george washington

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Definition of george washington in English English dictionary

{i} (1732-1799) American statesman and general, first president of the United States (1789-1797)

the first President of the US, from 1789 to 1797. Washington was a respected officer in the British army before he became commander of the colonial armies during the American Revolutionary War. After the war he became the leader of the Constitutional Convention and influenced the states to officially accept the new Constitution of the United States. He was elected President of the US twice, but he refused to be president for a third time (1732-99). born Feb. 22, 1732, Westmoreland county, Va. died Dec. 14, 1799, Mount Vernon, Va., U.S. American Revolutionary commander-in-chief (1775-83) and first president of the U.S. (1789-97). Born into a wealthy family, he was educated privately. In 1752 he inherited his brother's estate at Mount Vernon, including 18 slaves; their ranks grew to 49 by 1760, though he disapproved of slavery. In the French and Indian War he was commissioned a colonel and sent to the Ohio Territory. After Edward Braddock was killed, Washington became commander of all Virginia forces, entrusted with defending the western frontier (1755-58). He resigned to manage his estate and in 1759 married Martha Dandridge Custis (1731-1802), a widow. He served in the House of Burgesses (1759-74), where he supported the colonists' cause, and later in the Continental Congress (1774-75). In 1775 he was elected to command the Continental Army. In the ensuing American Revolution, he proved a brilliant commander and a stalwart leader, despite several defeats. With the war effectively ended by the capture of Yorktown (1781), he resigned his commission and returned to Mount Vernon (1783). He was a delegate to and presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention (1787) and helped secure ratification of the Constitution in Virginia. When the state electors met to select the first president (1789), Washington was the unanimous choice. He formed a cabinet to balance sectional and political differences but was committed to a strong central government. Elected to a second term, he followed a middle course between the political factions that later became the Federalist Party and the Democratic Party. He proclaimed a policy of neutrality in the war between Britain and France (1793) and sent troops to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion (1794). He declined to serve a third term (thereby setting a 144-year precedent) and retired in 1797 after delivering his "Farewell Address." Known as the "father of his country," he is universally regarded as one of the greatest figures in U.S. history

Related Terms

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

National monument, eastern Virginia, U.S. Established in 1930, it consists of 538 acres (218 hectares) located along the Potomac River. Wakefield, the house where George Washington (b. Feb. 22, 1732) spent the first three years of his life, burned in 1779. The present Memorial House was reconstructed in 1931-32 and represents a typical 18th-century Virginia plantation dwelling with a period garden

George Washington Carver

a US scientist who studied farming and crops, and was one of the first black people in the US to become an important scientist (1860-1943). born 1861?, near Diamond Grove, Mo., U.S. died Jan. 5, 1943, Tuskegee, Ala. U.S. agricultural chemist and agronomist. Born a slave, Carver lived until age 10 or 12 on his former owner's plantation, then left and worked at a variety of menial jobs. He did not obtain a high school education until his late twenties; he then obtained bachelor's and master's degrees from Iowa State Agricultural College. In 1896 he joined Booker T. Washington at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in Alabama, where he became director of agricultural research. He was soon promoting the planting of peanuts and soybeans, legumes that he knew would help restore the fertility of soil depleted by cotton cropping. To make them profitable, he worked intensively with the sweet potato and the peanut (then not even recognized as a crop), ultimately developing 118 derivative products from sweet potatoes and 300 from peanuts. His efforts helped liberate the South from its untenable cotton dependency; by 1940 the peanut was the South's second largest cash crop. During World War II he devised 500 dyes to replace those no longer available from Europe. Despite international acclaim and extraordinary job offers, he remained at Tuskegee throughout his life, donating his life's savings in 1940 to establish the Carver Research Foundation at Tuskegee

George Washington Carver

{i} (1864-1943) black American scientist, former slave who received an education and developed methods for increasing farming profitability in the South

George Washington Goethals

born June 29, 1858, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. died Jan. 21, 1928, New York, N.Y. U.S. army officer and engineer. After graduating from West Point, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he gained experience in the construction of canals and harbours; he also taught engineering at West Point. Appointed by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt to direct the building of the Panama Canal, he successfully confronted complex problems of both engineering and logistics. He was appointed the Canal Zone's first governor (1914-17). In World War I, he directed procurement for and the movement of U.S. troops at home and abroad. After retiring in 1919, he served as a consultant to many organizations, including the Port of New York Authority

George Washington Julian

born May 5, 1817, Wayne county, Ind., U.S. died July 7, 1899, Irvington, Ind. U.S. politician. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and practiced law in several Indiana towns. By the mid-1840s he was a Whig member of the Indiana state legislature and a frequent author of antislavery newspaper articles. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a member of the Free Soil Party in 1848, he was that party's vice-presidential candidate in 1852. In 1856 he helped form the Republican Party. Again serving in the House (1861-71), he played an important role in making emancipation a Northern war aim in the American Civil War. In 1867 he helped prepare articles of impeachment against Pres. Andrew Johnson. He later wrote books and articles on reform causes, including women's suffrage

George Washington University

{i} GWU, private university located in Washington D.C. (USA)

george washington bridge

a suspension bridge across the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey

Hyphenation

George Wash·ing·ton

Turkish pronunciation

côrc wôşîngtın

Pronunciation

/ˈʤôrʤ ˈwôsʜəɴɢtən/ /ˈʤɔːrʤ ˈwɔːʃɪŋtən/