Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

  • Birth

    Birth
    Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743– July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father who was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801–1809).
  • Period: to

    Thoms Jefferson

    Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743– July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father who was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801–1809)
  • Attended School

    Attended School
    In 1752, Jefferson began attending a local school run by a Scottish Presbyterian minister. At the age of nine, Jefferson began studying Latin, Greek, and French; he learned to ride horses, and began to appreciate the study of nature. He studied under the Reverend James Maury from 1758 to 1760 near Gordonsville, Virginia. While boarding with Maury's family, he studied history, science and the classics
  • Attended College

    Attended College
    At age 16, Jefferson entered the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, and first met the law professor George Wythe, who became his influential mentor. For two years he studied mathematics, metaphysics, and philosophy under Professor William Small, who introduced the enthusiastic Jefferson to the writings of the British Empiricists, including John Locke, Francis Bacon, and Isaac Newton. He also improved his French, Greek, and violin. A diligent student.
  • contrustion of Monticello

    contrustion of Monticello
    In 1768 Jefferson started the construction of Monticello, a neoclassical mansion on 5,000 acres which he designed himself. Since childhood, Jefferson had always wanted to build a mountaintop home within sight of his former home of Shadwell.Jefferson moved into the South Pavilion an outbuilding in 1770, where his new wife Martha joined him in 1772. Monticello would be his continuing project to create a neoclassical environment.
  • marriage

    marriage
    Jefferson married the 23-year-old widow Martha Wayles Skelton. The wedding was celebrated on January 1, 1772 at Martha's home, an estate called 'The Forest' near Williamsburg, Virginia. Martha Jefferson was described as attractive, gracious and popular with their friends; she was a frequent hostess for Jefferson and managed the large household. They were said to have a happy marriage. She read widely, did fine needle work and was an amateur musician.
  • Declaration of Independence

    Declaration of Independence
    Jefferson served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress beginning in June 1775, soon after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. He sought out John Adams who, along with his cousin Samuel, had emerged as a leader of the convention. Jefferson and Adams established a lifelong friendship; Adams ensured that Jefferson was appointed to the five-man committee to write a declaration in support of the resolution of independence.
  • American Founding Father

    American Founding Father
    who was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776
  • United States Constitution

    United States Constitution
    The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. The first three Articles of the Constitution establish the three branches of the federal government with checks and balances to support a separation of powers: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a federal judiciary headed by the Supreme Court. The last four Articles frame the principle of federalism.
  • Took Office

    Took Office
    Became third president of the United States of America
  • Death

    Death
    Jefferson' health began to deteriorate by July 1825, and by June 1826 he was confined to bed. His death was from a combination of illnesses and conditions including uremia, severe diarrhea, and pneumonia. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and a few hours before John Adams