of each year as Columbus Day and to call on officials to display the flag. That created an annual presidential duty, not a day off work, and the duty persists: as modified in 1968 the resolution is codified at 36 U.S.C. 107.
The holiday itself dates from 1968. Public Law 90-363, approved June 28, added "Columbus Day, the second Monday in October" to 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), effective January 1, 1971. Its text carries no short title at all; "Uniform Monday Holiday Act" is a popular name, not a statutory one.
Timeline
- October 12, 1792 — The first recorded Columbus Day celebration in the United States, organized by the Society of St. Tammany for the 300th anniversary.
- 1892 — Benjamin Harrison proclaims observance of the 400th anniversary — the first official Columbus Day holiday, by the Library of Congress's reckoning.
- April 1, 1907 — Colorado becomes the first state to make October 12 a legal holiday, after lobbying by the Knights of Columbus.
- April 30, 1934 — Public Resolution 21 of the 73rd Congress requests an annual presidential proclamation of October 12 as Columbus Day; as modified in 1968 it is codified at 36 U.S.C. 107.
- June 28, 1968 — Public Law 90-363 adds "Columbus Day, the second Monday in October" to 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), effective January 1, 1971.
- October 8, 2021 — President Biden signs separate proclamations designating October 11, 2021 as Columbus Day and as Indigenous Peoples' Day.
How to observe
Read the two 2021 proclamations next to each other. On October 8, 2021, President Biden signed Proclamation 10281, naming October 11 Columbus Day, and Proclamation 10283, naming that same day Indigenous Peoples' Day. Neither mentions the other, though the Columbus Day one does acknowledge "the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted" on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities.
Find out what is actually closed where you live. Section 6103 declares these days legal public holidays without stating whom that binds, and its operative provisions concern the pay and leave of federal employees. Whether your bank, school district or employer observes the day is a local question — and in some states the second Monday in October is a different holiday entirely.
Go to the primary record. The Library of Congress holds one of four known copies of Columbus's Book of Privileges, compiled in 1502 — the documents in which he pressed the Spanish crown to honor what it had promised him.
Frequently asked questions
Is Columbus Day a federal holiday?
Yes. "Columbus Day, the second Monday in October" is one of the eleven legal public holidays listed at 5 U.S.C. 6103(a). It was added by Public Law 90-363, approved June 28, 1968, effective January 1, 1971.
Why is Columbus Day on a Monday instead of October 12?
The 1968 act that put it on the federal list set it on the second Monday rather than a fixed date, as it did for Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Veterans Day returned to November 11 in 1975.
Did Columbus Day become a federal holiday in 1934?
Not in the sense of a day off. The 1934 measure asked the President to proclaim October 12 as Columbus Day each year and to call for the flag to be displayed on Government buildings. Some accounts describe that as making it a national holiday, but the resolution's own text, quoted in the 1937 proclamation issued under it, creates a proclamation duty and nothing more. Legal public holiday status dates from the 1968 act.
Is Columbus Day the same day as Indigenous Peoples' Day?
It is the same date, and in 2021 the President designated the single date October 11 as both. Some states and cities observe Indigenous Peoples' Day in place of Columbus Day: South Dakota's holiday statute lists Native Americans' Day on the second Monday in October and does not list Columbus Day at all.
When is Columbus Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | October 11 | Monday |
| 2028 | October 9 | Monday |
| 2029 | October 8 | Monday |
| 2030 | October 14 | Monday |
| 2031 | October 13 | Monday |
Sources
- Library of Congress, Today in History — October 12 — https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/october-12/ → the first recorded U.S. Columbus Day celebration on October 12, 1792 and the Society of St. Tammany, also known as the Columbian Order; the 300th anniversary; Benjamin Harrison's 1892 proclamation and its quoted wording, described as the first official Columbus Day holiday in the United States; the Knights of Columbus lobbying state legislatures; Colorado first on April 1, 1907; New York in 1909 and Governor Charles Evans Hughes's October 12, 1909 parade with two Italian ships' crews, Italian American societies and Knights of Columbus legions; the Library of Congress's copy of the 1502 Book of Privileges, one of four known.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, Statutes at Large vol. 51 p. 396, Proclamation 2253, Columbus Day, 1937 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-51/pdf/STATUTE-51-Pg396.pdf → Public Resolution 21, 73rd Congress, approved April 30, 1934; its quoted terms authorizing and requesting an annual proclamation of October 12 as Columbus Day, flag display on Government buildings, and observance in schools and churches; the proclamation's number, its September 18, 1937 date, and its issuance by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, 5 U.S.C. 6103, 2024 edition — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title5/pdf/USCODE-2024-title5-partIII-subpartE-chap61-subchapI-sec6103.pdf → the current list of eleven legal public holidays and the exact entry "Columbus Day, the second Monday in October"; the amendment note that Public Law 90-363 of June 28, 1968, 82 Stat. 250, added Columbus Day and set Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day and Veterans Day on Mondays; the effective date of January 1, 1971; the 1975 amendment returning Veterans Day to November 11; that the section's operative provisions concern the pay and leave of employees.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, Statutes at Large vol. 82 p. 250, Public Law 90-363 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg250-3.pdf → the act's bill number and approval date; its long title and the absence of any short title; the enacted list including "Columbus Day, the second Monday in October"; section 2 providing that the amendment takes effect January 1, 1971.
- Federal Register, Proclamation 10281, Columbus Day, 2021, 86 FR 57007 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-10-14/pdf/2021-22514.pdf → the proclamation number; signing by President Biden on October 8, 2021; the designation of October 11, 2021 as Columbus Day; the quoted acknowledgement of wrongs and atrocities inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities; its citation of the joint resolution of April 30, 1934 as modified in 1968, codified at 36 U.S.C. 107, requesting proclamation of the second Monday of October each year; that it does not mention Indigenous Peoples' Day.
- Federal Register, Proclamation 10283, Indigenous Peoples' Day, 2021, 86 FR 57307 — https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/14/2021-22583/indigenous-peoples-day-2021 → the proclamation number; signing on October 8, 2021; the designation of October 11, 2021 as Indigenous Peoples' Day; that it makes no mention of Columbus Day.
- South Dakota Legislature, Codified Law 1-5-1, Holidays enumerated — https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/1-5-1.html?all=true → that South Dakota's enumerated holidays include the second Monday in October as Native Americans' Day and do not include Columbus Day.
A note on one conflict. The Library of Congress page states that Franklin Roosevelt "designated Columbus Day a national holiday in 1934." The 1934 resolution's own text, quoted in the 1937 proclamation issued under its authority, only authorizes and requests an annual proclamation and flag display. This page follows the statutory text as the more primary source and treats 1968 as the date of legal public holiday status — which the same Library of Congress page supports where it dates federal-holiday observance to 1971.
Omitted for lack of a source: any count of states that do or do not observe Columbus Day; which private employers or banks close; the pre-1968 text of 5 U.S.C. 6103.
Rejected as sources: nationaltoday, nationaldaycalendar, checkiday, timeanddate, and content-farm or AI-generated listicles.
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