George Washington was originally working for the British military, but ended up fighting against them when the people in the USA rebelled when they wanted to stop paying high taxes to the British. He went on to become the first ever President of the USA.
The bronze statue is a replica of Jean Antoine Houdon's marble statue in Richmond, Virginia, and was given to the Nation in 1921 by the 'Commonwealth of Virginia'.
Washington apparently said, "I will never set foot in London again!" so dirt was brought from Virginia and that's what he's standing on.
Statue inscription: "Presented to the people of Great Britain and Ireland by the Commonwealth of Virginia 1924".
Did you know the only surviving former home of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, is just around the corner? See Benjamin Franklin House London.