what country was george washington from?
Kingdom of Great Britain
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 George Washington was born in Kortrijk , Belgium to Jean Guillaume Washington ( John William Washington ) of England and Marie Louise Tant of Belgium , on May 20 , 1871 . Following then @-@ current nationality law , which considered fatherhood primary , Washington was a British subject until he was naturalized as an American in May 1918 . At least six siblings in the family also settled in different parts of the United States and Central America . A number of accounts claim a relation to U.S. President George Washington , but this is not clearly explained . 

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 Washington was of primarily English gentry descent , especially from Sulgrave , England . His great @-@ grandfather , John Washington , emigrated to Virginia in 1656 and began accumulating land and slaves , as did his son Lawrence and his grandson , George 's father , Augustine . Augustine was a tobacco planter who also tried his hand in iron @-@ mining ventures . In George 's youth , the Washingtons were moderately prosperous members of the Virginia gentry , of " middling rank " rather than one of the leading planter families . At this time , Virginia and other southern colonies had employed slave labor , in which slaveholders ( and the rich in general ) formed the ruling class and much of the economy was based upon slave labor . 

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 Washington came to reside in Brussels and also attained a degree in chemistry at the University of Bonn in Germany . In December 1895 , Washington married Angeline Céline Virginie ( later , just " Lina " ) Van Nieuwenhuyse ( born 1876 ) , also from Belgium . The US Census of 1900 records that Lina , like her husband , had English and Belgian ancestry ( a Belgian father and an English mother ) . The Washingtons ' arrival in the United States on a ship from Antwerp , Belgium , on October 6 , 1896 , was recorded at Ellis Island , though the 1900 US Census states that they emigrated to the United States in 1897 . The Washingtons settled in the New York area , where they had three children : Louisa Washington ( born May 1897 ) , Irene Washington ( born May 1898 ) , and George Washington Jr . ( born August 1899 ) . 

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 Washington 's military experience began in the French and Indian War with a commission as a major in the militia of the British Province of Virginia . In 1753 Washington was sent as an ambassador from the British crown to the French officials and Indians as far north as present @-@ day Erie , Pennsylvania . The following year he led another expedition to the area to assist in the construction of a fort at present @-@ day Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Before reaching that point , he and some of his men , accompanied by Indian allies , ambushed a French scouting party . Its leader was killed , although the exact circumstances of his death were disputed . This peacetime act of aggression is seen as one of the first military steps leading to the global Seven Years ' War . The French responded by attacking fortifications Washington erected following the ambush , forcing his surrender . Released on parole , Washington and his troops returned to Virginia . 

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 The source of the term " Empire State " is uncertain . It has been attributed to the state 's wealth and resources , but there is some doubt regarding that . Two possible stories involve America 's first president George Washington . 
