1732: George Washington is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Augustine Washington and his second wife Mary Ball
1738: Washington family moves to Ferry Farm (a plantation on the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg); George Washington spends most of his youth here
1743: Augustine Washington, George’s father, dies. George Washington is only 11 years old. Although George Washington is the older child of his household, Augustine leaves most of his property to his sons from his first marriage. Following the death of his father, George Washington’s formal education ended. Washington inherited 10 slaves from his father’s estate.
1749: George Washington is appointed county surveyor of the frontier county of Culpeper. He was seventeen years old.
1751-1752: George Washington travels to Barbados with his half-brother Lawrence in an attempt to cure the latter of a respiratory illness. George contracts smallpox while he is on the island. The trip is the only time George Washington travels outside of the North American continent.
1753: Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie sends Major George Washington to the Ohio Valley to deliver a message to the French, demanding that they leave the area. A few months later, Major Washington and 150 soldiers to the Ohio Valley to fight for Virginia’s claim of the land. Washington’s men engaged in a combative confrontation with French soldiers. Following this skirmish, Washington and his men retreated to the makeshift Fort Necessity, where Washington was forced to surrender. This event deeply embarrassed Washington and he resigned his commission. This failed campaign also sparked the French and Indian War.
1755: Washington returns to the Ohio frontier as a volunteer aide for General Braddock. During a battle between the French and the British near the Monongahela River, Washington exhibited great courage and leadership. He was later recognized for his conduct in battle with a promotion and was given command of the entire military force of Virginia.
1759: On January 6, 1759, George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis. A native of the Tidewater region of Virginia, Martha Custis was a young widow who had inherited an enormous amount of wealth after the passing of her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis, and was the mother of two young children, Jacky and Patsy. Following their marriage, the newlywed couple, Jacky, and Patsy moved to Mount Vernon.
1759-1775: George Washington was a Gentleman Farmer at Mount Vernon in the years between his marriage to Martha and the onset of the American Revolution. Washington experimented with different farming techniques while also expanding his home at Mount Vernon.
1775: The newly formed Congress appointed George Washington to be the commander of the Continental Army. Washington would hold this position for the entirety of the American Revolution, totaling eight years.
1783: Following the end of the American Revolution, Washington addressed Congress on December 23 in Annapolis and resigned his commission. Through this action, Washington gave the power back to the people and was declared a hero around the world.
1787: Although determined to retire from public life after the Revolutionary War, Washington enters the public sphere and is unanimously elected president of what is now known as the Constitutional Convention.
1789: George Washington is unanimously elected as first President of the United States
1793: Washington begins his second term as President
1797: Refusing a third term, Washington retired from the presidency and all public life. By leaving office after two terms, Washington set a precedent that has been held to by most of the American presidents who followed him. He returns to Mount Vernon and enjoys a peaceful retirement.
1799: George Washington passed away on December 14 from a throat infection called epiglottitis in his bedroom at Mount Vernon. He was surrounded by close friends and his loving wife Martha.