George Washington's Death

Brother George Washington's physician diagnosed his illness on his deathbed as "inflammatory quinsy." Modern medicine still debates what his illness actualy might have been.  Suffice it to say it was a form of throat infection.  Brother Washington would almost certainly have survived the affliction with today's medical techniques, perhaps with some simple treatment with antibiotics. Making a significant contribution to his death, however,  was the fact that his doctors repeatedly used the accepted (at the time) technique of "bleeding" the President.  During the ordeal, Washington's doctors took 124-126 ounces or 3.75 liters of his blood, which would have been more than half the blood in his body.  This procedure almost certainly caused him to suffer profound shock.  Ultimately he may have died anyway, but it is not an exaggeration to say that our beloved Brother and first President bled to death!