With Presidents Day and an inauguration (and an historic one, at that) approaching, there's renewed interest in Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, whom many call the father of our country.

Some of the vintage George Washington pictures on this page are mini-biographies, in that they feature the key points in Washington's life in pictures. The picture to the right is a good example. It features a bunch of cherries, which alludes to the old story that every school child knows: George chops down a cherry tree with his new hatchet and admits the deed to his father by saying something along the lines of, "I cannot tell a lie; I chopped down the cherry tree."

The problem with that story is that it was probably a fabrication of Mason Locke Weems, a pastor and bookseller of George's time. He authored and sold the Life of George Washington; with Curious Anecdotes, Equally Honorable to Himself, and Exemplary to His Young Countrymen, in which the cherry tree story appeared. No one really knows whether he made up the story to embellish his book and therefore sell more copies. If so; it worked. There were 82 different editions of the book published, incorporating several languages. But I guess it doesn't really matter if it's true. It's a nice story.

Choose a thumbnail version of any of the vintage George Washington pictures above the large image in the right column. When you click on one of the images, it will appear larger.

IMPORTANT: Once you've chosen an image and see it larger, double-click on the larger image, which will make the best version of the art appear. Sorry for the extra step, but this will give you the highest quality art.

Then, if you have a PC, just right-click and save the final version of the artwork to your hard drive.

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Facts About George Washington

• George Washington had trouble with his teeth his whole life. That's why you seldom see him smiling in pictures. He wore a variety of dentures, some of which were spring-loaded. The result was that he was often in pain.
• Washington worked as a surveyor when he was young, giving him knowledge of the Colony of Virginia that later came in quite handy.
• George had only seen wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis twice in three weeks before he proposed to her. The marriage made him the wealthiest man in Virginia and increased his land holding considerably.
• Washington is the only president who ever received 100 percent of the electoral votes.
• George originally turned down the $25,000 annual salary for being president, because he was already wealthy. Congress members eventually persuaded him to take the money, however, so people wouldn't think the presidency was only open to those who were rich enough to serve without being paid.
• Washington, D.C. is the city in the world named after an American president. The other city is Monrovia, Liberia.
• Washington state is the only U.S. state named after an American. Ironically, Virginia and West Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina and Georgia are all named for British monarchs.

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You don't have to write about George Washington to make money on HubPages. Click here to read detailed instructions for making money while writing about anything.

Here are some examples of other hubs I've written:

• Free Abraham Lincoln Pictures
• Barack Obama Photos
• Barack Obama and Michelle Obama Paper Dolls
• Free Election Clip Art and Barack Obama Pictures