George Washington Addressed as “Mr. President”

On April 16, 1789—just two weeks before George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States at Federal Hall in New York City on April 30—he was formally addressed as “Mr. President” for the first time during a farewell reception at Wise’s Tavern in Alexandria. The address was delivered by Alexandria’s mayor, Dennis Ramsay, establishing a title that would become a permanent feature of the American presidency.

Ramsay is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery, within Alexandria’s Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. Read more about Ramsay and this historic address in this blog post. 

Colonel Dennis Ramsay (1756–1810) was a Revolutionary War veteran, mayor of Alexandria, and close associate of George Washington. The son of Alexandria’s first mayor, he continued the family’s civic legacy and was a long-serving officer of Alexandria Lodge No. 39. He is buried in The Presbyterian Cemetery, part of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex.