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Birth
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, At Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. The family moved to Little Hunting Creek in 1734 before eventually settling in Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. -
Childhood
On February 22, 1732, George was born to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. He spent most of his childhood at Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River. All of the homes and plantations where Washington lived were maintained by enslaved labor. When George was eleven, his father died and he became a slave owner. As a result, George did not receive a formal education like his older half-brothers. Instead, he helped his mother on the farm and attended a local school in Fredericksburg. https.mountvernon -
Education
When George was eleven, his father died and he became a slave owner. As a result, George did not receive a formal education like his older half-brothers. Instead, he helped his mother on the farm and attended a local school in Fredericksburg. For the rest of his life, Washington supplemented his education with reading and self-guided study. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/george-washington#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20George%20did,reading%20and%20self%2Dguided%20study. -
First war
In 1754 Washington’s surprise attack upon a small French force at Jumonville Glen and his subsequent surrender to French forces at the Battle of Fort Necessity helped to spark the French and Indian War, which was part of the imperial conflict between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years’ War. The following year, Washington accompanied Major General Edward Braddock on his ill-fated march on Fort Duquesne. https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington -
Revolutionary war
The Revolutionary War was a war unlike any other one of ideas and ideals that shaped “the course of human events.” With 165 principal engagements from 1775-1783 Despite having little practical experience in managing large conventional armies Washington proved to be a capable and resilient leader of the American military forces during the Revolutionary War. https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/ -
Presidency
At first, Washington balked. He wanted to, at last, return to a quiet life at home and leave governing the new nation to others. But public opinion was so strong that eventually he gave in. The first presidential election was held on January 7, 1789, and Washington won handily. John Adams (1735-1826), who received the second-largest number of votes, became the nation’s first vice president. The 57-year-old Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, in New York City. https://www.history.com -
Farewell address
In his farewell address, Washington exhorted Americans to set aside their violent likes and dislikes of foreign nations, lest they be controlled by their passions: “The nation which indulges toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave.” https://history.state.gov/ -
Death
At 10:00 p.m. on December 14, 1799, George Washington died at his Mt. Vernon home after five decades of service to his country. His last words reportedly were: “I feel myself going. I thank you for your attentions; but I pray you to take no more trouble about me. Let me go off quietly. I cannot last long.” Washington was sixty-seven years old.