George Washington: What Did He Look Like? Facial Reconstructions & History Documentary | Royalty Now

hello everyone and welcome back to royalty now where we bring figures from the past to life and talk about their history today we're talking about the first president of the United States George Washington there are only a few men that can claim to have lived as important of a life as he we'll talk about his life the events that formed him into a leader and then reveal what he may have looked like in real life so let's go ahead and get started the roots of the Washington family reach back to the very early days of the American colonies George's great-grandfather John Washington arrived in colonial Virginia in a very dramatic fashion Shipwrecked on a merchant vessel on route to Europe he decided to stay and make a new life for himself in the colonies by the time John died 20 years later he had become one of the richest men in Virginia with over 8 000 acres of land and several tobacco plantations the Washington family and everything it would become came from John Washington and his wrecked ship a little more than 50 years later George Washington was born on February 22 1732 to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington George would be raised with his older half-brothers Lawrence and Augustine Jr who were born from his father's late first wife while the older boys were sent off to formal School in England George as the third son would be sent to the local church school instead George would spend his formative Years Learning practical things like Reading Writing math and map making but in 1743 when George was 12 his father Augustine died leaving him in the care of his eldest half-brother Lawrence Washington Lawrence had become a soldier and had been away for long periods of time during George's youth but now he was set to inherit most of the Washington estate and would be responsible for Georgia's upbringing luckily Lawrence was a kind and wise man not only did he take care of George but he would become the father figure that he knew George needed over the course of the next few years George would accompany his brother everywhere he went and he became obsessed with the charm Grace and wit that important men and women like his brothers seem to possess George wanted to be just like his brother and began to dedicate himself to the art of becoming the perfect gentleman according to Tim Ott's article on Washington George knew that people would think less of him for being schooled in the colonies but he didn't care he began to write things down taught to him by the men that Lawrence surrounded himself with this notebook would become a set of rules that Washington created for himself called The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in company and conversation in it are things you'd expect like treat others with respect and always try to do what's right but he also had rules like always smile unless something's really serious or don't bum people out when they're having fun this dedication to becoming the perfect gentleman would form a fundamental piece of Washington's personality he was really able to recognize his own faults but never let them stop him from growing into a better man by the time George was just 16 he was tall and athletic towering over his contemporaries at 6-2 he was impeccably dressed and just as much a gentleman as his older brothers but it was time for him to find a job and that year he decided that he would become a land surveyor his job would be to set the boundary lines between enormous properties marking the best spots for roads to connect towns and generally mapping out the area incredibly busy from the start Washington would spend the next two years mostly in the wilderness living off the land this time toughened him both physically and mentally and he became very familiar with the frontier for the first time he could see his life's path clearly laid out before him he would find a woman to marry and he would live his quiet Life as a land surveyor but in 1749 Lawrence Washington became ill and was soon diagnosed with tuberculosis George immediately resigned from his job and they traveled to Sunny Barbados a warmer climate in an attempt to help Lawrence recover sadly within a year Lawrence Washington George's older brother and Father Figure had died in his will Lawrence left George his entire estate and as a testament to how much his older brother meant to him Lawrence's portrait would always hang in George's private study for the rest of his life inspired by his late brother George joined the Virginia militia in 1752. and he would quickly rise through the ranks due to his knowledge of the land and his noted bravery in the early 1750s tensions were Rising between France and England with over 2 million settlers now living in the colonies the British had begun to look Westward for land just as the French in Canada had begun to move South with the exact same goal it was here that Washington would first make a name for himself for better and For Worse Washington volunteered for A Dangerous Mission as an emissary to the French forces his duty was to deliver an ultimatum to the French demanding that they leave the Ohio River area after a month's track through the Wilderness he finally arrived at their fort but when they read the ultimatum they refused sending Washington back into horrible winter conditions day by day Washington began the harrowing Journey back to Virginia he would arrive home 77 days after leaving only delayed once because he fell into a frozen River nearly drowning but his journey wasn't wasted news of his dedication spread quickly throughout the Army even reaching as far as England within two years he had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel second in command over 300 men in February of 1754 Washington was ordered with 150 men to reach the Ohio River before the French did and create a defensive position there had been no real conflict between the two Nations up to this point just tension but the British nevertheless wanted to be ready however before even reaching the river Washington was told by his native American Scouts that the French had beaten him to the Ohio river and that a French force of about 50 men was camped close by Washington decided that instead of sending this information up the flagpole he would act on it himself when his men reached the French Camp they fired killing the men including their leader what Washington didn't realize was that this was a diplomatic Envoy carrying only a message for the British when the French found their men dead they were outraged and it was Washington that was to blame what is truly mind-boggling about this is that this unprovoked violence by George Washington would begin the French Indian War which would in turn start the Seven Years War a global conflict that involved nearly every country in Europe when his fellow soldiers learned what George Washington had done they were Furious and they were clamoring for his resignation he was young and rash and not to be trusted George would take the criticism to heart but instead of resigning he vowed to be better to remain cool and calm under pressure a year later