Dana Stefanelli

Dana Stefanelli Profile Photo

Curator

Dana Stefanelli is the Curator of Special Collections at the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, where he is responsible for the acquisition and preservation of books and documents created prior to 1900. He has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia, and his publications include articles and book chapters on the history of Washington, D.C., and on American political and economic history. Prior to joining the historical profession, he served as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill.

June 19, 2023

Learning to be George Washington

Published in 1679, The Compleat Surveyor was a textbook for those training in the field of surveying, including a young George Washington. But don’t be fooled by its simple description: its early influence on Washington woul…