President’s Day and Some Facts About America’s First, George Washington

Well, it's President's Day, the day to celebrate ALL presidents, past and present. But it was originally to celebrate Washington's birthday. He was the first, U.S. President, in case you didn't know that. Now for some more things you may not have known about Georgie boy!

He was born on February 22nd, 1732 and became the father of our country. He was sworn in as our first president on April 30th, 1789 at 57-years-old.

• He went to school from the time was 6 until he turned 15. His mom couldn't afford to send him to college...there were no free community colleges back then.
• He had 2 kids but neither were his. When he married Martha Dandridge Curtis at 26, she was a widow with 2 kids, Jackie and Patsy
• He was a big Fella...6'2" and 200 pounds.
• His favorite foods included string beans with mushrooms, mashed sweet potatoes with coconut and cream of peanut soup (Ewwwwwe....that last one sounds nasty)
• He was a breeder of hound dogs and he loved them as members of the family. Some of the interesting names he gave them included: True Love, Tarter and Sweet Lips (maybe he was a little TOO close to the last one)
• He had chronic toothaches but, contrary to a tall tale about him having wooden teeth, he had ivory false teeth. He got them when he had all his teeth pulled at 57 years old. He kept them on a silver plate.
• He never lived in Washington D.C., although he did help plan the city that bears his name. When he was in office, the nation's capitals were in New York City and Philadelphia.
• After only a few years of retirement at Mt. Vernon, he died of a throat infection on December 14th, 1799.

There ya go! You are now a near expert on the nuances of George Washington. Have fun impressing your friends!