Wikijunior:American Founding Fathers/George Mason
Who is this?
[edit | edit source]George Mason
What did he do that made him important?
[edit | edit source]George Mason was a United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. He is called the "Father of the Bill of Rights". For all of these reasons he is considered to be one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States. However, he refused to sign the Constitution.
What did he do when he was young?
[edit | edit source]George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 to George and Ann Thomson Mason at the Mason family plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia. On April 4, 1750, he married sixteen-year-old Ann Eilbeck, from a plantation in Charles County, Maryland. They lived in a house on his property in Dogue's Neck, Virginia. He and his wife had twelve children, nine of whom survived to adulthood.
What did he do afterward?
[edit | edit source]George Mason died in his home, Gunston Hall, on October 7, 1792.
How do we remember him today?
[edit | edit source]George Mason's home has been turned into a museum in his honor. There are also countless things named after him including:
- George Mason University, located in Virginia
- Mason County, Kentucky
- Mason County, West Virginia
- Mason County, Illinois