This Day in History: , First US President George Washington Dies.
December 14, 1799.
The former president died at his Mount Vernon estate in Virginia from a severe respiratory infection.
He had developed the infection the day before after refusing to change out of wet clothes following a horseback ride into freezing sleet.
His last words were, "Tis well.”.
The fledgling nation plunged into a state of mourning.
He was eulogized by friends and political foes alike.
King George III of England once grudgingly called Washington the “greatest character of the age.”.
In his will, Washington referred to himself simply as “George Washington, of Mount Vernon, a citizen of the United States.”
