Facts about George Washington

1. 13

   Mount Vernon's plantation operated a whiskey distillery that produced approximately 11,000 gallons annually by 1799, making it one of the largest distilleries in Virginia at that time.

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2. 12

   As Commander-in-Chief, George Washington commissioned the design of the Great Seal of the United States in 1782, which was officially adopted in 1786 and remains on the one-dollar bill today.

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3. 11

   Washington owned roughly 8,000 acres across five farms in Virginia by 1799, making him one of the largest landholders in the state despite most of his wealth being tied up in enslaved labor.

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4. 10

   Washington's false teeth required frequent replacement and caused him considerable pain, leading to his withdrawn expression in most portraits painted after 1789.

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5. 09

   The 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War was negotiated by Washington's diplomats including Benjamin Franklin and John Jay, expanding American territory westward to the Mississippi River.

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6. 08

   George Washington's hand-written will, completed in 1799, contained a clause freeing all 123 enslaved people he directly owned upon his wife's death, making him the only slaveholding founding father to provide for emancipation in his estate.

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7. 07

   During the Revolutionary War, George Washington's army at Valley Forge in winter 1777-1778 suffered approximately 2,000 deaths from disease and exposure out of 12,000 soldiers.

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8. 06

   Standing 6 feet 2 inches tall, George Washington was considered exceptionally large for an 18th-century man, towering over most of his contemporaries by several inches.

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9. 05

   Seven children were fathered by George Washington's brother Samuel, making them nephews and nieces whom Washington helped raise after Samuel's death in 1761.

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10. 04

    Over 300 acres comprised Mount Vernon, George Washington's Virginia estate, which he expanded and improved throughout his lifetime with botanical experiments and innovative agricultural techniques.

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11. 03

    At age 57, George Washington contracted acute bacterial pneumonia and died on December 14, 1799, after riding in cold rain for hours.

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12. 02

    Washington's dentures, contrary to popular belief, were crafted from hippopotamus ivory, human teeth, and metal, not wood.

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13. 01

    In 1789, George Washington's presidential salary was set at 25,000 dollars annually, which he famously refused to accept.

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