98 Fun Facts About George Washington

What was George Washington's role during the Constitutional Convention of 1787?

Washington was unanimously elected presiding officer on May 25, 1787, nominated by Pennsylvania's Robert Morris; his prestige lent the proceedings weight and eased ratification.

Before becoming president, what was Washington's primary occupation at Mount Vernon?

Washington was primarily a planter and farmer at Mount Vernon, which he ran from 1754 until his death in 1799, keeping detailed diaries of weather, crops and his experiments with rotation and manuring.

Which engagement is considered George Washington's first major victory of the Revolutionary War?

After the icy river crossing on Christmas night 1776, Washington's men surprised the Hessian garrison and captured almost two-thirds of it with minimal losses, reviving morale and re-enlistments.

How many terms did George Washington serve as president?

Washington served two terms as president (1789-1797) and voluntarily stepped down, establishing the precedent of a two-term limit that lasted until FDR.

In which colony was George Washington born?

Virginia: Washington was born in 1732 in Westmoreland County on Virginia's Northern Neck, the first child of planter Augustine Washington's second marriage.

What were Washington's dentures actually made of?

Washington lost all but one of his own teeth. His dentures combined metal, ivory, bone, animal teeth, and human teeth, some possibly obtained from enslaved people; none were wooden.

Who did George Washington marry in 1759?

Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow with two children, on January 6, 1759. Their marriage lasted 40 years until his death.

What did Washington famously cross on Christmas night, 1776?

Two detachments failed to get across the ice-choked river, leaving Washington just 2,400 men for the pre-dawn surprise attack on the Hessian garrison in New Jersey on December 26, 1776.

What key warning did Washington include in his Farewell Address of 1796?

Washington warned that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence threatened national unity. The address was first printed in a Philadelphia newspaper on September 19, 1796, not delivered as a speech.

Which battle effectively ended the Revolutionary War with Cornwallis's surrender?

The Siege of Yorktown in 1781, where Washington's forces and French allies trapped Cornwallis's army, resulted in the British surrender that effectively ended the Revolutionary War.

What title did Washington insist on using in office, rejecting more grandiose alternatives?

While the Senate debated titles like "His Highness" or "His Excellency," Washington preferred the simple "Mr. President," setting a precedent for republican simplicity in the office.

In what year was George Washington unanimously elected as the first president?

Washington was unanimously elected president by the Electoral College in 1789, the only president to receive every electoral vote. He was inaugurated on April 30, 1789.

Baron von Steuben, who drilled Washington's army into shape in 1778, was an officer from which European state?

Prussia: Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a former captain in the Prussian army, joined the Continental Army's winter camp in February 1778 and drilled it into a disciplined, professional force.

Where was George Washington inaugurated as the first president?

New York City, then the capital: Washington took the oath on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street on April 30, 1789, then read his inaugural address in the Senate Chamber.

What young military assignment first brought Washington into conflict with French forces in the 1750s?

The Ohio Valley expedition: in 1754 Lieutenant Colonel Washington led Virginia militia toward the forks of the Ohio, where a May ambush of a French party and a July surrender helped trigger the French and Indian War.

Washington's Potomac estate was renamed Mount Vernon by his half-brother in honor of whom?

Lawrence Washington had served under Vice Admiral Edward Vernon in the War of Jenkins' Ear and renamed the plantation, until then Little Hunting Creek, after his old commander. George kept the name.

Who served as Washington's first Secretary of the Treasury?

Alexander Hamilton served as the first Secretary of the Treasury from 1789 to 1795, establishing the national bank, federal tax system, and the foundation of American financial policy.

Who served as Washington's first Secretary of State?

The feud between the nation's first Secretary of State and its first Treasury Secretary gave birth to America's first political parties; Thomas Jefferson resigned on July 31, 1793.

How did George Washington die in December 1799?

He woke on December 14, 1799 with an inflamed throat and could barely breathe. Doctors bled roughly five pints from him and dosed him with calomel; modern physicians think severe epiglottitis plus the treatment killed him.

What domestic uprising in 1794 did Washington personally lead troops to suppress?

The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 erupted in western Pennsylvania over a federal excise tax on distilled spirits. Washington led 13,000 militia to quell the uprising, marking the first time a sitting president commanded troops in the field.

What was the harsh winter encampment of 1777-1778 where Washington's army endured severe hardship?

Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the Continental Army's brutal winter camp of 1777-78, where disease, cold and hunger ravaged the troops; the army emerged stronger after Steuben's training that spring.

