Education

Unlike many of his contemporaries in the Continental Congress, Washington never attended college or received a formal education.  His two older brothers, Lawrence and Augustine Washington, Jr., attended Appleby Grammar School in England. However, when Washington was just 11 years old, his father, Augustine Washington, passed away, leaving the family limited funds for education. Private tutors and possibly a local school in Fredericksburg provided the young man with the only formal instruction he would receive.

To augment his studies, George Washington, begin to teach himself through reading and experimentation.  In his early life, three major influences drove Washington's path of self-betterment.  

• At an early age, he made a copy of Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation
• He formed an early bond with his half-brother, Lawrence Washington, who exposed him to the Virginia gentry
• Washingtons' relationship with the Fairfaxes who taught him the math and science techniques of surveying

Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.

George Washington - State of the Union Address, January 8, 1790