Here are 5 interesting facts about December 23 in District of Columbia history:

1. On December 23, 1783, General George Washington resigned his commission to Congress as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland, which at that time was the capital of the United States.

2. In 1826, the cornerstone of the United States Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C. was laid by President John Quincy Adams. This building now houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.

3. On December 23, 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson. This act created the Federal Reserve System, which serves as the central banking system of the United States.

4. In 1954, the first metro system in the United States, the Washington Metro, was authorized by Congress. The system opened in 1976 and currently serves the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

5. On December 23, 1971, President Richard Nixon signed a bill into law that lowered the voting age in the United States from 21 to 18. This change was intended to align the voting age with the minimum age for military service during the Vietnam War.