How many children did George and Martha Washington have together?

The couple never had children of their own; his 1751 bout of smallpox may have left him sterile. They raised Martha's two children from her first marriage and later two of her grandchildren.

What did Washington issue in April 1793 to keep the U.S. out of the war between France and Britain?

Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793 declared that the United States would remain impartial in the conflict between France and Great Britain, establishing an early precedent for American non-interventionism.

Whose 1800 life of Washington launched legends like the boy and the hatchet?

Parson Weems's hagiography went through many reprints and made him rich enough to regret selling its copyright for $1,000 in 1808. Henry Cabot Lodge later called its anecdotes 'hopelessly and ridiculously false.'

What rank did the Continental Congress give Washington when he took command of the army in 1775?

Commander-in-Chief: Congress unanimously elected Washington 'General and Commander in Chief' on June 15, 1775, on Thomas Johnson's nomination after John Adams proposed him; he served the war without pay beyond expenses.

Which 1794 agreement, negotiated by the Chief Justice, resolved issues with Britain and averted a second war?

The Jay Treaty of 1794, negotiated by Chief Justice John Jay, addressed British occupation of western forts and trade disputes. It was deeply controversial but helped avoid a second war with Britain.

How tall was George Washington, making him notably tall for his era?

Contemporary accounts put him somewhere between 6 feet and 6 feet 3.5 inches, well above most men of his day. One contemporary called him 'the best horseman of his age.'

What did Washington's will stipulate regarding the enslaved people at Mount Vernon?

Freed on Martha's death: the will freed the people Washington personally owned upon her death, one valet at once; the dower slaves belonged to the Custis estate and were not his to free. Martha freed them on January 1, 1801.

Which early profession did Washington pursue as a teenager before his military career?

Land surveyor: Washington got a surveyor's license from the College of William & Mary in 1749 and took his first county surveyor post at 17; by 1752 he had bought almost 1,500 acres in the Shenandoah Valley.

Which French general marched 5,000 troops with Washington to trap Cornwallis in 1781?

Rochambeau landed at Newport with 5,000 veteran troops in 1780 and talked Washington out of attacking New York in favor of Virginia. New to siege warfare, Washington often deferred to him, yet Rochambeau never challenged his command.

What unprecedented act did Washington perform after the Revolutionary War ended in 1783?

He resigned his commission to Congress at Annapolis on December 23, 1783 and went home; George III, hearing from painter Benjamin West that Washington planned this, reportedly said it would make him 'the greatest man in the world.'

What was the officers' plot over unpaid wages that Washington defused with a speech in March 1783 called?

The Newburgh Conspiracy involved disgruntled Continental Army officers threatening to march on Congress over unpaid wages. Washington personally addressed the officers and emotionally defused the crisis.

Benedict Arnold, given command of a Hudson River stronghold by Washington, plotted in 1780 to sell which fort to the British?

The British offered 20,000 pounds for West Point, but Arnold's contact John Andre was caught carrying the plans, and Arnold fled to the British lines in September 1780.

Which city served as the U.S. capital for most of Washington's presidency?

Philadelphia was the seat of government from 1790 to 1800, covering most of Washington's two terms, while the permanent capital on the Potomac was under construction.

What crop did Washington switch to at Mount Vernon after finding tobacco was depleting his soil?

Washington transitioned Mount Vernon from tobacco to wheat cultivation in the 1760s, recognizing that tobacco was exhausting the soil. He became one of the most innovative farmers of his era.

Which older half-brother mentored young George Washington, introduced him to Virginia's elite and owned the Mount Vernon he later inherited?

Lawrence Washington, fourteen years older, took George under his wing after their father died in 1743 and introduced him to Virginia's leading families; George leased, then inherited, Mount Vernon after Lawrence's death in 1752.

Which 1851 Emanuel Leutze painting shows Washington standing in a boat on an icy river?

Emanuel Leutze's famous 1851 painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware" depicts the Christmas 1776 crossing, though it contains many historical inaccuracies including the wrong type of boat and flag.

What honorary military rank was Washington posthumously awarded by Congress in 1976?

In 1976, Congress posthumously promoted Washington to "General of the Armies of the United States," ensuring no U.S. military officer could ever outrank him.

Who was Washington's Vice President during both of his terms?

John Adams served as Vice President for both of Washington's terms (1789-1797). Under the original electoral system, the runner-up in the presidential election became Vice President.

Which monarch's 1785 gift of a stud donkey, which Washington named Royal Gift, launched his mule-breeding at Mount Vernon?

