Born on february 22 1732, George Washington became the First American president on february 4, 1789. Up next, author karla killough mcclaferty recalls a project where historians and scientists set off to understand what the first u. S. President looked like in different moments of his life. This event was filmed in 2012 in little rock, arkansas. I have written nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics from George Washington to xrays to marie currie to an american holocaust rescuer, to tech titans like bill gates and steve jobs and others. When i begin a project, i know little about my topics. I begin to do the research, i go on a Treasure Hunt thats the way i like to look at it. I use primary sources in order to gather the material that i need to write nonfiction books that are accurate and interesting as well. So when i began to look into this book about George Washington and decided to write this book, i began to write about George Washington in the same way. I knew little about washington. I heard, of course, he chopped down the cherry tree, which he didnt. I heard he wore a wig, which he didnt. And id heard that he wore wooden teeth, which he didnt. So i found out everything i thought i knew was not correct. I describe this book as csi meets it biography channel, its been a treat for me to replace all of the myths with the facts about George Washington. The premise is this does George Washington really look like the image on the 1 bill. When mt. Vernon did some research, they found most americans would describe this image of George Washington taken from the portrait as old, boring and grumpy. And, of course, they realized they were going to have to change that way of looking at the father of our country. They devised a plan in which they would create three lifesized figures of George Washington and show him at the ages of 19 and 45 and at 57. And to do this, they really compiled a team from the experts from all over the world. The first one that came to the project was dr. Jeffrey schwartz who is a physical anthropologist, he began the project. From there, it looked like he gathered and other experts and all began with these three pieces of art. These were all done by a famous master sculptor of the day of washingtons day. And he actually came to mt. Vernon to observe washington. While he was there, he created the life mask that you see on the right side. And he also created the bust that you see on the left side and gave the bust to washington as a parting gift when he left. When he wrent back to his studio in paris, he created this beautiful marble statue that is still at the Virginia State capitol in richmond. So theres no doubt that these three pieces of art showed what George Washington looked like at the age of 53. So these were the gold standards for this whole project. From there, the prison laboratory at Arizona State university and they devised a way to scan all of these priceless artifacts in a way that would not damage them. So, as you see, this is actually the washington bust being done with the laser scan there. And on this bottom left you can see where all of that information is fed was fed into the Computer System and it sort of made a match that was an exact replica of that bust. So they did many of the artifacts this way. And as they did, they were abe to study them. And they were able then to get all of these various measurements that were from George Washington because as a master sculptor who would have measured every part of his body. So when he had all of that information information, the other thing thats necessary to figure out the one thing that every school child knows about George Washington and that is that he had dentures. He did indeed have dentures. These are actually the dentures that George Washington had in his mouth at some point in his life. I like to point out when i do the school visits, the one on the top left, you can see the spring there is a heinous looking thing there. So every time now i look at the 1 and i see that picture of George Washington, i envision a denture like this one in his mouth and i have a lot of sympathy for him. At the time, he would have struggled to keep that in his mouth and he would have been really sort of embarrassed about the way it made his mouth look. But these dentures play an Important Role in this process. What they were able to do with this is determine, because of that denture, determine the shape of his jaw. And every step along the way, they then put that information to see if it fit perfectly within that bust. Because this was the gold standard. If it didnt fit there, it wasnt write. So as the project moved along, the science end of it came to a close and they ended up with these three incredible computer files of George Washington as he would have looked at 19, 45 and 57. You can see theres quite a lot of difference in these images if you look closely. At 19 years of age, he would have had a much longer face than he did later in life. As he lost teeth as he did throughout his life, his face would have appeared shorter and shorter. So this information was really an important part. When the computer files were finished, it went to a foam head and then to a wax a clay head. But once again, it took the skill of a master sculptor, and this is stuart williamson, it took stuart to then take that information and those clay heads and really craft into those heads and those faces an expression and a moment in time, the wrinkles, the concern you see on his face, it took a master sculptor once again to accomplish. From there, as you can see on the left those clay heads were turned into wax heads. Then when the