MOST Americans agree on three things about George Washington, their first President: he was a great man, but a stiff-jawed dullard with revolting wooden false teeth.

It appears, however, that Washington, especially in his younger days, before he defeated the British in the War of Independence, had the physique of a quarterback and the looks of a rock star.

Using modern forensic anthropology techniques and computer models, researchers believe that they have created replicas of Washington aged 19, 45 and 57. They depict a young Washington who is a far cry from the white-haired old man with the sour look who appears on the one-dollar bill.

The research suggests that, as a young man, Washington was a strapping 6ft 3in athlete, with a slim build, grey-blue eyes and flowing auburn hair worn in a ponytail.

He was also a square-jawed dentist’s dream, with all his teeth and, as one historian described him, “something of a ladies’ man”.

The directors of the Mount Vernon estate, Washington’s home in northern Virginia, are using the research to display next year three life-size figures showing aspects of his personality that they consider to be under-appreciated.

“People know that Washington was great, but many people think he was boring, and nothing could be further from the truth,” James Rees, Mount Vernon’s executive director, said. “Of all the founding fathers, he was the most athletic, the most adventurous and clearly a man of action. He was a risk-taking, courageous kind of hero.” Mount Vernon will exhibit a 19-year-old Washington as a surveyor in a forest with his surveying equipment, and a 45-year-old Washington on a horse at Valley Forge, where he and his army endured a bitter winter in 1777 and 1778, before emerging victorious against the British. West of Philadelphia, Valley Forge has come to symbolise the heroism of the American Revolutionaries. At 57, Washington will also be on display as he is sworn in for his first term as President.

There are no portraits of Washington as a young man. According to The New York Times, Jeffrey H. Schwartz, a Professor of Physical Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, has used age- regression techniques to recreate the young Washington.

“I feel good about the faces we have,” Professor Schwartz said. “It’s probably about as close as anyone can get to determining what Washington actually looked like.”

FROM SURVEYOR TO PRESIDENT

Often called the Father of His Country

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