When George Washington died in 1799 what was the cause of his death?

Answer 1

Shock's a life-threatening condition. Nowadays, it generally is thought that first U.S. President George Washington died from shock, dehydration, and asphyxia due to the plan of medical treatment that was accepted in his day. On December 12, 1799, the President had been out in the snow, hail, and freezing rain. That evening, he sat down to dinner without having changed out of his wet clothes. The next morning, he awakened to a bad cold, fever, and throat infection that spiraled into laryngitis and pneumonia. He needed to be given liquids and kept very warm, with his feet somewhat elevated. Instead, close friends Dr. James Craik and personal secretary Tobias Lear V had the medical practices of the day followed. So the President was given calomel aka Mercury[l] chloride - whose toxicity wasn't known at the time - as a disinfectant and a laxative. He was losing body liquids when he needed them most. In addition, he was subjected to bloodletting by leeches. So the President also was losing blood when he needed it most. He lost five pints, which put a severe strain on the survival work that the body needed to get done. Typically, body activities count on an average human body supply of 11-12 pints of blood.

Answer 2

George Washington died at his home on Saturday, December 14, 1799, at age 67. He was buried in Mount Vernon, Virginia. The reported cause of death was severe throat inflammation. By the time the three physicians attending Washington had finished their treatments and bloodletting of the President, there had been a massive volume of blood loss-half or more of his total blood content being removed over the course of just a few hours. His final words were recorded as, "Tis well".

Answer 3

Pneumonia