George Washington

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Augustine Washington and Mary Ball Washington. Britain still used the Julian calendar, so contemporary records give his birth as February 11, 1731. After Augustine's death in 1743, George inherited Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg rather than the larger estates held by his elder half-brothers. His limited formal schooling included surveying lessons. He became a licensed Culpeper County surveyor in 1749, gaining practical knowledge of the Shenandoah Valley and western land claims. In 1751, he traveled to Barbados with his half-brother Lawrence; he contracted smallpox, an illness that left facial scars but likely gave him immunity. Washington entered Virginia's militia during imperial conflict with France. In 1754, Lieutenant Colonel Washington led Virginians toward the Ohio Country and fought at Jumonville Glen. At Fort Necessity, he surrendered to French forces that July, after which he signed capitulation terms translated imperfectly into English. He served as aide to General Edward Braddock in 1755; after Braddock's defeat near the Monongahela, Washington helped organize the retreat. From 1755 until 1758, he commanded the Virginia Regiment and participated in the Forbes expedition that secured Fort Duquesne in 1758. He married the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis on January 6, 1759, and became stepfather to her children, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis. At Mount Vernon, his Potomac River estate, he expanded grain production and operated a gristmill, fishery, and distillery. He also enslaved hundreds of people; by his death, Mount Vernon held 317 enslaved individuals in Washington's ownership or through the Custis estate. His political career included service in Virginia's House of Burgesses from 1758 to 1775. Named commander in chief of the Continental Army in June 1775, Washington took command at Cambridge. He forced British troops from Boston in March 1776, then endured defeat around New York. On Christmas night 1776, he crossed the Delaware and defeated Hessian troops at Trenton. Victories at Trenton and Princeton improved the American position. His army wintered at Valley Forge in 1777–78, where Baron von Steuben drilled soldiers. Washington coordinated with French allies during the Yorktown campaign and accepted Cornwallis's surrender in October 1781. Washington presided over the 1787 Constitutional Convention and was unanimously elected president. In 1796, he declined a third term and published his Farewell Address. He died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799, after an acute, brief respiratory illness.