in 1755 while traveling with Major General Braddock's group of 1200 British forces his men ran directly into an ambush almost two-thirds of his men were cut down by the combined French and Native American forces including General Braddock British soldiers began to panic and flee in every direction in the chaos Washington took command of his men that were still alive organizing a tactical Retreat and saving hundreds of men's lives it's here that Washington developed his presence as a leader and as a commander over the next three years Washington would be given command of nearly 1 000 men and he would train them to become one of the best regiments in the colonies defending nearly 300 miles of Frontier from over 20 Native American attacks but by 1758 Washington decided that he had had enough of War Jaded by the constant infighting between officers he resigned and he went home just a year later Washington met and married a wealthy Widow named Martha Dandridge custis she was an intelligent and graceful woman who had two children from her previous marriage although the marriage is not thought to have been a love match George and Martha created a happy home for each other and her children he loved them like his own and is later seen to have tenderly signed off on letters to them as your papa their Union had made Washington into one of the wealthiest men in Virginia and added nearly 18 000 acres to his name this garnered him the elite social status he had always been striving for he would become friends with many other influential Virginians hosting parties and balls at his estate in Mount Vernon and be elected to the House of Burgesses but even with all his accolades and social status Washington noticed that the British still treated him like a second-class citizen and others around the colony began to notice as well in 1763 the British released a Royal Proclamation Banning Colonial settlers from moving west of the Allegheny Mountains which was to many Colonial Veterans of the French and Indian War the sole reason the war had been fought in the first place now the British had a financial motive for the ban their Ultra lucrative fur trade their Wars had been expensive and the colonists would be the ones to pay the price Washington had seen hundreds of compatriots die during the French and Indian conflict and he would not let their deaths be for nothing soon Washington began to use his wealth and influence to organize protests and boycotts all over the colonies but the punishment only fueled Colonial outrage protests began to spread throughout the colonies with some of them turning into full-out riots [Music] British soldiers soon poured into American Harbors by the hundreds and even more acts would be passed aimed at controlling the colonists by 1770 Washington could see the writing on the wall so he reunited with his old Virginia regiment and began teaching military discipline everything boiled over on March 5th 1770. an Angry Crowd had gathered around a group of British soldiers the crowd began to insult them throwing snowballs and rocks as the crowd of colonists grew larger and larger the soldiers began to panic feeling that their lives were truly in danger Bells began to ring out throughout the town drawing more and more people into the mob and it turned into utter chaos in the loud confusion and aggression one of the British soldiers thought he heard the word fire and he shot his musket into the crowd his fellow soldiers quickly followed his lead the newspapers the next morning would call it the Boston Massacre to many colonists including George Washington it was the final straw of British aggression [Music] a few years later in 1773 in their first major Act of organized Rebellion a group of colonists dumped nearly two million dollars worth of tea into the Boston Harbor the non-violent protest was one of principle the colonists were furious at how much they were being taxed on everything from pages of paper to the tea they had just destroyed they were providing huge amounts of money to the British without a single representative in their Parliament they were fueled by the Revolutionary refrain no taxation without representation the Boston Tea Party is an iconic event a turning point in American history the British now considered the colony of Massachusetts to be in full out Rebellion and they retaliated by sending three thousand British troops to Boston to quell the unrest they implemented even more laws now referred to as the Intolerable Acts to punish the colony of Massachusetts fearful that King George III would soon Proclaim all of the colonies to be in Rebellion representatives of every Colony met and formed the Continental Congress to which Washington and the likes of Thomas Jefferson Ben Franklin James Madison and John Adams were also elected together they petitioned King George once more to remove these Intolerable Acts threatening to boycott all British goods in the meantime militias all over the colonies had begun to prepare themselves for war on the early morning of April 19 1775 a shot rang out in Lexington Massachusetts it's unclear which side fired first but the scuffle left eight American soldiers dead it was with this the shot heard round the world that the Revolutionary War had begun at the Second Continental Congress Washington was elected commander-in-chief of the new continental army and they decided upon their name the United Colonies Washington traveled to Boston to take command of his new army they began The Siege of Boston to retake the city that British soldiers now controlled when spring arrived Washington had surrounded Boston with 200 cannons the British had no option but to flee ending The Siege and granting the Americans an enormous first victory this Victory began to give the colonists hope it planted the seed that this war was not just about taxation it was about freedom from oppression and ultimately the desire for total independence from the British Empire on July 4th 1776 the Continental Congress unanimously passed the Declaration of Independence and they officially became the government of the United States of America all men are created equal and they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights life liberty and the pursuit of happiness whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it's the right of the people to alter or abolish it and to Institute a new government on that very same day 45 ships showed up off the coast of New York the British army was back Washington and his men were lying in weight just across the river in Brooklyn unfortunately it was here that the Americans would suffer their first brutal defeat in the largest Battle of the war known as the Battle of Brooklyn Heights even in Retreat the British continued to batter Washington's forces the Americans were backed against the Hudson River with no way out and it looked as though the American Revolution could end before it had even really begun almost like a miracle a thick fog rolled in allowing Washington's Army to cross the Hudson River and Escape total annihilation nevertheless the British had shown their dominance thousands of Americans were killed or taken captive and Washington's leadership was again