/year

George Washington

Founding Father and first U.S. president (1732–1799)

66 dated entries naming George Washington, drawn from 30 separate years between 1726 CE and 1930 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

JSONWikipedia articleWikidata Q23

18th century

  • 1726January 17 – Hugh Mercer, brigadier general in the American Continental Army, and a close friend to George Washington (died 1777)source
  • 1732February 22 – George Washington, first President of the United States (died 1799)source
  • 1751November 17 – Future United States President George Washington becomes seriously ill with smallpox while he and his older brother Lawrence are visiting the island of Barbados during an epidemic Washington, 19 years old, survives the virus but is bedridden for almost a month.source
  • 1753October 31 – Virginia Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie commissions 21-year-old militia Major George Washington to dissuade the French from occupying the Ohio Country.source
  • 1753December 11 – Major George Washington and British guide Christopher Gist arrive at Fort Le Boeuf (near modern-day Waterford, Pennsylvania and the city of Erie), a French fortress built in territory claimed by the British Crown Colony of Virginia. Washington presents the fort's commander, French Army Captain Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, a message from Virginia's Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie advising that "The lands upon the Ohio River are so notoriously known to be the property of the Crown of Great Britain that it is a matter of equal concern and surprise... to hear that a body of French fortresses and making settlements upon that river, within His Majesty's dominions," adding that "It becomes my duty to require your peaceable departure." Captain Legardeur provides a reply for Washington to take to Dinwiddie, declaring that the rights of France's King Louis XV to the land "are incontestable", and refuses to back down, leading to beginning of the French and Indian War in 1754.source
  • 1754George Washington's troops at Fort Duquesne open the French and Indian War, a counterpart of the Seven Years' War in Europe.source
  • 1754May 28 – French and Indian War: Battle of Jumonville Glen – The war begins when George Washington, 22, leads a company of militia from the Colony of Virginia, in an ambush on a force of 35 French Canadians.source
  • 175428 May – The Battle of Jumonville Glen begins the French and Indian War in North America: 22-year-old George Washington leads a company of militia from the Colony of Virginia in an ambush on a force of 35 French Canadians.source
  • 1754July 3 – French and Indian War – Battle of Fort Necessity: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French Capt. Louis Coulon de Villiers, the only surrender in Washington's military career.source
  • 17543 July – French and Indian War: Battle of Fort Necessity – George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French Capt. Louis Coulon de Villiers.source
  • 1754August 19 – Lieutenant Colonel George Washington is forced to confront his first mutiny as 25 members of his Virginia militia refuse to obey orders from their officers. Washington, who is attending church services at the time, quickly suppresses the rebellion and the mutineers are imprisoned before more join.source
  • 1755July 9 – French and Indian War – Braddock Expedition: British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat inflicted by French and Indian forces. During the battle, British General Edward Braddock is mortally wounded. Colonel George Washington survives.source
  • 17559 July – French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition – British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat inflicted by French and Indian forces. During the battle, British General Edward Braddock is mortally wounded. Colonel George Washington survives.source
  • 1759January 6 – George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis.source
  • 1761August 11 – Two years after his marriage to Martha Custis and his move to Mount Vernon, American military officer and politician George Washington advertises a reward in the Maryland Gazette for the capture of four fugitive slaves who ran away from him: Cupid, Peros, Jack and Neptune, claiming in the gazette that they had escaped "without the least suspicion, provocation, or difference with anybody".source
  • 1773February 27 – The construction of Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia), known for being the house of worship for George Washington and the visiting site for subsequent U.S. presidents, is completed.source
  • 1774September 21 – George Mason and George Washington found the Fairfax County Militia Association, a military unit independent of British control.source
  • 1775May 10 – The Second Continental Congress meets, elects John Hancock president, raises the Continental Army under George Washington as commander and authorizes the colonies to adopt their own constitutions.source
  • 1775June 14 – American Revolution: The Continental Congress names George Washington as commander of the Continental Army.source
  • 1776'Forks of the Tar' changes to Washington, North Carolina, being named in honor of George Washington.source
  • 1776August 27 – American Revolution: Battle of Long Island – George Washington's troops are defeated in Brooklyn by the British, under William Howe.source
  • 1777January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second battle at Trenton, New Jersey.source
  • 17773 January – American Revolution: American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.source
  • 1777October 4 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Germantown: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe.source
  • 1777December 19 – American Revolutionary War – George Washington's Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.source
  • 1778February 5 – General John Cadwalader shoots and seriously wounds Major General Thomas Conway in a duel after a dispute between the two officers over Conway's continued criticism of General George Washington's leadership of the Continental Army.source
  • 1778March 10 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington approves the dishonorable discharge of Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin, for "attempting to commit sodomy, with John Monhort a soldier".source
  • 1778June 28 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Monmouth – George Washington's Continental Army battles British general Sir Henry Clinton's army to a draw, near Monmouth County, New Jersey.source
