The Washington DC flag of Washington, D.C., consists of three red stars above two red bars on a white background. The Annin Territory: District of Columbia Flag is an armorial banner based on the design of the coat of arms of George Washington, first used to identify the family in the 12th century, when one of George Washington's ancestors took possession of Washington Old Hall, County Durham, northeast England. As elements in heraldry, the stars are properly called mullets. For over a century, the District of Columbia was without an official flag and flew several unofficial banners - usually the flag of the D.C. National Guard. In 1938, Congress established a commission to choose an official, original District of Columbia flag design. The commission held a public competition and picked the submission of graphic designer Charles A. R. Dunn, who had first proposed his design in 1921. Dunn's design was officially adopted on October 15, 1938, using the following specification: the proportions of the design are prescribed in terms of the hoist, or vertical height, of the DC flag as follows: the upper white portion shall be 3/10 of the hoist; the two horizontal bars are each 2/10 of the hoist; the white area between the bars 1/10 of the hoist; and the base, or lowest white space, is 2/10 of the hoist.