George Washington
Best known as: 1st president of the USA
Occupation: Military leader, politician, farmer, surveyor
Nationality: American
Religion: Episcopalian
Political party: Federalist
Born: February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia
Died: December 14, 1799 at Mt. Vernon, Virginia (his plantation)
Remains: Buried at Mt. Vernon
Education: Mostly self-educated
Military service:
- A Major (and adjutant of the southern district of Virginia) in the French and Indian War
- Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War
- Became Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army again in 1798
Offices held:
- Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758-1774)
- Member of the Continental Congress (1774-1775)
- President of the Constitutional Convention (1787)
- President of the U.S. (1789-1797)
Short biography:
George Washington worked as a surveyor and a farmer early in life, and in 1752 he went off to fight in the French and Indian War, in which he served heroically. In 1775, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Washington became the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. His troops were woefully outnumbered and out-supplied by the British, but he managed to win the battles that counted, such as the Battles of Trenton, Princeton, Dorchester Heights, and finally Yorktown. Britain surrendered in 1784, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. When the U.S. Constitution was adopted, Washington became the nation's first president. He constantly had to put up with the fighting between Thomas Jefferson, his Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton, his Secretary of the Treasury. Washington supported a policy of neutrality when it came to other countries' disagreements, and he warned against the rise of political parties. He also established the traditions of appointing a cabinet and of stepping down after two terms.
Wife: Martha Dandridge Custis Washington
Friends: Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben
Vice president: John Adams
Cabinet:
- Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury)
- Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State)
- Henry Knox (Secretary of War)
- Edmund Randolph (Attorney General)
- Samuel Osgood (Postmaster General)
Parents: Augustine Washington and Mary Ball
Siblings: an older half-brother, Lawrence Washington
Enemies: Generals Howe, Cornwallis, Burgoyne, and other British military leaders, Horatio Gates (a rival American general)
Fun facts:
- Washington used several sets of dentures in his lifetime, including a pair made of hippopotamus bone.
- His salary as president was $250,000 - equal to about $1 million of today's money.
- He bought leopard robes for all his horses.