Washington thought mules would revolutionize American farming, so the donkey from King Charles III of Spain, which he named Royal Gift, became his breeding stud.

In May 1782, Colonel Lewis Nicola wrote to Washington on behalf of army officers proposing he take what role?

Nicola imagined a constitutional monarchy, not tyranny, and led with the army's unpaid wages. Washington replied the same day that no incident of the war had given him more painful feelings.

How old was Washington when his father Augustine died in 1743?

Augustine Washington died on April 12, 1743, when George was 11, leaving him a modest farm near Fredericksburg and ten enslaved people; his older half-brother became his mentor.

Which French aristocrat became one of Washington's closest aides and almost a surrogate son?

Lafayette was made a major general at 19 and bonded with Washington almost immediately after they met in August 1777. He named his son Georges Washington Lafayette in 1779.

What famous structure was built as a memorial to Washington and completed in 1884?

The Washington Monument, a 555-foot marble obelisk on the National Mall, was completed in December 1884 after construction that began in 1848 and stalled for more than 20 years; it was dedicated in 1885.

Which opposition party formed in the early 1790s to fight Washington's financial program?

Known at the time simply as the Republicans, the party formed in Congress around the Treasury Secretary's opponents and hardened during the Jay Treaty fight in Washington's second term.

Which state did Washington make a special presidential tour of in 1790, right after it ratified the Constitution?

Rhode Island: Washington skipped it on his 1789 New England tour because it had not yet joined the Union; after it ratified in May 1790 he visited Newport and Providence that August with Jefferson and New York's Governor Clinton.

Which Washington venture at Mount Vernon was among America's largest of its kind by 1799?

Farm manager James Anderson talked him into it in 1797, and by 1799 the distillery was turning out 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year, one of his most profitable ventures.

What was Washington's personal religious denomination?

Anglican: baptized into the Church of England in April 1732, he served as a vestryman of Truro Parish and attended Episcopal services as president, while avoiding showy religiosity and never using religion for partisan ends.

Which horse, calm under gunfire, was Washington's favorite mount in the Revolutionary War?

Nelson, a chestnut with a white blaze, was a 1778 gift from Virginia's Thomas Nelson Jr. and Washington rode him at Yorktown; Blueskin, his other favorite, was too skittish around gunfire for battle.

What was the alleged 1777-78 plot by officers to undermine Washington's command called?

The Conway Cabal of 1777-1778 was a rumored scheme by General Thomas Conway, General Horatio Gates, and others to replace Washington as Commander in Chief after his defeats at Brandywine and Germantown.

On his deathbed, what did Washington instruct Tobias Lear to do before laying him in the family vault?

Washington feared being entombed alive, so he asked for a three-day wait. He died on December 14, 1799, and was placed in the old family vault at his estate on December 18.

What was the approximate size of Mount Vernon's estate at its peak under Washington's management?

Mount Vernon grew to approximately 8,000 acres under Washington's stewardship, divided into five separate farms. He was constantly experimenting with crop rotation, new farming techniques, and livestock breeding.

What leisure activity was Washington passionate about and frequently pursued as a Virginia gentleman?

Fox hunting: Washington rode to hounds regularly, kept his own pack of foxhounds before and after the Revolution and bred them carefully; the American Kennel Club credits him as father of the American Foxhound.

Who drafted a farewell address for Washington in 1792, when he first considered retiring after one term?

James Madison drafted a valedictory address for Washington in 1792, shelved when he agreed to a second term; in 1796 Alexander Hamilton, by then out of office, wrote most of the final text, though the ideas were Washington's own.

On which date in 1732 was George Washington born?

Washington was born on February 22, 1732. Presidents' Day, officially called Washington's Birthday, is a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February.

Washington's regular meetings with his department heads established what?

The Constitution says nothing about a cabinet. Washington turned his department heads into a consulting body, restricted its discussions to topics of his choosing, and expected them to carry out his decisions.

What disease nearly killed Washington as a young man during a trip to Barbados?

Washington contracted smallpox in 1751 during his only trip outside of North America, to Barbados with his brother Lawrence. His resulting immunity proved advantageous during the Revolution when he later ordered the inoculation of his troops.

Smallpox was ravaging North America in 1777; what controversial order did Washington give to protect the Continental Army from it?

Washington was immune himself, having caught smallpox in Barbados as a young man, and in 1777 he ordered mass inoculation of the troops, a controversial step at the time.

