1732
22 February: George Washington born
1743
12 April: Augustine Washington, George’s father, dies
1748
Makes trip to the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, to assist in surveying the estate of Thomas, Lord Fairfax
1749
Receives a surveyor’s commission from William and Mary College. Appointed surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia
1751
28 September: Accompanies his half-brother, Lawrence, in his trip to Barbados in search of better health
1752
26 July: Lawrence Washington returns from Barbados and dies at Mount Vernon
6 November: George appointed as district adjutant general of the Virginia Militia with the rank of major
December: George inherits Mount Vernon
1753
13 October: Chosen to carry Governor Dinwiddie’s expostulatory letter to Le Gardeur de St Pierre, French commander at Fort Le Boeuf
1754
16 January: Returns with the French reply and the Governor had Washington’s journal printed and widely distributed
15 March: Washington made lieutenant colonel of the Virginia regiment
2 April: Begins the march to complete the fort at the forks of the Ohio River (Pittsburgh)
28 May: First battle with French detachment under the command of Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville marking the beginning of the French and Indian War. Jumonville killed
3 July: Surrenders to a French detachment at Fort Necessity
1755
23 April: Left Mount Vernon to join General Braddock’s forces marching west to expel the French
9 July: Braddock mortally wounded and his army defeated; Washington instrumental in the withdrawal of the surviving troops
4 August: Made colonel and commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces for the protection of the frontier
1758
24 July: Elected burgess for Frederick County, Virginia
December: Resigns his commission and retired from the army
1759
6 January: Marries Martha Dandridge Custis
May: Takes up residency at Mount Vernon
1768
16 July: First of several elections as burgess for Fairfax County, Virginia
1769
18 May: Joins other burgesses in signing the Non-Importation Agreement
1774
24 May: The Burgesses appointed a day of fasting due to the Intolerable Acts in Boston, and discussed calling an intercolonial congress
5 September – 26 October: Attends the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1775
15 June: While attending the Second Continental Congress, Washington is elected Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United States
3 July: Takes command of the Continental forces besieging Boston
1776
4 March: Fortifies Dorchester Heights, which forced the British to evacuate Boston
4 July: The Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Continental Congress which announced that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as independent States, and no longer a part of the British Empire
27 August: Battle of Long Island; Americans defeated
28 October: Battle of White Plains and American retreat
16 November: Surrender of Fort Washington to the British
8 December: Washington crosses the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
25–26 December: On Christmas night, Washington crosses the Delaware River and surprised the British (Hessians) and secures the victory of Trenton
1777
11 September: Battle of Brandywine; Americans forced to retreat
17 October: Surrender of Burgoyne’s army at Saratoga, New York to General Gates
19 December: Washington establishes winter camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
1778
6 May: Washington announces the French alliance to the army
28 June: Battler of Monmouth where Washington turns a retreat into a victory by personally leading his troops into battle
1781
28 September: The siege of Yorktown, Virginia begins
19 October: Cornwallis surrenders his whole army, marking the last major military conflict of the Revolution
1782
22 May: Washington emphatically rejects a proposal of kingship
1783
3 September: Treaty of Paris signed acknowledging the United States to be free, sovereign and independent
23 December: Washington resigns his commission as Commander-in-Chief to Congress
1787
25 May: The Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia; Washington elected president
17 September: The draft of the Constitution signed and the convention adjourned
1789
4 February: Electoral vote for the first President of the United States showed Washington the unanimous choice
30 April: Washington inaugurated as President of the United States
1790
16 July: Washington signs the Residence act to create the permanent Federal Capital on the Potomac River (now Washington DC)
1792
5 December: Washington elected to a second term
1793
2 April: Washington issues the Proclamation of Neutrality which set the tone of American foreign policy for the next 100 years
18 September: Washington lays the cornerstone of the Capitol building
1794
2 September: Washington calls out the militia of several States to put down the Whiskey Rebellion
September–October: Troops sent over Appalachian Mountains to Pittsburgh; Whiskey rebellion ends without conflict
1795
18 August: John Jay’s Treaty ratified
1796
17 September: Washington refuses to consider a third term and issues his farewell address
1797
4 March: Washington attends the inauguration of John Adams
9–15 March: Ex-President Washington journeys to his home at Mount Vernon and resumes the life of an active farmer
1799
12 December: Washington makes a circuit of his farms, where he catches a severe cold and develops an infection of the epiglottis
14 December: George Washington dies at Mount Vernon some time between 10.00 and 11.00 in the evening
1802
22 May: Death of Martha Washington