George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on February 22, 1732.
He was the eldest son of a wealthy Virginia farmer, Augustine Washington,
and his second wife Mary Ball.
At 16 he worked as a surveyor helping to
survey the Shenandoah lands of Virginia. At 22 he was commissioned as a lieutenant
colonel and fought in the first skirmishes of the French and Indian
War.
From 1759 to the beginning of the American
Revolution, Washington farmed his lands around Mount Vernon. In this time
he married a widow named Martha Dandridge Custis.
George Washington was unanimously elected by the Continental Congress as
general and commander in chief of its army on June 15, 1775. After a long
and expensive war the Washington's army emerged the victor. Washington's
popularity was unmatched throughout the land.
After a landslide election where the the
people voted for representatives, somewhat differently in each state at
this time, that voted for the office of president, Washington became the
first president of the United States.
On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn into office. It is said that the
people cheered in the streets.
Washington served two terms in office from
1789-1797, then retired to his farm in Mount Vernon. Where on the morning of December 14, 1799, George Washington woke
up with an inflamed throat. His health deteriorated quickly and he died at 11:30 that
same night.