April 3, 1776

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Joel Byers

On April 3, 1776, George Washington received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard College. While honored, George Washington almost declined it, as he was waiting to hear back from the Art Instruction School. He’d read an ad in the Pennsylvania Gazette that said, “Dost Thou Lovest To Scribble? Can Thoust Draw This Drunken Tortoise? Send in 2 pounds, sterling and Thou’s Bestest Attempt and Thou Mightest Win A Drawing Scholarship.” George was convinced he had artistic ability, since at one time he had been a fairly competent surveyor, but Martha, his wife, wasn’t as convinced, since George only liked to draw cherry trees and naked women. She convinced George to accept the honorary law degree, since artists, at that time, usually died poor and penniless.

[Facebook] [MySpace] [Twitter] More »

About Joel Byers

Born in North Georgia and educated at some very fine public institutions. Real education started after graduating from college and then getting married and raising two boys. Has the ability to see the funny and absurd in most things and will always remark on it, even if it means getting the stink-eye from his victims.
This entry was posted in 18th Century, Historical Facts and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *