A Great American
Thomas Jefferson
Third President 1801-1809
Born:
April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Albermarle County, Virginia.Education:
Educated at the College of William and Mary.Occupation:
Lawyer, writer, and public official. Talented in music, languages, science, architecture; interested in education and philosophy. Founder of the University of Virginia; designed its buildings as well as his own home, Monticello.Religion:
No formal affiliation.Family Life:
Married Martha Wayles Skelton, a widow, in 1772, and took her to live in his partially constructed mountaintop home, Monticello. They had one son and five daughters; only two daughters survived infancy. Martha passed away on September 6, 1782, before she was twenty. Their eldest daughter, Martha who was wife of Thomas Randolph, kept house for her father for many years. Jefferson did not remarry after his wife's death.Political Career:
Early leader in the Revolution; member of Virginia House of Burgesses 1769-74. Sat in the First Continental Congress and was one chosen to draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Governor of Virginia and Minister to France for the new United States government; first Secretary of State under Washington, 1790-93; Vice-President under Adams. Elected as a Democratic-Republican.Highlights of His Presidency:
Negotiated the Louisiana Purchase from France, encouraged the Louis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Northwest 1804-6, started the first national highway to Ohio, forced the Embargo Act through Congress as a measure against the British and French who were at war, established the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1802, saw the slave trade abolished in 1805, attacked the Barbary Pirates from Tripoli with naval forces.Appearance:
Tall (6' 2"), slender, with reddish-blond hair and hazel eyes.Died:
July 4, 1826, of chronic diarrhea, at Monticello, age 83.Buried:
Thomas Jefferson's grave is on his estate at Monticello, outside Charlottesville, Virginia.Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom & Father
of the University of Virginia
Famous Words:
"Truth is great and will prevail if left to itself." ~ 1786