Square root day

Square Root Day: There are only nine days this century like this

The day was coined and publicised by a former high school teacher from California

Andrew Buncombe New York Monday 4 April 2016There are only nine such days every century Ron Gordon

There is no national holiday. People do not get a day off work.

But for a certain type of person, there are fewer more exciting days than the fourth of April 2016.

The date so written - 4/4/16 - represents just one of nine so-called Square Root Days every century. The last was celebrated on March 3 2009 and the next one will be marked on May 5 2025.

President Barack Obama may be America's first and only square root president (Getty Images)

But according to the man who coined the day, Californian mathematician Ron Gordon, today’s Square Root Day is more special than most; it also marks the start of the Major League Baseball Season and is taking place during the administration of Barack Obama, who this year became the first - and perhaps only - “square root president”.

“There are a lot of bonuses to today,” Mr Gordon told The Independent. “We have Obama, the 44th president, governing in 2016. He is the first and probably the only square root president.”

Mr Gordon said presidents Polk (#11) Cleveland (#22) and Truman (#33) did not make it.

“We’ve had 44 presidents in 229 years, averaging 5.2 years in office for each. Presidents 55 and 77 won’t come close to that pattern,” he said.

“The three remaining possibilities? Averaging just under 5.41 years going forward, we could have President #66 in 2136. With a bit over 5.61 years, we could see President #88 in 2264, and if they average 4.8 years in office, our 99th President would serve in 2281.”