George Washington"Father of His Country"

Born February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He worked as a surveyor in his youth before gaining military experience during the French and Indian War, which shaped his leadership skills despite some early setbacks. He became a Virginia planter and political figure, and when tensions with Britain escalated, the Continental Congress appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in 1775. He led American forces through the Revolutionary War, enduring brutal conditions at Valley Forge and ultimately securing victory at Yorktown in 1781 with the help of French allies. After the war, he presided over the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and was unanimously elected the 1st President of the United States in 1789, serving two terms before voluntarily stepping down — a decision that set a powerful precedent for peaceful transfer of power in a young democracy still finding its footing.