  • 1778June 28 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Monmouth: George Washington's Continental Army battles the British general Sir Henry Clinton's army to a draw near Monmouth, New Jersey.source
  • 1781American independence is assured by the British surrender at Yorktown. Gen. George Washington leads the Colonial army against the British.source
  • 1781Richard Price is made an honorary LL.D. by Yale University, in the company of George Washington.source
  • 1781October 19 – American Revolution: Following the Siege of Yorktown, General Charles Cornwallis surrenders to General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the armed struggle of the American Revolution.source
  • 178119 October – American Revolutionary War: following the Siege of Yorktown, General Charles Cornwallis surrenders to General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the armed struggle of the American Revolutionary War.source
  • 1781October 19 – American Revolution: Following the Siege of Yorktown, General Cornwallis surrenders to General George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, ending the armed struggle of the American Revolution.source
  • 1782January 1 – Threatened by three hostile forces, Vermont is advised by Gen. George Washington, a skilled surveyor, to limit jurisdiction to undisputed territory.source
  • 1782August 7 – George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit (or the Order of the Purple Heart) to honor soldiers' merit in battle (reinstated later by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and renamed to the more poetic "Purple Heart", to honor soldiers wounded in action).source
  • 1783March 15 – Newburgh Conspiracy: A potential uprising in the Continental Army stationed at Newburgh, New York, is defused, when George Washington asks the officers to support the supremacy of the United States Congress.source
  • 1783April – General George Washington sends a letter to the 13 governors of the Confederation of the United States, regarding the needs of the nation.source
  • 1783November 2 – In Rocky Hill, New Jersey, United States General George Washington gives his Farewell Address to the Army.source
  • 1783December 4 – At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, U.S. General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.source
  • 1785March 10 – American engineer James Rumsey sends a letter to George Washington informing of his plans to create a steamboat.source
  • 1787May 25 – In Philadelphia, delegates begin to convene the Constitutional Convention, intended to amend the Articles of Confederation (however, a new United States Constitution is eventually produced). George Washington presides over the Convention.source
  • 1787May 25 – In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates begin to convene a Constitutional Convention intended to amend the Articles of Confederation. However, a new Constitution for the United States is eventually produced. George Washington presides over the Convention.source
  • 1789February 4 – George Washington is unanimously elected the first president of the United States, by the United States Electoral College.source
  • 1789April 30 – George Washington is inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York City, beginning his term as the first president of the United States.source
  • 1790January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City.source
  • 1790January 8 – President of the U.S. George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City.source
  • 1790November 27 – U.S. President George Washington and his wife, Martha Washington, arrive in the new temporary U.S. capital, Philadelphia, and take up residence at the President's House located at 524 Market Street.source
  • 1791September 9 – The capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., is named after the incumbent 1st President George Washington.source
  • 1792February 20 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington.source
  • 1792April 5 – United States President George Washington vetoes a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states. This is the first time the presidential veto is used in the United States.source
  • 1792November 6 – The second United States presidential election is held. Incumbent President George Washington receives all 132 electoral votes for president, and incumbent Vice President John Adams is re-elected with 77 of 132 votes, with George Clinton receiving 50.source
  • 1792December 3 – George Washington is re-elected president of the United States.source
  • 1793February 25 – George Washington holds the first Cabinet meeting as President of the United States.source
  • 1793March 4 – George Washington is sworn in as the president of the United States in Philadelphia, for his second term.source
  • 1793April 22 – George Washington signs the Neutrality Proclamation.source
  • 1793September 18 – United States Capitol cornerstone laying: President George Washington lays the cornerstone for the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.source
  • 1794October 4 – In the first and only instance of an incumbent United States president leading men into battle, George Washington arrives at Carlisle, Pennsylvania to guide the U.S. Army's suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion. The rebels soon disperse and the insurrection collapses by the end of the month.source
  • 1795June 8 – George Washington submits the Jay Treaty to the United States Senate for ratification.source
  • 1796September 17 – U.S. President George Washington issues his Farewell Address, which warns against partisan politics and foreign entanglements. In addition, he sets a precedent by declining to run for a third term.source
  • 1799December 14 – George Washington, first President of the United States, dies at Mount Vernon, Virginia, aged 67.source
  • 1799December 14 – George Washington, military leader of the American Revolution, president of the Constitutional Convention (1787) and 1st President of the United States (born 1732)source
  • 1799December 14 – George Washington, first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797 (born 1732)source

19th century

  • 1806Parson Weems publishes a 2nd edition of his The Life of George Washington, with curious anecdotes laudable to himself and exemplary to his countrymen, first including the story of the young Washington and the cherry-tree.source
  • 1806October 25 – Henry Knox, Secretary of War under George Washington (born 1750)source

20th century

  • 1930July 4 – The dedication of George Washington's sculpted head is held at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota.source

Named in the same entries