Things You Didn't Know About George Washington

George Washington happily settled into retirement in 1797. But he wasn't able to enjoy it for very long - just two years later, he unexpectedly passed. On December 13, 1797, Washington fell ill a day after riding in the cold rain. Doctors examined the feverish Washington and determined that he needed bloodletting, or the purposeful bleeding of a person as a medical cure. The doctors ended up taking out a lot of Washington's blood - upwards of 40% of it. Washington soon passed. The excessive bloodletting likely contributed to Washington's demise.

George Washington understood that knowledge was power. So in 1778, Washington commissioned Benjamin Tallmadge to build a network of spies. Talmadge's so-called Culper Ring included a range of men and women he knew - including farmers and sailors - in the greater New York City area. They clandestinely circulated information through secret inks and ciphers. Culper Ring spies may have helped unmask Benedict Arnold and John Andre's treason.

As tight-knit communities where thousands of men live in close, unhygienic quarters, 18th-century armies were hotbeds of diseases. The last thing that George Washington, head of the Continental Army, wanted was an outbreak to debilitate his troops. He considered a smallpox epidemic in particular to be worse "than... the Sword of the Enemy." Getting inoculated against smallpox became increasingly popular in the 18th century. Inoculation was an early form of vaccination; it involved introducing a limited amount of infection to people so that they would develop a milder form of smallpox and develop immunity. To protect his troops from such an outbreak, Washington launched what historians call "the first mass military inoculation" program: his troops were inoculated against smallpox. Washington's foresight prevented a medical disaster and arguably enabled American victory.

George Washington first became a slave-owner when he was 11 and inherited 10 enslaved workers. By the time he passed, he and his wife Martha oversaw no less than 317 human beings. Though Washington is celebrated for being the only Founding Father to will his slaves freedom, he also spent some of his life committed to the institution of slavery. For example, he purposefully pursued enslaved workers who attempted to escape to freedom. Ona Judge, for example, escaped to New Hampshire. Despite Washington's repeated attempts to track her down, she evaded capture until her passing in 1848. Another enslaved worker by the name of Harry actually fled Mount Vernon to enlist in a loyalist regiment and gain his freedom, first in Nova Scotia and finally in Sierra Leone.

One of George Washington's hobbies was breeding dogs. Since he was an avid hunter - he reportedly hunted weekly - Washington particularly liked hunting dogs. In his quest to find an intelligent dog who was also fast, Washington collaborated with his friend the Marquis de Lafayette - who even sent Washington dogs from France - and others to develop what eventually became the American Foxhound breed. Over the course of his life, Washington had no less than 36 hounds.

When George Washington was sworn in as President, he had lost or extracted every single one of his adult teeth - save one. He thus had to rely on dentures to function as teeth. Made from different materials, Washington's dentures were likely painful to wear. They also limited what he could eat: in the White House, he largely couldn't eat hard food.

After successfully leading the Continental Army to victory against the mammoth British Army, George Washington was perhaps the most popular figure in the nascent United States. So he was at the top of many people's lists to serve as the nation's first president - even if he was less enthusiastic about more service. Washington didn't just win the first presidential election in 1789 - he swept it, winning every single one of the 69 possible votes. He remains the only president to unanimously win an election.

George Washington produced a variety of goods at Mount Vernon, including whiskey. By the today's standards, the homespun style of the strong whiskey Washington produced is more akin to moonshine. However, he did pay taxes and had a license. At one time, his distillery produced 11,000 gallons of whiskey and made money selling it. Besides making whiskey, he also grew plenty of hemp, since it was considered a cash crop. Washington's enslaved workers also used hemp to make rope, paper, and other products. He also grew corn and wheat on his land, among many other crops.

When George Washington was only 11, his father passed. His mother, Mary Ball Washington, never remarried; instead, she decided to raise her five surviving children on her own. To do this, she often called upon George to pull his weight and set an example for his younger siblings. Mother and son butted heads spectacularly. George perhaps resented her for barring him from joining the Navy - she didn't think it would be a good life for her son. Their distance continued in adulthood, and she never came to Mount Vernon. Mary Ball Washington eventually succumbed to breast cancer.

George Washington remains one of the wealthiest presidents in American history. Washington's estimated net worth would be around $525 million in today's money. This is partly because his Mount Vernon estate consisted of five farms on 8,000 acres of farmland. The value of his many enslaved workers contributed to his net worth. Washington's wife Martha Dandridge Custis also brought significant wealth to the marriage. Her property - which she inherited on the passing of her first husband Daniel Park Custis - was worth £40,000, a significant sum.

George Washington was an unabashed theater-lover who went to playhouses as often as he could. By some estimates, he went to the theater three or four times a week. Washington liked both dramas and comedies. Some of his favorites included Cato and The School for Scandal, a popular comedy by Irish playwright Richard Sheridan.

France's support during the American Revolution was valuable politically. So when France began its own revolution in 1789, some revolutionaries looked with admiration on what the Americans had accomplished in declaring their independence and building a nation built on democracy, rather than monarchy. In that spirit of democratic brotherhood, George Washington was actually made an honorary citizen of France in 1792. Other Americans who received French citizenship at the time included Thomas Paine and Alexander Hamilton.

While on a trip to Barbados with his half-brother Lawrence in 1751, George Washington came down with smallpox. As Washington recorded in his journal, he "[w]as strongly attacked with the small Pox." He was able to get over the affliction and ended up creating a resistance to it for the rest of his life. The disease didn't leave him untouched, however. Smallpox can sometimes scar the face of its victims. Washington was no exception, and his bout left his face scarred.

Since dancing was a significant aspect of sociability in the 18th century, George Washington would have been expected to be an able, willing dancer at social functions. He happily performed his duty. Washington likely learned how to dance in his youth, and he applied those skills well in adulthood. The famously graceful Washington was known to dance for hours before tiring.

Congress wanted the President to have a salary, since they feared that only people with means would be able to volunteer for the job. So in the spirit of democracy, they set the presidential salary at $25,000. However, George Washington - who is still considered one of the wealthiest presidents - opted out of receiving a salary when he became president. Instead, he eventually agreed to receive the value of his expenses, which totaled around $25,000.

George Washington's education isn't as well known as some of his contemporaries. However, it is clear that his formal education - if he had one - was limited. It also did not include any schooling in England, which is a privilege his older half-brothers received. Some of his education also appears to have been self-taught. Washington was definitely finished with his education by his teenage years, when he took up work as a surveyor.