In This Month: April

The First US President
On April 30 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States. Washington was Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American War for Independence, leading the battle to victory against Great Britain. Devoted to civic virtue, Washington spent much of his time in office laying down principles for peace and a strong central government.

Born in 1732 into a Virginian planter family, Washington's early career was spent managing his family's land and surveying. By the time he was 20, he was in the army – working as a major in the Virginia militia, in charge of training new recruits. He then served in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, where his courage, endurance and leadership were universally applauded. After the war he was unanimously voted in as president, and again for a second term in 1792, and is regularly voted 'greatest US president' to this day.