MYTH: Many people believe that George Washington wore a wig, but he did not. When he got older he powdered his white hair to make himself look more distinguished.
FACT: George cared a lot about the weather, and later in life recorded temperatures in his diary every day.
FACT: George did not go to school regularly; instead, he took some lessons from a teacher nearby and may also have been taught by his older half brother Augustine, who had been schooled in England. And yes, George was usually very good at arithmetic.
FACT: George was over six feet tall when he grew up, and he rode very tall horses, too. One of his favorite horses was called Blueskin.
MYTH: After George died, a legend grew up that he was so strong he was able to throw a stone across the Rappahannock River, but that would have been very hard to do. The Rappahannock ran alongside the Washington family farm, but where George lived, the river is about two hundred feet across.
MYTH: The story about George chopping down the cherry tree is just a legend too. But George was always a very truthful man, so people like to believe it is true.
FACT: In one of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War, George had to cross the Delaware River many times, in boats carrying very heavy loads, in order to defeat the British.
FACT: Almost a hundred years after George turned seven, his birthday was commemorated by his friend General Lafayette at a grand and elegant dinner in Washington, DC.
FACT: George really did write a list he called “110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior,” and these are some of his actual rules. He carried the list around with him to help him remember how to be a gentleman. He probably did not start writing the rules when he was seven years old, but by the age of sixteen he had written them all.
FACT: The Washingtons would not have thrown a party for George, but they might have had a large family dinner on his birthday.