wax heads were finished, these eyeballs were placed in those heads. Because when you think about it, if their eyeballs were waxed, they would never look real. But they put these in beautiful acrylic eyeballs and theres no doubt that George Washingtons eye color was bluegrey. Many people of his day wrote about the color of his eyes so theres no doubt about that. So as the project sort of moved along, it went really to the pure art end of things. I had a fortunate experience when i was doing the book because i had the Incredible Opportunity to go to mt. Vernon when they were doing the yearly maintenance of these three figures. On the left is diana cord ray, and the middle is sue day, an incredible artist as youll see. And on the right, a magnificent wig master. So while i was there, i was able to really see these figures as they were maintained and see what they look like and what they felt like. And then i was of course able to ask all of the questions that i needed to ask and to to ask all of the things id ask when i was a little girl. How long did it take you whats it made out of, why and why and then what happened. So this was really this was a wonderful opportunity for me to see these figures as they were being worked on and see them up close and see how they really went about creating them. Sue day is not only the artist that youll see in a moment, but shes also the one to put the hairline into each of the three figures of George Washington. You can see that here in this slide, shes putting one human hair at a time directly in to the wax. And in this way it looks like the hair is actually growing out of his head. One by one, she used this tool to put in the hairline and she did so with each of the figures. Its painstaking work. Also theres no doubt what color George Washingtons hair was. The reason theres no doubt is that there are many locks of his hair that still exist today and i actually got to see some of it. Its kind of a chestnut color. Its not really red. So shes using hair that was purchased from a hair merchant in london and exactly the color they needed it to be. This is a picture of steven horhag getting ready to put one of the wigs back on, one of the georges heads. You can see on the left side, this wig is one that goes on general washingtons head. He takes one human hair at a time and makes a custom netting and makes those wigs, those custom wigs that fit exactly on those three figures. And steven is also the one who does George Washingtons hair. So as the progress of this of these three heads continues, i wanted to show you this image which is young George Washington at the age of 19 as he would have looked when he was a surveyor in the wilderness of virginia. His eyeballs are in, his hairline is in, that incredible wig is on the back of his head and he had one base coat of paint on his face. Then sue day creates magic. She takes that very pale face and she creates George Washington. I write in the book, and i try and in my books and when i speak to School Children all over, i really try to bring all of this to life for them by saying every time i see this figure, i know that it doesnt feel like stubble when you touch his face. But it looks so real that 5 00 shadow that it looks like you would feel it. Heres one of my favorite images of young George Washington. And up close and personal look at this incredible figure and when i look at this, i remind people that each eyebrow was inserted one human hair at a time each eyelash, one human hair at a time. But i think that the incredible skill of sue day is really clear hair as she makes these incredible pieces look like they could talk. So George Washington also needed a body. And the way that the experts created what is an accurate representation of the way his body looks is because they studied the textiles that he wore. There are many pieces of clothing that still exist that George Washington wore during his lifetime. The uniform on the left is at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The things on the right are actually in the collection at mt. Vernon. So a textile expert looked and investigated all of the pieces of clothing and measures each piece exactly and they were not only able to understand the size of George Washington but also how he fit in those clothes. Linda baumgartner i interviewed for the book. She gave me the real thrill of going to the vault at Colonial Williamsburg to see authentic 18th century clothing and she was able to answer a lot of questions for me. I asked her what part of George Washingtons life and the way they moved and the way it made him stand and the way it made him move. All of those things were very important to me. I like to say that George Washington came to life for me at mt. Vernon. But the 18th century came to life for me at Colonial Williamsburg. Here are the finished figures that you see at mt. Vernon today. This shows young george, a surveyor, 19 years old. Each piece of his clothing was made by hand using 18th century methods. Theyre absolutely stunning. This is what general George Washington would have looked like at about the time he was at valley forge. And this is what president George Washington would have looked like on the day of his first inauguration. But as i said, to know George Washington is really, for me when i went to mt. Vernon. Mt. Vernon is owned and operated by the mt. Vernons ladys association. And the first time i went there, i wanted to sit on the back porch, the piazza, and watch the sun come up. I did that. I got up at 4 30 one morning. And it was dark and i made my way there and i sat down at the on the far right side and watched the sun come up over