being called into question with the Continental Army on the verge of collapse morale fell dramatically desertion began to rise and fewer volunteers were arriving to replenish the Army's strength but even during this dark time Washington never lost faith in their cause and he kept his men believing that maybe they still had a chance in the winter of 1776 George Washington would get that chance intelligence showed that the British army had retreated back to New York for the winter leaving only a small force behind to defend Trenton New Jersey Washington devised a surprise attack that would change the course of the war of Christmas night Washington and 2400 soldiers crossed the icy Delaware River and marched nine miles through the bitter cold completely by surprise the drunk British forces had been celebrating Christmas and when ambushed they barely put up a fight the battle was won without even a single casualty on Washington's side Washington's daring victory at Trenton would reignite the Patriot movement and become a turning point of the war when everything seemed lost Washington still LED his army Against All Odds the following year France was convinced that the Americans could become a legitimate Ally against the British Empire and they Allied themselves with the United States the tides of War had turned Washington realized that this war may not be about fully overcoming the British simply harassing them and ultimately outlasting them when French forces set foot in America the war was all but over on October 19 1781 British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown to the combined American and French forces led by George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette the surrender at Yorktown would be the last significant battle in North America the independence of the United States of America was formally recognized with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3rd 1783 and with the war finally over Washington was content with the life he had lived he had fought for the creation of America and was determined to retire on his estate back home in Virginia [Music] I'm not only retired from all public employment but I am retiring Within Myself I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers but his peace was not meant to be over the course of the next four years the nation Washington helped build tried to find its identity with political factions from each of its states demanding it be what they wanted it to be but when it began to be threatened by Anarchy and Rebellion there was only ever one man that could be agreed upon to lead them in 1789 George Washington was unanimously elected to become the first president of the United States of America he would pave the way for what it meant to be the president he was mindful that he was the first to fill the role and would therefore be setting the standard for how future presidents should act he governed like the thoughtful man he had grown to be setting an example of fairness dignity and diplomatic neutrality Washington set about establishing the groundwork of a Nation filling out his cabinet of advisors with trusted men establishing who would preside over the Supreme Court and creating the First National Bank the true epitome of a Founding Father Washington LED our nation through its infancy and did not leave office until he felt it was truly safe in 1797 after eight years in office George Washington finally retired for good now given the peace he had been craving for years he dedicated his time to his family and his home foreign ly only two years later in the winter of 1799 Washington would catch a cold that only got worse as the days went by on December 14th George Washington died with Martha by his side first in war first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen it's hard to truly grasp how important Washington is the leader of the first successful Revolution against a colonial Empire an idol to Great men like Abraham Lincoln he has become a shining symbol of Liberty around the world the United States of America Washington's True Legacy through its Growing Pains it's tried its hardest to follow in his footsteps with millions of people around the world still calling it the greatest nation on Earth so what did America's first president really look like while we have many portraits of George Washington's surprisingly very few were created from Life Washington apparently hated sitting for portraits thinking they were a waste of his time and for this reason many images we see of him today are copies [Music] luckily in 1785 when Washington was 53 years old French sculptor Jean Antoine hudon visited him at his Mount Vernon residence hudon's mission was to take a life mask a plaster cast of Washington's face which he would then use to create official sculpture copies the life mask was used to sculpt what's known as Washington's official likeness this life-size sculpture located in the Virginia state capitol based on physical descriptions from his lifetime it's not surprising that George Washington became someone of prominence standing over six feet tall he would have been the tallest man in most rooms he walked into fact a writer in 1790 said it was not necessary to announce his name when he walked in a room everyone knew immediately who he was just by his unique appearance a heavy brow over his blue eyes a firmly set jaw and a somewhat large Roman nose according to descriptions he always appeared elegant and dignified sometimes appearing to be deep in thought but his charm was also immense his smile was extraordinarily attractive throughout an anonymous source there are a few interesting myths about Washington's appearance that have somehow persisted until today the first is that he had wooden dentures Washington did wear dentures in the later years of his life but they were likely made of ivory the myth that they were wooden originated in the 1800s possibly because Ivory Dentures become really easily stained another misconception is that Washington always had white hair or War wigs actually never wore wigs preferring his natural hair styled in the fashion of the time and sometimes he would powder it to appear white you can see in portraits of a younger Washington that his hair is naturally a reddish brown I've used one of hudon's sculpture copies of George Washington for my Recreation so let's take a look at what America's first president may have really looked like now [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] 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Channel: Royalty Now Studios

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Keywords: real face of, what historical figures would look like, true face of, true faces of, real faces of historical figures, true faces of historical figures, what historical figures would look like today, royalty now, roylaty now, george washington, what did george washington really look like, george washington biography, george washington facts, best presidents, american history, george washington documentary, george washington movie, real face of george washington

Id: UZ22sfmV1LM

Length: 26min 0sec (1560 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 31 2023