Which tribute did Henry 'Light-Horse Harry' Lee pay Washington in his famous 1799 eulogy?

Henry Lee III's 'first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen' came in a eulogy to Congress in Philadelphia on December 26, 1799; Lee, a cavalry hero and Virginia governor, fathered Robert E. Lee.

Which Roman general, who gave up power to return to his farm, was Washington likened to?

Cincinnatus, the Roman farmer-dictator who saved Rome and then went back to his plough; Washington's resignation in 1783 and retirement to Mount Vernon earned him the title 'the American Cincinnatus.'

After losing the August 1776 Battle of Long Island, how did Washington save his trapped army from the British siege at Brooklyn?

A night evacuation to Manhattan: on the night of August 29-30, 1776, boats hidden by fog ferried some 9,000 men across the East River without a battle death, leaving behind only a few heavy guns stuck in the mud.

At which Virginia plantation was George Washington born in 1732?

Popes Creek plantation on the Potomac in Westmoreland County, where Washington was born in 1732 as the first of six children of Augustine Washington's second marriage; the house burned down in 1779.

Which French officer, carrying a diplomatic message, was killed in Washington's 1754 ambush?

Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, a French ensign, was killed on May 28, 1754 when Washington's party ambushed his camp; France called it murder and the affair became the spark of the French and Indian War.

In 1755 Washington served as an aide to which British general on the march to Fort Duquesne?

On Washington's advice, Braddock split his army before the disastrous expedition into the Ohio Country.

Roughly how many men did Washington's army lose at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78?

Roughly 2,000 to 3,000 of the 11,000 or so men who marched into Valley Forge in December 1777 died there, mostly from typhus, dysentery and pneumonia rather than from cold alone.

Who administered the oath of office at Washington's first inauguration in 1789?

Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of New York, administered the oath on the balcony of Federal Hall on April 30, 1789, since the Supreme Court did not yet exist; he then cried 'Long live George Washington, President of the United States!'

Which hereditary fraternity of Revolutionary officers made Washington its president-general in 1783?

The Society of the Cincinnati, founded by Continental officers near Newburgh in May 1783 with Henry Knox as its leading organizer, elected Washington its first president-general; membership passes to eldest male descendants.

Thomas Pinckney's 1795 Treaty of San Lorenzo with Spain guaranteed Americans navigation rights on which river flowing to the Gulf of Mexico?

Spain held New Orleans, so western farmers could reach the sea only with its leave; the treaty guaranteed American navigation of the Mississippi River and settled the border.

By what vote was John Adams re-elected vice president in 1793, while Washington was re-elected unanimously?

Washington took his second oath from Associate Justice William Cushing in Philadelphia's Congress Hall.

Washington's mother, Mary, was born with which surname?

George was the first of six children born to Augustine Washington and Mary Ball Washington.

Which property near Fredericksburg did Washington inherit when his father died in 1743?

Along with the farm came ten enslaved people; his half-brother Lawrence took Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon.

At 16, Washington spent a month surveying whose Shenandoah Valley lands?

Lord Fairfax, proprietor of the Northern Neck, whose lands beyond the Blue Ridge Washington helped survey in March 1748 alongside George William Fairfax; the connection soon won him a county surveyor's post.

Washington's first public office was surveyor of which Virginia county?

By 1752, the teenage surveyor had already bought almost 1,500 acres of his own in the Shenandoah Valley.

Where did Washington surrender to a French force in July 1754?

Unable to read French, he signed a surrender document that had him admitting to the 'assassination' of Jumonville.

Which general did Washington have court-martialed after the retreat at Monmouth in 1778?

Charles Lee, Washington's second-in-command, ordered a retreat at Monmouth on June 28, 1778, was berated by Washington on the field, demanded a court-martial and was suspended from command for a year.

With whom did Washington draft the 1774 Fairfax County resolves that urged ending the slave trade?

George Mason drafted the Fairfax Resolves with Washington in July 1774; Washington chaired the meeting that adopted them, and they helped push Virginia toward the First Continental Congress later that year.

Washington forced the British out of Boston in March 1776 by fortifying which high ground?

Dorchester Heights, fortified overnight on March 4-5, 1776 with cannon Henry Knox had hauled from Fort Ticonderoga, made Boston untenable; nearly 9,000 British troops sailed out on March 17.

In 1778 Washington had Major Benjamin Tallmadge set up which spy network to watch the British in occupied New York?

Benedict Arnold's tip nearly doomed the French army in America: intelligence from the Culper Ring exposed the surprise British attack his information had set up.