the potomac river. And for a biographer like myself, there has to be a moment when i really connect with my subject and for me, that moment was right here. I saw this incredible sunrise come over the potomac river, and i realized how many times must George Washington have seen this very sight . And for me, it was a moment that he became real. In my research, he really became more and more real the more i researched his life. Here is a closeup of young george. And in each of these periods of time that i talk about in the book, i really like to sort of sum up what George Washington was like. At this point in his life, in the years that hes a man he ended up to be about 62, a ruddy complexion with chestnut colored hair. Athletic and strong, long arms and legs. He was a survivor of wilderness. He loved the horse races, fox hunting, cars, billiards. He was fashionable in clothing. He had dances in virginia and he was very ambitious. I really when again, when i talk to school kids, when i do school visits, i like to explain George Washington in this way, George Washington was such a man that the man admired his athletic ability and the ladies wanted to dance with him at the ball. And i firmly believe that when he came into the room, every head turned. He was also, by the time he was 22 years old, he was already famous in virginia and in england and in france. He wasnt famous necessarily for something great because he was sort of involved with actually began the french and indian war. He was well known long before he became the father of our country. I really had a very interesting way to connect with George Washington when i found out that george and martha, only two of them exist. And i was fascinated because the two letters are from 1775 right when George Washington is taking command of the Continental Army. And i love this letter which i found a way to put in to the book where hes telling her from philadelphia and he says, you know i that hes going to have to take command of the Continental Army and hes basically saying, now martha, ive got go. You know ive got to do this. And he says at the end, i shall feel no pain from the toil or the danger of the campaign. My unhappiness will flow from the uneasiness i know you will feel at being left alone. But i had a wonderful experience also at mt. Vernon that i just just i was not able to fit this letter, the second letter from george to martha in the book. So i told myself that any time i spoke about this book, i would tell this story. So here it is. This was actually written just a few days after that first letter and he was still in philadelphia getting ready to go to cambridge and he writes martha and he says theyre waiting on me to leave and im going now to the camp at boston. But he tells her in the bottom, i retain an unalterable affection for you which neither change nor distance can change. So for me, this was an important part of understanding George Washington. Because sometimes i think he and marthas relationship is sort of made into something its not. And i think in these letters, i see George Washington who had a deep love for his wife. By the time washington is at valley forge, he is in a period of time during the war thats difficult. He is hearing whispers they need to get rid of him. Hes not doing so hot in this one. George washington has a lot on his mind. You can see that stuarts incredible mastery of sculpture here, you can see sue days incredible talent in painting the space. And you can see the worry and the stress in his eyes. Because he knows hes going to Winter Quarters, that the british are occupying philadelphia, their capitol, and theyre only 16 miles away. And his men, a lot of them dont have any shoes on their feet and as they walk through the snow, they leave bloody footprints. They dont have enough clothes to keep them warm when its their turn to be on guard and some in Congress Want to replace him. So he has a lot a lot on his mind here. But i tried in this book to really show George Washington through the eyes of his contemporaries. And in this place, i think its a beautiful statement about George Washington. This was written by a frenchman who was an aid to basthuben to help in valley forge. This is the first thing he said the first time i saw him. I could not help could not keep my eyes on the imposing countenance. Brave yet not severe, affable without familiarity, the predominant expression with calm dignity through which he could trace the strong feelings of the patriot and discern the father as well as the commander of the soldiers. So i think thats a beautiful way to look at George Washington through the eyes of someone who saw him at valley forge. After the war was finally won and it took eight long years, which washington spent the entire time with his troops without going home for Winter Quarters he was actually given the the incredible honor of being the first person to sign the u. S. Constitution. Now, youll notice, it was not signed until five years after the war was over. It was a very difficult and unsettling time. And they had to really go through a lot to get this constitution which put into place the not only the congress but the presidency and vice presidency. And washington was given the honor of being the first to sign as the first president ial election came up George Washington was voted unanimously to be the first president of the united states. In reality, probably there was no other choice but George Washington. When i write in the book i like to set the scene. I like to readers to hear that moment, see that moment. This is one of the times in the book that i built a scene around all accurate primary