circa 1790: George Washington, the 1st President of the United States of America. Original Publication: From the engraving by W Nutter, after CG Stuart. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A man is tarred and feathered before being hanged during conflict between the Tories and the Loyalists in Boston, Massachusetts, at the time of the American Revolution, c. 1780. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A Currier & Ives lithograph of Benjamin Franklin and his son William using a kite and key during a storm to prove that lightning was electricity, June 1752. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

19 April 1775: The Battle of Lexington, which marked the beginning of the American War of Independence. Original Artwork: After William Barnes Wollen (1857-1936) (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

August 1776: Council of War in the house of Mr Philip Livingstone in Brooklyn, after the Battle of Long Island. At that time George Washington's headquarters were in various houses in the area giving rise to the phrase,' Washington slept here'. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

British General Simon Fraser of Balnain (1729 - 1777) dies at the Battle of Bemis Heights in Saratoga County, New York State, during the American War of Independence, 7th October 1777. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)