Physical anthropologist Jeffrey Schwartz is attempting to recreate what George Washington looked like when he was 19 by forensically reconstructing the founding father’s bones based on what he looked like in portraits, and working back in years to when he was young and strapping. The verdict? “Despite what he looks like on the dollar bill, it turns out George Washington may have been kind of hot.”
Washington was a giant for his time at 6’2″ and possessed, according to the Mount Vernon estate’s executive director, “larger than average hands and feet.” The Washington Post‘s report on this reconstruction does, however, note: “Though the figure is being created nude, there are certain parts that are not being, shall we say, reimagined.”
Back then, unfortunately, one’s looks declined rapidly with age, aided by the lack of today’s dental technologies. By the time Washington was inaugurated at age 57, he had one tooth left.
Buffing Up the Image of George Washington [washington post]