source documents. And at this moment when George Washington becomes it first president at the united states, the crowd is gather in the intersection of wall and broad street, both still exist today. And if you had been there that day, you could have looked to the left to see trinity church, which you can still do today. And the building that the inauguration was held in was called federal hall. Its not the same fed hall that you see today, but its the one there has replaced it. But as the crowd is waiting for George Washington on that day, he comes hes driven up in a white coach with six white horses. And hes led out on to the cobblestones of that intersection there. And the crowd is silent when he gets out. And they remove their hats and he removes his and he bows from one side to the other until he makes his way. And in front of the entire crowd, he takes the oath of office on the balcony of federal hall and the crowd just weaks. Weeps. So many different people were there, including some foreign dignitaries. And one of those was a representative of france and this is how he described George Washington on that day. He has the soul, look, and figure of a hero. He never seems embarrassed with the homage and he has the advantage of mingling great dignity and great simplicity of manner. So i love to see George Washington through the eyes of somebody who was there on that day. As i close my comments today, i do love this image that is actually the opposite of the image thats on the book cover. Its of it was three gorges lined up together and i think theyre absolutely stunning. I do like to mention that mt. Vernon project to make these three figures was made possible by a grant from the donald w. Reynolds foundation. And it has been an honor for me to have the chance to take part in making the story come to life for a new generation of americans and its been just a real treat for me because mt. Vernon has opened their arms and has been gracious and let me do all of the research that i needed and its been really a personal thrill for me. As we conclude this, i would love to take some question ifs you have any. Yes, if you would come to the microphone in the center please, so we can hear if anybody would like to ask a question. Have you considered writing about any others in this matter. Investigating them humanizing them for children . And if so, do you have any other president s in mind that will interest you most . I never thought about doing it because this project is so unique that im not sure it will ever be done in this way again. And im always looking for ideas and new book ideas but i dont have any real plans for that. Because this is so unusual. The reason that it works with washington is because its before the days of photography. So the president s who were alive after photography was around, the getting a true sense of what they look like is not the same you know . So but i would love to dig into a new president any day. Thank you. Anyone else . Hello. My name is patrick. How do you go about picking your subject matter when youre selecting the books to write about . Its really they each come in a different way to me. The first one, the foot bone is connected to the neck bone, that was the world that i knew. Then the marie currie book, something out of nothing came out of that book. And the next one i was interested in the holocaust. So i found a story of an american holocaust rescuer. Then after that came George Washington and then after that, tech titans about the modern tech guys. So they they all sort of find me. You found out some that werent true. What do you find out in your research that you didnt believe before that is true . There are so many thing, really. Part of what fascinated me in this project was the detail that the experts went the links they went to. One of the things is that when George Washington was 19, he went with his brother to the caribbean because his brother had tuberculosis. So he caught smallpox while he was there. So for the rest of his life, George Washington had smallpox scars on his face. If you look carefully at the portraits of George Washington, if you see his left side you will see a smallpox scar right there. And the two older figures of George Washington have that pock mark. Its interesting to see now that i looked at the portraits, and see all of these artists, that is all there. It must have been very obvious. But as far as what he did, i have no idea of his involvement in the french and indian war. I had no idea that when he was a very young man he had a lot of responsibility and he did a lot of trip ss trips for the government, for virginia and in the virginia militia. So there were many, many things about him that i didnt know. I think washington for me is the research that the more you know about washington, the better he gets. Sometimes its the opposite when you research someones life. So hes one of the really extraordinary men. And i really believe myself that had he not been who he was, we would not be what we are as a country today. I have one more question. If you had a chance and all three of those figures were alive, you said each of those washingtons life had become personal to you, which one of those three would you want to go hug . Young george. I think im really partial to young because i knew nothing about him in that part of his life. And the idea that he was really such a rugged man and just altered the way i think about George Washington. I think of that shong, a country boy can survive. Thats what i think about him. It was extraordinary. So young george, really up, is my favorite. Thank you. Yes . Karla, would you talk a little bit about