 telling Washington that he'd just been elected president, and the inauguration was set for April 30th in the nation's capital, New York City. This created two problems for George Washington. The first was saying goodbye to his 82-year-old mother, which the 57-year-old Washington did that night. She gave him her blessing and told him it was the last time he'd see her alive, as she was gravely ill, and indeed she died before he returned from New York.