The first President of the United States, George Washington, had ancestral connections to Sunderland. Several generations of his family lived at Washington Old Hall on the outskirts of the city. The Washington family crest, which features red and white stripes and three red stars, is thought to have inspired The Stars and Stripes.
Sunderland also has a bizarre presidential link. On the night President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at the theatre, he was watching "Our American Cousin"' a play written by Sunderland-born Tom Taylor.