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Which is correct?

George Washington was the first president of the United States.

or

George Washington is the first president of the United States. (He will always be the first president of the United States and will always be true)

I have read from a book that the present tense is used in stating general "truths", like for example "The Pacific Ocean is the largest Ocean in the world." , "Harvey is my brother", "Antarctica is covered with ice."

and it sounds wrong to say "The Pacific Ocean was the largest Ocean in the world." or "Harvey was my brother", "Antarctica was covered with ice." Using "was" sounds like there have been changes.

HAKI16
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    Saying 'The Pacific Ocean was the largest Ocean in the world' without licensing context implies that this is no longer the case, and even though factually accurate (it was in 1066, 1812, 2000 ...) violates a Gricean maxim. But 'George Washington was the first president of the United States' is fine: He's no longer president; he's no longer on Earth. And 'George Washington is the first president of the United States' is also fine. It uses the historic present to record an important fact that, as you say, will never change, and its use will confuse very few people. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 08 '21 at 11:32
  • But "Donald Trump is the 45th president of the United States" is confusing: he was, but isn't, unless one is using the present tense to refer to the past in the whole context, as is often done. – Weather Vane Nov 08 '21 at 12:12
  • @WeatherVane The same thing applies: he was, is and always will be the 45th President. No-one else was or can be the 45th President. The is here also implies that he's still alive. [NB: I haven't checked that the number 45 is actually correct, or that he is in fact still alive. Taking both points on trust.] – Andrew Leach Nov 08 '21 at 14:50
  • @AndrewLeach but he isn't the president: that is what could be confusing to people who aren't familiar with American politics. But Joseph Biden is the 46th president. – Weather Vane Nov 08 '21 at 16:24

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