A piece of history was returned to its rightful owner today.
In October 1789 our nation's first president, George Washington checked out two books from the New York Society Library and never returned them.
Washington's deed went undetected for nearly 150 years until a librarian discovered the original ledger in a garbage pile in library's basement.
According to the ledger, Washington checked out "The Law of Nations" which deals with international relations, and Vol 12. of the "Common Debates," which contains transcripts of debates from Britain's House of Commons.
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But today one of the books, "The Law of Nations," was returned.
The other book is still missing.
If adjusted for inflation, Washington would owe about $300,000 in overdue fines.
"We're not actively pursuing the overdue fines," quipped head librarian Mark Bartlett. "But we would be very happy if we were able to get the books back."
The ledger also listed other famous founding fathers such as Alexander Hamilton, Johy Jay and Aaron Burr.
Copyright The Associated Press
