25 THINGS ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON

30

GW

1. In 1976 he was posthumously rewarded the highest rank in the American military ever. General of the Armies of the United States.

2. He is the only president to have actually gone into battle while serving as president.

3. He was made an honorary citizen of France in 1792

4. He didn’t wear a wig. That’s real hair in all of his pictures

5. He didn’t have a middle name

6. He is the only president in American history to be unanimously elected to office

7. In a 2012 poll in Great Britain, General Washington was voted as the greatest military enemy to face the Empire–beating out even Napoleon

8. He also allegedly introduced mules to America when he bred donkeys from the King of Spain with his own horses

9.Washington was actually quite an agricultural innovator and supposedly introduced the idea of crop rotation

10. But it’s not what you think, many farmers in that day grew and sold hemp because it was use to make rope, paper and other products

11. He also grew hemp as a cash crop

12. At one point in time his distillery produced 11,000 gallons of whiskey in one year

13. He paid taxes, however, and had a license, so he was actually considered a distiller

14.Washington made a style of whiskey we would consider “moonshine” today, which is why there are so many rumors about him being a moonshiner

15.Washington came out of retirement to lead the nation’s military in 1798 against the French

16. At 67 years old Washington came down with a cold and was dead within 48 hours. It has been theorized that he died due to medical malpractice as he was subject to four rounds of bloodletting

17. Washington is the richest president ever and in today’s dollars his assets would be worth roughly $500 million

18. Many myths about George, including the one about the cherry tree can be traced back to a biography written by Parson Weems shortly after Washington died. Weems was known for telling tall tales

19. He actually lost most of his battles

20. Before fighting against the British he actually fought for the British against the French in Ohio and lost

21. Research performed on a set of Washington’s dentures in 2005 showed they were made of gold, ivory, lead, and human and animal teeth

22. He had numerous toothaches so when he was 57 he had all his teeth pulled and from then on he wore false teeth

23. At 6 ft 2 in and 200 pounds he was one of the biggest presidents

24. At 26 he married Martha Custis who already had two children. Washington never had any kids of his own

25. He started school at 6 years old and left at 15 to become a surveyor because his family was too poor to afford education

     Culled from list25.com