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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 55 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Washington, George
| Amongst his many other achievements, he was the first man to send what between Philadelphia and New Jersey? | Life of George Washington
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Airmail letter. It was delivered from the then capital, Philadelphia, to New Jersey by balloonist Jean Pierre Blanchard. Is there anything this guy didn't do?
| Although a wealthy man by inheritance and by marriage he was paid a wage as president. Do you know how much this was annually? (Think about the time he was President and the value of money then.) | Life of George Washington
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$25,000. Quite a princely sum in those days, however his own personal wealth was way in excess of this anyway.
| He was the first President of what became the constitutional United States but what number President was he of the American colonies (the Continental Congress and then the Articles of Confederation)? | Life of George Washington
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15th. He was the 15th president (of the 17th adminstration) of the colonies from Spetember 1774 to March 1789, but is recognised as the first president under the constitution of 1789, and the founding father of the US as it is today. The colonies had presidents dating back to the early 18th century, known also as the President of the Colonies or Colonial President.
| He was a very striking man, tall and muscular and a very imposing figure. But the one thing you would have noticed, had you met him, was his badly scarred face. What caused this? | Life of George Washington
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Smallpox. Having suffered from smallpox himself, he vaccinated his entire army against it in 1777, when most doctors did not believe in vaccination. One thing he is also famous for is his false teeth.
| He married in 1759 to a rich widow with two children, after being refused twice before by a different woman. What was the full name of his wife prior to their marriage? | Life of George Washington
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Martha Dandridge Custis. He twice proposed marriage to Betsy Fauntelroy and was twice rejected.
He later adopted two of his step-grandchildren but never fathered any children of his own. Some sources give her name as Martha Dandridge Curtis.
| He became a Colonel in the army and commanded during the French-Indian War, aged just 23. But what title did he hold during the War of Independence? | Life of George Washington
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Commander-in-Chief of all American troops. After the end of the French-Indian War he served as a member of Virginia's House of Burgesses for 15 years.
| His half brother Lawrence ran the family estate and George trained and worked outside of the family business. Do you know what his first profession was? | Life of George Washington
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Surveyor. He actually helped plan the building of Washington DC and the location of the presidential White House, which he never actually lived in. (It wasn't completed during his time in office.)
| His father was Augustine Washington, who was an estate manager. The estate involved tobacco and stockbreeding. But did his father run a slave plantation as well? | Life of George Washington
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Yes. It was not frowned upon as anything wrong in the early 1700s and the estate became very successful and wealthy because of the slaves.
| One of the most influential men connected with the birth of the Constitution of the United States is undoubtedly George Washington. But do you know in which state he was born? | Life of George Washington
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Virginia. Born in Bridges Creek in Westmoreland County in 1732 and one of 10 children (and two half-brothers).
no. Sorry, this was probably the first urban legend. This story was wholly from the imagination of Parson Weems.
0. Washington carried all 10 states (North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the Constitution so they could not vote). John Adams was elected vice-president because he had gotten 34 votes.
Boston Tea Party. Washington disagreed with this action while he was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1773. He was against the tax but thought this action sent the wrong message to King George III.
13. George Washington was a huge man for his day standing over 6 feet 2 inches and weighing over 200 pounds.
Lee . Yes, the infamous Confederate General who surrendered to General Grant during the Civil War was a Washington relative.
Tobias Lear. Tobias Lear was Washington's aide. Washington last words were in regards to funeral directions. The last words that Washington would say were "Tis well". Clark was Washington's personal physician and Davis conducted Washington's funeral service.
| In what newspaper was Washington's farewell address to the nation in 1796 first published? | George Washington
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American Daily Advertiser. The American Daily Advertiser was based in Philadelphia.
| Who did Washington name to replace John Jay as chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1795? | George Washington
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John Rutledge. Although appointed by George Washington during a recess of the senate, John Rutledge was never confirmed by the US Senate to be Chief Justice because he opposed heavily to the Jay Treaty. Ellsworth served as chief justice from 1796 to 1800. He retired in 1800 and died in 1807. He was replaced as chief justice by John Marshall.
