George Washington Adams

George Washington Adams (April 12, 1801 – April 30, 1829) was an American attorney and politician. He was the eldest son of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, and grandson of John Adams, the second President of the United States. Adams served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and on the Boston City Council. He is believed to have committed suicide at age 28. Biography George Washington Adams was born in Berlin, the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, on April 12, 1801. He was a member of the distinguished Adams family. Adams was the eldest son of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, who was then serving as a diplomatic representative of the United States, and his English-born wife Louisa Catherine Adams. He was named for the first president. His grandfather John Adams was the first vice president of the United States and also the second president. He was born a month after his grandfather left office. Adams's grandmother, Abigail Adams, was unhappy with the decision of her son to name the child after George Washington and not after her husband. She thought the decision "ill judged" and "wrong," adding that John Adams also seemed offended. John Quincy Adams's second son John Adams II (1803–1834) was named after his grandfather. Adams graduated from Harvard University in the Class of 1821 and studied law. After briefly practicing as an attorney, he ran for state office. He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1826 and served one year. In 1828, Adams served on the Boston City Council. He delivered an Independence Day speech, "An Oration delivered at Quincy, on the Fifth of July, 1824", which was later published as a pamphlet.