Happy Birthday, George Washington!

I've always loved this portrait of Washington by Charles Wilson Peale from 1772, not the least because it was owned by George Washington Custis who passed it on to his daughter, Mary Custis Lee (wife of Robert E. Lee) and eventually wound up in the possession of my alma mater (well, for law school, anyway). It depicts Washington in the colonial militia uniform of the 22nd Regiment of Virginia. Washington was in command of the Virginia militia during the Seven Years War and was responsible for protecting the frontier from Indian raids.

And here is a coo-el fact for you: The Father of our Country actually helped pay for my education:

In 1796, George Washington saved the struggling Liberty Hall Academy when he gave the school its first major endowment--$20,000 worth of James River Canal stock. The trustees promptly changed the name of the school to Washington Academy as an expression of their gratitude. In a letter to the trustees, Washington responded, "To promote the Literature in this rising Empire, and to encourage the Arts, have ever been amongst the warmest wishes of my heart." The donation--one of the largest to any educational institution at that time--continues to contribute to the University's operating budget today.

How sweet is that? If I recollect correctly, the actual amount per student worked out to not more than a few cents in my time, but I always felt (and I believe everybody else did as well) that the historical connection was priceless.