George Washington

George Washington was military leader of the American War of Independence and the first president of the United States . The son of a Virginia tobacco planter, he fought for the British in the French and Indian War and retired with the rank of brigadier general in 1758.

After leaving the military, Washington managed his family's plantation and became active in pre-Revolutionary politics when he fought British laws enforcing unjust terms on American farmers. He was a Virginia representative to the Continental Congress in 1775, and when fighting broke out against the British he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. His ability to inspire loyalty and to maintain the unity of his disparate troops in terrible conditions proved decisive. He won several battles, culminating in victory at Yorktown in 1781.

Having presided over the convention of delegates that drew up the U.S. Constitution in 1787, Washington was unanimously voted president in 1789. After serving two terms as president, he retired to his home in Virginia , where he died two years later.