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Show First Birthday Celebration George Washington's birthday first was celebrated as a patriotic holiday at Newport, R. I., in 1781, 18 years before be-fore he died. Washington was present at some of the most notable of the early holiday occasions in honor of his birthday. He attended a gigantic patriotic ball In his honor at Philadelphia on February Febru-ary 22, 1792. His birthday was celebrated cele-brated each year from then on but the greatest of all the celebrations took place in New York In 1798. Lenity will operate with greater force, in some Instances, than rigor. It Is therefore my first wish to have my whole conduct distngulshed by it. Washington, |