the other research youve done on your other books . Because your research has been extraordinary extraordinary. I do lot of research for the books i write. You cant just throw these together. I do a lot of work in a way that i can be proud of having done it. The book before this ims especially proud of about a american holocaust rescuer whose story is very little known. And the fact that he volunteered to go to marseilles, france and rescue more than 2,000 people i think is a story that is amazing. And im sad that very few people know it. So to do all of that research. I went through hundreds and hundreds of letters to him and from him. But it was in those letters and true for every person ive ever studied, it was through the letters that you get to know these people. The same is true for marie currie. After a while, you start recognizing the way they talk and the way they related and the way they would phrase things and washington, the same way. After a while, theyre so familiar that they almost become like a friend. Because you know that that the way they put their thoughts together. And for the book, it was for the letters i found out about the color of the trolley the smell of what he can see and smell. The fear he saw on the faces of the refugees. It was through his words that really made him come to life for me. So it was the research into their own words. I try to bring that to life so my readers can hear it, smell it, see it. Thats what a good book should do. Much as George Washington is portrayed on the dollar bill, Martha Washington is this grandmotherly figure. What did you learn about her that interested you and think you should know about. I had to cut martha out of the book. In so many places. I guess in greek films you know, that was on the cutting room floor. Theres a lot of martha on the cutting room floor up here. And i really wanted her in the book much more than shes in a book as an author you have to stay with what the book is about. I did put her in as much as i could. But like i said, the concession prize is that i tell the letter story when im out. I think what i learned about martha is that another myth in the way is people kind of think, oh, he married her for her money and, you know, sort of make it different from what i believe it was. I believe that george was lucky to have martha and martha was luck can i to have george. I think he was well known already and he was a good catch. She was a very wealthy widow. And all of the bachelors knew all about her and she was a good catch. But i think as time went on, they truly truly loved each other, and i think that she is what kept him grounded in a lot of ways. And she went to Winter Quarters when ever he called. When he wrote to her its time to come, she came. And she would stay until it was time to leave. And in that day, in case people dont know, in that day, they would go to winter quart earles and wouldnt bite battles in the winter. So she would come and the soldiers would and absolutely everything, people sang her praises. I mean she was just what she looks like in those portraits. I think for George Washington he had this is karlas opinion, he had a mother who was difficult. And i think he had hed fallen in love with a woman that was not a good idea since she was already married when he was a young man. So i think he had a lot of things that martha was just like a solace for him. I think she was exactly what George Washington needed. Anything else . You kind of captured my attention with those teeth and the big spring. It brought me back to the braces days. I thought, oh, god, that was even worse. Can you tell us i cant picture dentists in that era. Who made the false teeth. What were they made out of and all that . Did you learn all that . Abc lite. I do go into the book baultz its a fascinating part to it. The ones that i saw that i showed today, the ones from mt. Vernon who have the metal on them the upper teeth were cow and horse teeth. The bottom were human teeth, but probably not georges. The others were carved out of hip pot mus ivory with human teeth and some of those. It was common in the 18th century for poor people to sell their teeth. And there were dentists who made false teeth. And washington had several pairs of dentures throughout his lifetime. And he was probably buried with one set and so those three that i showed are not the only dentures that he ever had. But theyre the three theres no question about. But theres quite a bit of dentistry going on, far more than i ever really dreamed. Before doing this book. Those teeth and the fact that he lost teeth made was a huge part of recreating these figures. Because that told him about the shape of his face and the shape of his jaw which made a huge, huge difference. So his teeth to me its sort of a sad thing. Hes not the only one in his day that he didnt have a lot of teeth. But to be in the public eye as he was and to have dentures like that it was a struggle. He had a lot of pain with his teeth. And it was difficult. So thank you, very much for coming to see this presentation tonight and its been an honor and privilege. Thank you. Tonight at 6 30 p. M. Eastern time espionage historians talk about julius and Ethel Rosenberg who leaked secrets about the atom bomb to the soviets in the 1950s, panelists discuss the devotion to the communist cause and their controversial execution. Thats tonight at 6 30 p. M. Eastern here on American History tv. This year, cspan is touring cities across the country exploring American History. Next, a look at our recent visit to greensboro, north carolina. Youre watching American History tv, all weekend, every weekend, on cspan 3