George Washington

1. George Washington What you didn’t know… precedents and fun facts.

2. Washington would set the precedent that presidents would serve only two terms. That precedent ended when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected for four terms. Shortly thereafter an amendment to the Constitution limited presidents to two full terms.

3. George Washington was the only president who did not live in Washington D.C. Although he helped plan the nation's new capital city that was named for him, he never lived there. New York City and, later, Philadelphia were the nation's capitals while he was president.

4. George Washington was the only president who was unanimously elected.

5. George set up the pattern for appointing cabinet members, judges and ambassadors. He always made his decisions on who to appoint based on merit rather than rank.

6. When at age 57, George Washington had all his teeth pulled out.

7. George Washington loved horses and was an excellent rider.

8. Washington set the precedents for the executive’s relationships with Congress and made clear from his first day in office that the president would take the lead in shaping relationships with foreign countries, not the Senate as many hoped.

9. George Washington started school when he was six years old. He left school at 15 to become a surveyor because his mother couldn't afford to send him to college.

10. At 26, he married Martha Dandridge Custis, a widow who already had two children, Jackie and Patsy. Washington never had any children of his own.

11. At six feet, two inches tall, and 200 pounds, he was one of our biggest presidents.

12. Toothaches bothered him for years. When he was 57, he had all his teeth pulled. From then on, he wore ivory false teeth set in a silver plate.

13. Some of his favorite dishes were cream of peanut soup, mashed sweet potatoes with coconut, and string beans with mushrooms.

14. He bred hound dogs that he treated like members of the family. He gave some of them unusual names: Tarter, True Love, and Sweet Lips.

15. Washington was the only Founding Fathers to free his slaves.

16. The nation's capital, along with 1 state, 31 counties and 17 cities (Maybe 18 counting the town of "George," in central Washington State) are named in his honor.

17. As a farmer, he is credited with introducing the mule to America.

18. Washington's 2nd inaugural address was the shortest ever delivered - 135 words.