George Washington
1754
George Washington, the father of our country, is everywhere in my town. He has a university named after him, a parkway, a monument, a hospital, a school, a masonic something or other, innumerable statues, and...oh yeah...the entire district.
There are few names more well-known or more immediately recognizable than George Washington.
But of course, there was a time when he just coming up, making his name, so to speak, and was not yet a household name. When did George receive his FirstMention?.
It's not as easy digging around in the 18th century as it is for later years. The earliest I could find is two documents from 1754, when George W. was a mere lad of 22 or so.
The first is from The London Magazine for July 1754.
In which a certain Colonel George Washington offers an account of recent action in the French and Indian War.
Young Mr. Washington seemed to rise in the ranks fairly rapidly, for that same year, there appeared in publication a journal by one Major George Washington
You can see more of the journal with just a click.
As it turns out, a slightly firster FirstMention has turned up, this time, in the March 21, 1754 issue of the Maryland Gazette. The complete copy can be found at a very nice site called Archiving Early America.
There are probably earlier published documents bearing our first President's name. If you know of any, drop us a line at david@firstmention.com