George Washington

President of USA

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“There is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.”
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
“Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.”

February 22, 1732

George Washington is born in Popes Creek Plantation, Westmoreland County
1735

The Washington family move to Little Hunting Creek
1738

The Washington family move to Ferry Farm
April 23, 1743

George Washington's father, Augustine, dies
1748

George Washington goes on the surveying trip with Lord Fairfax and begins working as a surveyor in the Shenandoah Valley
July 1749

Washington becomes the official surveyor of Culpepper County, Virginia
1750 - 1752

George Washington works privately as a surveyor.
1752

Lawrence Washington, George's half brother, dies
1752

Washington is appointed to a position in the Virginia Militia
October 3, 1753

Washington is sent to assess the strength of the French in the Ohio Valley
November 1753

Washington is given the rank of major in the Virginia Militia
1754

Washington receives a commission as a Lieutenant Colonel in the newly formed colony-wide Virginia Regiment
May 28, 1754

Lieutenant Colonel Washington successfully attacks the French camp at Fort Dunquesne which was the first encounter of the French and Indian War
1754

Lieutenant Colonel Washington builds Fort Necessity but is forced to surrender it to overwhelming French forces
1755

Braddock and 2000 British regulars arrive in America
April 1755

Washington joins British General Edward Braddock's staff as a volunteer aid-de-camp
July 9, 1755

The Battle of Monongahela, General Braddock's and Lieutenant Colonel Washington's troops are ambushed and defeated by the French and Indians
October 1755

The governor of Virginia appoints Washington as commander-in-chief of an all Virginia force with the rank of colonel
November 1758

Washington successfully drives the French away from Fort Duquesne
December 1758

Washington resigns his commission as colonel and quits the Virginia Regiment
1758

Washington fails to secure a commission as a British officer and turns back to work as a farmer
1759

Washington is elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and serves for the next 15 years
1761

George Washington becomes the owner of Mount Vernon Plantation following the death of Lawrence's widow
May 1769

George Washington presents resolutions written by George Mason to the Virginia House of Burgesses that opposed taxation without representation
1770s

The American colonies begin to protest the high taxes imposed by England
June 19, 1773

George Washington's step daughter, Patsy, dies after suffering an epileptic fit at the age of 17
December 16, 1773

The Boston Tea Party
September 1774

George Washington is elected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress
1775

George Washington owns 6,500 acres on Mount Vernon and the sixteen-sided barn is completed on the plantation
April 19, 1775

Shots are fired at Lexington and Concord which begins the Revolutionary War
May 10, 1775

The Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. Washington attends in full military uniform
June 15, 1775

Washington is appointed General and Commander-in-Chief of the new Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress
July 4, 1776

The Declaration of Independence is signed.
July 9, 1776

Washington orders that the Declaration of Independence be read aloud to his troops
August 27-30, 1776

The battle of Long Island begins. Washington is forced to retreat and he and his men miraculously escape from the British
October 28, 1776

The Battle of White Plains - General Cornwallis forces General Washington to retreat to the west
December 25-26, 1776

The American Army crosses the Delaware and launch a surprise attack on the Hessians in Trenton
September 11, 1777

General Washington is defeated at the battle of Brandywine
Winter 1777-1778

The American Army winters at Valley Forge
June 18, 1778

General Clinton's army begins a march from Philadelphia to New York City
June 19, 1778

American General Lee moves out to attack General Clinton from the rear with the rest of the American army following
June 27-28, 1778

The Battle of Monmouth occurs in New Jersey. The Continental Army catches up with the British and attacks
July 8, 1778

General Washington sets up his headquarters at West Point
July 10, 1778

The French declares war against Britain and joins the colonists to help them fight for their freedom
1781

Lund Washington bargains with the British, keeping Mount Vernon from being destroyed.
August 1781

British General Cornwallis traps himself in Yorktown
August 19, 1781

The American and French armies begin their march to Yorktown
September 28, 1781

The French and Americans begin their attack on the British at Yorktown
October, 14, 1781

The French and Americans begin to charge the fortifications at Yorktown
October 17, 1781

The British under the command of General Cornwallis surrender at Yorktown
November 5, 1781

George Washington's step son, Jack dies of fever while serving in the army. Two of Jack's children move in with George and Martha
February 4, 1783

