George Washington & 886 Washingtonia Asteroid - London, UK
Posted by: Metro2
N 51° 30.512 W 000° 07.710
30U E 699262 N 5710287
This statue of America's 1st President, George Washington, is a replica and located in London's Trafalgar Square. It was a gift from the Commonwealth of Virginia- where the original by Jean Antoine Houdon is located.
Waymark Code: WMDX3P
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/04/2012
Views: 18
The engraving on this statue's plinth reads:
"Presented to the people of Great Britain and Ireland by the Commonwealth of Virginia 1924".
This website (
visit link) discusses the replica in London:
"This statue of George Washington can be found in front of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square in central London.
George Washington was originally working for the British military, but ended up fighting against them when the people in the USA rebelled when they wanted to stop paying high taxes to the British. He went on to become the first ever President of the USA.
The bronze statue is a replica of Jean Antoine Houdon's marble statue in Richmond, Virginia, and was given to the Nation in 1921 by the 'Commonwealth of Virginia'.
Washington apparently said, "I will never set foot in London again!" so dirt was brought from Virginia and that's what he's standing on.
Read more about Washington at (
visit link)
As for the asteroid, Wikipedia's entry (
visit link) reads:
"886 Washingtonia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered on November 16, 1917 from Washington, D.C. and is named after the 1st President of the United States, George Washington."
The margin notes read:
"Name Washingtonia
Designation 1917 b
Discovery
Discoverer George Henry Peters
Discovery date November 16, 1917
Discovery site Washington, D.C.
Orbital elements
Epoch August 18, 2005 (JDCT 2453600.5)
Eccentricity (e) 0.263
Semimajor axis (a) 3.184 AU
Perihelion (q) 2.347 AU
Aphelion (Q) 4.021 AU
Orbital period (P) 5.681 a
Inclination (i) 16.819°
Longitude of the ascending node (O) 59.643°
Argument of Perihelion (?) 299.981°
Mean anomaly (M) 243.590°"