George Washington became the first president of the United States.
The Electoral College unanimously elected Washington in 1789, and he took the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City on April 30 of that year. Before the presidency, he had commanded the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and later presided over the Constitutional Convention.
Washington served two four-year terms, from 1789 to 1797. John Adams, who had been vice president, succeeded him as the second president. Washington’s voluntary retirement after two terms established an influential precedent, although the Constitution did not impose a formal two-term limit until the Twenty-Second Amendment was ratified in 1951.