England officially declares an end to hostilities in America
September 3, 1783

The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain officially ending the American War for Independence
November 2, 1783

George Washington delivers his farewell address to the army
December 23, 1783

Washington resigns his commission as commander-in-chief of the army to the Congress of the Confederation
1783

Congress first discusses building a memorial in honor of George Washington
May 25, 1787

George Washington is elected President of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
June 21, 1788

The ninth state ratifies the Constitution, making it the law of the new country
1789

Mary Ball Washington, George's mother dies
April 17, 1789

Washington is informed that he was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States
April 30, 1789

George Washington takes the oath of office as the first President of the United States in New York City.
July 16, 1790

Congress instructs Washington to select the location of the permanent capital. He chooses a location on the banks of the Potomac River
February 13, 1793

George Washington is unanimously re-elected for a second term as President of the United States
April 22, 1793

Washington issued the Neutrality Proclamation to keep the United States out of the war between France and Great Britain
November 19, 1794

The Jay Treaty is signed to maintain trade with Great Britain
September 19, 1796

George Washington publishes his Farewell Address which was issued as a public letter
March 1797

Washington retires to Mount Vernon
1797-1798

The Distillery is built on the Mount Vernon Plantation
1798-1800

The Quasi War with France
July 4, 1798

Washington is commissioned as Lieutenant General and Commander-in-Chief of the new United States Army
July 7, 1799

Washington drafts his will in which he frees his slaves upon Martha’s death
December 12, 1799

George Washington gets ill during a ride on his plantation
December 14, 1799

George Washington dies, at the age of 67, of a throat infection that was made worse by the medical treatment that he received.
1799, 1832

Congress discusses building the Washington memorial
1832

The Washington National Memorial Society is formed
1836

The Washington National Memorial Society asks for design ideas
1848

Construction is begun on the Washington Monument
1855

The Washington National Memorial Society runs out of money and construction on the monument is halted completely
1876

Congress passes a $200,000 contribution for the work on the monument
August 9, 1884

Final marble piece is placed on the top of the monument
December 6, 1884

Capstone placed on the top of the monument officially finishing construction
1976

George Washington is posthumously promoted to the General of the Armies of the United States, the highest rank possible.

EDUCATION

The first president’s formal schooling ended when he was 11 years old, after his father died. That event cut young George off from the opportunity to be educated abroad in England, a privilege that had been afforded to his older half-brothers. Washington’s mother never remarried, forcing the adolescent to shoulder weighty burdens at a young age, as the oldest child of six from his father’s second family. She taught him how to run a tobacco farm, and at the age of 16 he took his first job as a land surveyor. For the rest of his life, Washington would be embarrassed by his stunted schooling.

LOVE

“The world has no business to know the object of my love, declared in this manner to you when I want to conceal it,” Washington wrote weeks before his wedding. The letter wasn’t sent to his fiancée Martha Custis—but to Sally Fairfax, who was married to one of his best friends and patrons, George Fairfax, son of one of Virginia’s largest landowners. Described as an intelligent, “dark-eyed beauty,” Sally befriended Washington when he was still an awkward teen. Historians credit her with helping to smooth his rough edges socially, teaching him how to behave and converse among the wealthy and powerful, and even how to dance the minuet. It’s unclear whether romance actually blossomed between the two.

SECRET SERVICES

Washington struggled mightily to win the Revolutionary War with an army that was perpetually undermanned, undertrained and undersupplied. So to triumph over one of the world’s most powerful military forces, he relied increasingly on his unseen weapon: a secret intelligence network. Throughout the conflict, Washington’s spies helped him make bold, canny decisions that would turn the tide of the conflict—and in some instances, even save his life.

ANIMALS

Washington wasn’t just America’s first president, he was also its first mule breeder. Recognizing the value of the mule for farmers, Washington is believed responsible for creating the mule stock that powered American agriculture in the South for generations.
And mules weren’t the only animals he bred. In addition to many varieties of birds, Washington kept many canine breeds at Mount Vernon, including Dalmatians, English foxhounds, French hounds, Greyhounds, Italian Greyhounds, mastiffs, Newfoundlands, pointers, spaniels and terriers. A huge dog lover, he selectively bred hunting dogs for speed over the years and gave them endearing names like Sweet Lips, Venus, Trulove, Taster, Tippler, Drunkard and Madame Moose.