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Washington Library

People and Events During Washington's Time

To fully study the life of George Washington it is important to also understand the world that he lived in.

When Washington was just a Boy

1740-1755

At the age of eleven, George Washington inherited ten slaves from his father.
Daniel Boone was learning to hunt in the backwoods
John Hancock was practicing penmanship in the Boston Latin School
John Adams was a Massachusetts farmer boy
Benjamin Franklin was a printer in Philadelphia and was conducting experiments with electricity
Vitus Bering, while exploring for Russia, crossed the strait from Asia to what would become present-day Alaska
Junipero Serra, who would later found California, arrived in Mexico from Spain
James Watt, who would later invent the steam engine, was an apprentice in his father's shop
James Cook, who would later discover Australia, was setting sail for the first time
German princess Catherine "The Great" went to Russia
Johann Sebastian Bach died in 1750
Maria Theresa became the queen of Austria and mother of many children
Louis XV was king of France
Voltaire was writing against injustice
Frederick "The Great" became king of Prussia
George II, though German-born, was King of England
George III was just a boy
Chien Lung, in 1736, began his sixty-year reign as Emperor of China

When Washington was a Soldier

1756-1763

James Wolfe captured Quebec and England claimed Canada
William Pitt gained an Empire for England by winning the war against France
British Major General Robert Clive won power for England in India
Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa, fought in vain to save his country for his people
The Spinning Jenny was being thought out by James Hargreaves
Pompeii had been discovered and was being unearthed
Washington married Mrs. Martha Custis in 1759
Thomas Jefferson was just sixteen
Elizabeth of Russia, Maria Theresa, and Madame de Pompadour, the three most powerful women in Europe, plotted revenge on Frederick II
Frederick II uncovered the plot that would begin the Seven Years War
Voltaire was writing against war and hatred
Goethe, the great German poet, was a schoolboy
Catherine II was crowned Empress of Russia in 1761
Ch'ien Lung forbade "barbarian" traders from Europe to enter China
George III was crowned King of England in 1760

When Washington was a Farmer

1759-1775

George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis in 1759 and more than doubled the number of enslaved people under his control through "dower slaves" that Martha brought to the marriage.
James Cook landed in Australia in 1770 and claimed it for England
James Watt invented the steam engine in 1769
Junipero Serra established the first Spanish mission in California in 1769
The element oxygen was discovered by Joseph Priestley
Daniel Boone lead pioneers westward over the mountains into Kentucky
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769
Marquis de Lafayette was just a boy
Mozart "the wonder boy" was giving concerts in Europe
Francisco de Goya was learning to paint
Alexander Hamilton was just a boy living in the West Indies
Louis XVI became the King of France in 1774
Poland was torn into pieces by Frederick "The Great" of Prussia, Maria Theresa of Austria, and Catherine II of Russia
Marie Antoinette was sent by her mother, Maria Theresa, to marry Louis XVI
Samuel Adams stirred up Massachusetts
George III taxed his American colonies into Rebellion
William Pitt upheld the colonies as Edmund Burke pleaded on their behalf
Patrick Henry earned acclaim as the orator of Virginia
Benjamin Franklin was in England until 1775 as a representative for the colonies
The first shots of the Revolution were fired at Lexington on April 19, 1775
Benjamin West was court painter and friend of George III

When Washington was Commander

1775-1783

Thomas Paine riled up the colonies to declare independence
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence
Pierre Beaumarchais sent secret supplies to America from France
Betsy Ross of Philadelphia was busy making the new flag
After signing the Declaration, Benjamin Franklin went to make friends for America in France and arranged a treaty with France in 1778
Lafayette served without pay in the American army
General John Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga in 1777
Louis XVI was forced by his ministers to join America against England
John Adams went to Holland to borrow money
Spain declared war on England and laid siege to Gibraltar
James Cook, looking for a northwest passage, was killed by natives in Hawaii
Catherine II opposed England with a League of Armed Neutrality
John Paul Jones raised the Stars and Stripes for the first time on an American man-of-war
Simon Bolivar, who would play a key role in Latin America's struggle for independence from Spain, was born July 24, 1783
George Rogers Clark won forts in the northwest and gave America claim to the territory
Cornwallis surrendered to Washington at Yorktown in 1781
Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and John Adams signed the Treaty of Paris with England in 1783

When Washington was a Citizen

1783-1789

Canada was settled by Loyalists from the United States
Man's first voyage into the air was made in a balloon after test flights taken by a rooster, a sheep, and duck
Pierre Beaumarchais defied the King with his play "The Marriage of Figaro"
Australia received its first shipload of English settlers
Thomas Jefferson went to Paris to arrange trade deals with the newly formed United States
Benjamin Franklin bade farewell to France and returned to America
John Adams, accompanied by Abigail, went to England to represent the United States
In France, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's ideas of simplicity became popular
Marie Antoinette played a peasant at Hameau de la Reine while the real peasants were starving
Frederick II of Prussia died alone in 1786
Catherine II was called "The Great"
Joseph II was named Emperor of Austria after his mother Maria Theresa died in 1780
The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787
- James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution," did most of the writing and also recorded the meetings
- James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton wrote articles on the Constitution, known as The Federalist Papers, and persuaded the states to ratify it

When Washington was President

1789-1797

Vermont, Tennessee, and Kentucky became states
Thomas Jefferson was the first Secretary of State
John Adams was Vice President and would later serve as President
Alexander Hamilton served as the first Secretary of the Treasury
Dr. Edward Jenner discovered a new way to prevent smallpox by vaccinating patients with cowpox
Washington laid the cornerstone for the new United States Capitol
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney
Robert Fulton drew his first idea for a steamboat and wrote James Watt about an engine
The Rosetta Stone, the key to Egypt's hieroglyphs, was unearthed
Emperor Ch'ien Lung received England's first ambassador to China and replied to George III
The fall of the Bastille opened the French Revolution on July 14, 1789
Lafayette headed the National Guard and proposed the new colors of France
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, defended the rights of both the people and the King of France
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded in 1793
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and the Slave Trade Act of 1794 were passed by the United States Congress.
Jean-Paul Marat, Georges Jacques Danton, and Maximilien Robespierre were leaders in "The Reign of Terror"
Thousands were put to death with the guillotine
Napoleon Bonaparte was made the French general against Italy and came into power