Lawrence Washington (1659 – February 1698), a colonial-era American who is principally remembered as a member of the Washington family and the paternal grandfather of George Washington. He was the owner of a substantial Virginia plantation that he inherited from his father, John Washington, as the firstborn son under the law of primogeniture. Washington was sent to England to finish his education. In addition to being a landowner and planter, he was a lawyer, soldier, and a politician in colonial Virginia.