What award did Washington establish at Newburgh in August 1782, the forerunner of the Purple Heart?

The Badge of Military Merit, a purple cloth heart created by Washington's general order of August 7, 1782, is known to have gone to only three soldiers; it was revived as the Purple Heart in 1932.

Roughly how many British soldiers became prisoners when Yorktown surrendered in 1781?

Over 7,000: Cornwallis surrendered roughly 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers, plus seamen, on October 19, 1781 after two days of negotiation; the captured army was marched to camps in Virginia and Maryland.

Where did Washington bid farewell to his officers in December 1783?

The New York tavern still stands; days later he rode to Annapolis to hand his commission back to Congress.

Which 1783 agreement saw Britain acknowledge the independence of the United States?

The Treaty of Paris, signed September 3, 1783, recognized American independence and set the Mississippi as the western border; Parliament had voted to end offensive war in America in early 1782, months after Yorktown.

What annual salary did Congress set for Washington as president?

$25,000 a year: the Compensation Act of September 1789 set the president's salary at $25,000 and the vice president's at $5,000; Washington had offered to serve for expenses only, as in the war, but Congress insisted.

How many justices sat on the Supreme Court created by the Judiciary Act of 1789?

Six: the Judiciary Act of 1789 created a chief justice and five associate justices; Washington appointed the entire first bench, naming John Jay chief justice.

Which 1790 law fixed the permanent U.S. capital on the banks of the Potomac River?

It came out of a dinner-table bargain among Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton that traded the capital's site for federal assumption of state debts.

Which was the first new state admitted to the Union during Washington's presidency?

Vermont joined on March 4, 1791 as the 14th state, the first admitted after the original thirteen; Kentucky followed in 1792 and Tennessee in 1796.

What drew the first presidential veto in U.S. history, cast by Washington in 1792?

A congressional apportionment act: Washington vetoed it on April 5, 1792 on Jefferson's and Randolph's advice that its seat allocation violated the Constitution; Congress failed to override and passed a new act he signed on April 14.

Who administered the oath at Washington's second inauguration in 1793?

Associate Justice William Cushing administered the oath on March 4, 1793 in the Senate Chamber of Congress Hall, Philadelphia; Washington's second inaugural address ran just 135 words.

Which French minister did Washington demand that France recall in 1793?

Edmond-Charles Genêt, 'Citizen Genêt', had outfitted privateers and let the warship Petite Démocrate sail from Philadelphia against direct orders; the Jacobins' rise meant recall could mean the guillotine, so Washington granted him asylum.

Why did Washington rotate his enslaved servants out of Pennsylvania periodically as president?

Most of the household staff he brought were dower slaves, so freeing them would have meant compensating the Custis estate.

Which enslaved valet was the only person freed outright, at once, in Washington's will?

William 'Billy' Lee, Washington's valet through the Revolution, was freed immediately with a $30 annuity; the other roughly 120 people Washington owned outright were to be freed on Martha's death, and she released them on January 1, 1801.

Which enslaved chef escaped from the Washingtons' household in 1797 and was never recaptured?

Research published in 2019 found he worked as a cook in New York, where he died in 1812.

What did Martha Washington do with her husband's letters to her shortly before she died?

Martha burned nearly all of their correspondence before her death in May 1802, and only a handful of letters between them survive; she also summoned a clergyman for last communion and chose her own funeral dress.

What 1830 incident confirmed the need for the new family tomb at Mount Vernon?

An attempt to steal his skull: in 1830 a disgruntled former employee broke into the old vault and took a skull, which proved to be a Blackburn in-law's; George and Martha were moved to the new tomb in 1831.

What gilded figure tops the cupola of the Mount Vernon mansion?

A dove of peace holding an olive branch, a gilded weathervane Washington ordered from Philadelphia in 1787; the octagonal cupola he added also ventilated the attic of the 21-room house.

Which structure ended the D.C. obelisk's reign as the world's tallest in 1889?

The obelisk had held the title for only five years, and no building in the District may rise above it today.

The 1884 capstone of the D.C. obelisk honoring Washington was tipped with which then-costly metal?

Aluminum: the 100-ounce pyramid was the largest single piece of aluminum cast at the time, when the metal cost about as much as silver; the Hall-Héroult smelting process of 1886 soon crashed its price.

Washington had belonged to which fraternal order since 1752?

The Bible at Washington's first inauguration belonged to the Freemasons, and members of his Masonic lodge performed a ceremony at his funeral; he had joined in 1752.