The Nine Lives of George Washington

This presidential election has been notable in many regards, but perhaps most conspicuously in the preoccupation of the media with the health of the Democratic and Republican candidates. At no other time has the American public scrutinized and debated the medical fitness and stamina of the two rival candidates. In celebration of today’s grand political tradition, Election Day, the health of the inaugural president will be discussed, the gentleman whose serene gaze graces both the quarter-dollar coin and one dollar bill, he of cherry tree and hippo teeth fame, survivor of more than a half a dozen deadly plagues: George Washington. Washington’s life spanned the 18th century, an age rampant with contagious disease. All told, Washington suffered from at least nine known serious infections caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses that resulted in the deaths of his family members and contemporaries and could certainly have killed him as well. Ultimately, it would be a suffocating throat infection typically associated with children that would lead to his quick death.