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02/18/2008: "President's Day..."

"Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation;
for it is better to be alone than in bad company."

* George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
* Washington's father died when George was 11 years old. He had very little formal schooling, but taught himself to be an expert woodsman, surveyor, and mapmaker.
* Washington grew to be over 6 feet tall -- this was very rare in Colonial times.
* Washington married Martha Custis in 1759; she was a rich widow who had two children, Martha "Patsy" and John "Jacky." George and Martha did not have children together.
* Their home in Virginia was called Mt. Vernon.
* Washington was unanimously elected President of the United States of America by electors in early 1789 and again in 1792. Both votes were unanimous. John Adams was his vice-president.
* Washington refused a third Presidential term, saying in his farewell speech that a longer rule would give one man too much power.
* Washington wore false teeth made from hippopotamus ivory.
* Washington died on December 14, 1799, at his home, Mt. Vernon, located in Fairfax County, Virginia. After his death, the nation's capital was moved from Philadelphia to a location on the border of Virginia and Maryland near Washington's home, and was named Washington, District of Columbia in his honor.