
EMILY: It was for charity, I had to bid on something. And I certainly didn’t want another portrait of George Washington. I’ve got four in the attic already.
George Washington (1732-1799), soldier, statesmen, and Founding Father who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Commander of the Continental Army he led the Patriot forces to victory during the American Revolutionary War, and presided over the 1797 convention which established the Constitution of the United States, and its federal government. He has been called “the Father of the Nation” for his leadership during the formative days of the country.
His legacy endures as one of the most influential people in American history, and his birthday has been a federal holiday in the US since 1879, celebrated on the third Monday in February. The Washington Monument in Washington DC is an obelisk built in his honour, his face is one of the four presidents carved into Mount Rushmore, while Washington state is the only US state to be named after a president. George Washington appears on the one dollar bill, and appeared on the nation’s first postage stamps in 1847.
George Washington was the husband of First Lady Martha Washington, previously discussed.