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Short Biography of George Washington
Date of Birth: Born on February 22, 1732
Place of Birth : Westmoreland County,
Virginia
Wife: Martha Dandridge
Background Facts, Information & Ancestry :
Through several lines of ancestry, Washington can
trace descent from English royalty.
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1732 |
February 22: Born in Popes
Creek Plantation, Westmoreland County, Virginia. His
father was Augustine "Gus" Washington (1693–1743)
and his mother was Mary Ball Washington (1708–1789)
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1749 |
Appointed official surveyor
for Culpeper County, Virginia |
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1753 |
French and Indian War:
Washington given rank of major and he was sent to
assess the strength of the French at Ohio Country
Valley
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1754 |
Washington received a
commission as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Virginia
Regiment Lieutenant
Colonel Washington successfully attacked the French
camp near present Jumonville
Lieutenant Colonel
Washington built Fort Necessity but was forced to
surrender it to overwhelming French and Indian
forces
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1755 |
July 9 Battle of the
Monongahela: Serving under General Edward Braddock
the troops were ambushed and defeated by the French
and Indians October:
Governor Dinwiddie appoints Washington as commander
in chief of all Virginia forces with the new rank of
colonel
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1758 |
Forbes Expedition:
Successfully droving the French away from Fort
Duquesne Failed to
secure a commission as a British officer and turned
to working as a planter and politician
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1759 |
January 6: Married Wealthy
widow Mrs. Martha Dandridge Custis. The marriage was
childless but the couple raised her two children,
John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis, from her
previous marriage
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1769 |
May: George Mason writes
resolutions presented by George Washington to the
Virginia House of Burgesses opposing taxation
without representation
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1774 |
Elected delegate to the First
Continental Congress |
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1775 |
By this year Washington owned
6,500 acres at Mount Vernon, with over 100 slaves
April 19 Shots fired at
Lexington and Concord where weapons depot destroyed
June 15: Appointed general
and commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army
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1776 |
July 4: Signed the Declaration
of Independence
September 16: Battle of Harlem Heights where
Washington's army repulses British attack
October 28: Battle of White
Plains force General Washington to retreat to the
west pursued by Cornwallis
December 26: Washington
crosses the Delaware River and captures a Hessian
force (German mercenaries) at Trenton, New Jersey
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1777 |
September 11: General
Washington defeated at Brandywine |
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1778 |
June 27/28: The Battle of
Monmouth occurs in New Jersey as Washington's troops
and General. Clinton's troops fight to a standoff
July 8: General Washington
sets up headquarters at West Point
July 10: France declares
war against Britain
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1779 |
August 14: A peace plan is
approved by Congress stipulating independence and
British evacuation of America
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1781 |
October 19: The British army
surrenders at Yorktown - a devastating effect on the
British |
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1783 |
February 4: England officially
declares an end to hostilities in America
September 3: The Treaty of
Paris is signed by the United States and Great
Britain
November 2: George
Washington delivers farewell address to the army
December 23: Washington
resigns his commission as commander-in-chief to the
Congress of the Confederation.
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1784 |
January 14: The Treaty of
Paris is ratified by Congress and the American
Revolutionary War officially ends.
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1787 |
May 25: Elected President of
the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia |
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1789 |
Unanimously Elected first
President of the United States
April 30:Washington took the
oath of office as the first President of the United
States in New York City. He was addressed as "Mr.
President"
June 1: President
Washington signed the first act of Congress
concerning the administration of oaths
Congress established the
Department of Foreign Affairs (now the Department of
State)
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1790 |
The first national census took
place |
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1791 |
Congress imposed an excise tax
on distilled spirits which led to the Whiskey
rebellion December
15: The Bill of Rights became law. The first 10
amendments to the Constitution of the United States
guarantee basic liberties to Americans
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1792 |
Congress established a
national mint. |
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1793 |
Re-elected President of the
United States April
22: Washington issued the Neutrality Proclamation to
keep the United States out of the war between France
and Great Britain
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1794 |
The Whisky Rebellion
August 7: Washington invoked the Militia Law of 1792
to suppress the Pennsylvania farmers who refused to
pay the federal whisky tax.
November 19: The Jay Treaty to
maintain trade with Great Britain
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1796 |
Published his Farewell Address
which was issued as a public letter |
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1797 |
March: Washington returned to
Mount Vernon |
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1798 |
July 4: Commissioned
Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief of the new
United States Army to serve as a warning to France,
with which war seemed imminent.
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1799 |
December 14: Died at Mount
Vernon at the age of 67. He arranged for his slaves
to be freed in his last will and testament
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