Which U.S. president signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act that moved Memorial Day to a Monday?

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Memorial Day to a Monday.

Johnson signed the legislation on June 28, 1968. The act shifted several federal holidays to Mondays, including Memorial Day, Washington’s Birthday, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. The goal was to provide more predictable long weekends and reduce midweek disruptions.

Although Johnson signed the law in 1968, the new last-Monday Memorial Day schedule did not begin until 1971. The law therefore belongs to Johnson’s presidency, while the first Monday observance belongs to the following decade’s opening year.

The act did not change the holiday’s purpose. Memorial Day continued to honor U.S. service members who died while serving. It changed the calendar date and helped establish the modern federal-holiday pattern familiar in the United States.