| President Washington signed a bill in 1792 establishing a US mint where? | George Washington
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Philadelphia. The Coinage Act of 1792 established the first US mint. The act also allowed the mint to build its own building in Philadelphia, the first building authorized by an act of Congress. In 1793, Washington appointed David Rittenhouse as the first director of the mint.
| Only 10 of the 13 original colonies voted in the 1789 presidential election that made Washington the first US president. Which of the four states listed below was not one of those three states? | George Washington
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New Hampshire. Rhode Island and North Carolina had not ratified the constitution at the time of the 1789 presidential election and did not participate. New York could not decide on what electors to send by the time the electoral college met.
| In what city did Washington give his famous farewell address to the troops in 1783? | George Washington
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New York City. Washington gave the farewell address on December 4, 1783 at the Fraunces Tavern in New York City. Newburgh, NY was the site of Washington's "spectacles" speech, where he put down a possible revolt against the civilian government by pulling out a set of glasses to read a letter.
| Who was the British officer who attempted to surrender to the Conte de Rochambeau at Yorktown rather than Washington? | George Washington
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Charles O'Hara. Depending on what source you read, O'Hara attempted to surrender to Rochambeau either because it was an attempt by O'Hara to snub Washington or O'Hara just went to the officer present that was the most decorated. After the error was pointed out to O'Hara, he attempted to present the sword to Washington but Washington directed him to present it to his aide, Benjamin Lincoln, instead.
| In an effort called the Conway Cabal, members of the Continental Congress sought to have Washington replaced as commander of the Continental Army with who? | George Washington
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Horatio Gates. Members of the Continental Congress sought to replace Washington with Gates, the hero of Saratoga, because of Washington's lack of success in the war effort. The effort was beaten back.
| Whose speech to the Continental Congress in 1775 was in so much praise of Washington that he had to leave the room? | George Washington
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John Adams. Washington served on different committees with the first and second Continental Congress involved with getting the colonies ready for war. It was Adams' speech recommending Washington for the command of the continental army that caused Washington to rush from the room.
| What county did Washington represent in the Virginia House of Burgesses? | George Washington
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Frederick. Washington was one of two men that represented Frederick County in the House of Burgesses. Washington served in that position from 1759 to 1774.
| During the French and Indian War, what fort did Washington supervise the construction of? | George Washington
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Necessity. The British and colonial armies were forced to surrender the fort to French and Indian forces in 1754.
| Who was responsible for the legends of the cherry tree and Washington's inability to tell a lie? | George Washington
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Mason Weems. Parson Mason Locke Weems created the legends of Washington in two books that were published in 1800 and 1806. Weems lived from 1756 to 1825.
February 11th. Washington was born (according to the Julian calender then in effect) on February 11, 1732. When the colonies changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calender in 1752, Washington's birthday became February 22nd but he continued to celebrate the 11th as his birthday. April 5, 1732 was the date of his christening.
| Through his paternal grandmother, Washington was related to what English monarch? | George Washington
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Edward III. Edward III was born in 1312, and ruled England from 1327-1377.
| Until the passage of Public Law 94-479 in 1976, Washington was not the highest ranking military officer in the history of the United States. Until then, who had the highest military rank in US history? | President George Washington and His Times
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General John J. Pershing. General John J. Pershing was appointed General of the Armies of the United States in 1919.
It was decided in 1944 that any military men who succeeded Pershing in the same rank as General of the Armies of the United States or General of the Army would also be his juniors by virtue of seniority.
Public Law 94-479 in 1976 changed the 1944 decision and confirmed George Washington as the highest ranking senior officer in United States history.
Built a whiskey distillery. The distillery was one of the largest in the United States at the time.
Whiskey Rebellion. The other President to take command of the troops was James Madison during the War of 1812.
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