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Date of Birth
Alexander Hamilton is born on the British island of Nevis in the West Indies, the second of two boys. His father James is a Scottish trader of noble ancestry. His mother Rachel Faucett, of French descent, is still married to another man at the time. Several biographical accounts will put the year of Hamilton's birth as 1757. -
St. Croix
The Hamiltons move to the Danish island of St. Croix, but James soon leaves his family, and Alexander never sees his father again. Britain passes the Stamp Act to raise revenue from the American colonists to help pay Britain's war debts. The law touches off a decade-long dispute over British authority in America. -
Eliza Hamilton
Elizabeth Schuyler, daughter of wealthy General Philip Schuyler, marries Alexander -
Anti- Slavery Group
February 4: At a meeting in New York, Hamilton and 31 others set forth the guiding principles for an anti-slavery group, the New York Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves. The society pledges not only to show compassion towards those held in captivity but also to work towards their freedom. -
The Federalist Papers
Hamilton, James Madison,and John Jay begin writing The Federalist, more popularly known as The Federalist Papers. These 85 essays supporting ratification of the Constitution appear in various New York newspapers starting this month and continuing until May 1788. Each essay is signed "Publius." Hamilton writes 51 essays, Jay five, and Madison 29. -
Letter
In a letter Hamilton declares himself "unequivocally convinced of the following truth: That Mr. Madison cooperating with Mr. Jefferson is at the head of a faction decidedly hostile to me and my administration, and actuated by views in my judgment subversive of the principles of good government and dangerous to the union, peace and happiness of the Country." -
Resigns as Treasury Secretary
January 19: Hamilton submits his final financial report to Congress and resigns as Treasury Secretary soon afterward. He and his family leave Philadelphia in February and return to New York, where Hamilton, whose government salary has never matched his expenses, returns to the law. -
George Washington
December 14: Hamilton's longtime patron George Washington passes away. "Perhaps no friend of his has more cause to lament on personal account than myself," Hamilton writes. -
Date of Death
After suffering considerable physical agony, Alexander dies. -
Elizabeth
November 9: Elizabeth, who has outlived her husband by five decades, dies at the age of 97.
