Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was born into a life of wealth and privilege in Virginia, where his father taught him it was the duty of people in his social class to serve in the government.

Jefferson had broad interests and was always curious; he became not only a lawyer and politician but also an accomplished musician and self-taught architect, naturalist, and inventor. Tall, elegant, and cultured, Jefferson spoke six languages, founded the University of Virginia, and designed his own house, Monticello. He then authored the Declaration of American Independence.

After the Declaration of Independence (µ¶¸³¼±¾ð¹®) was adopted, he spent many of the war years in Virginia politics. He then served as ambassador to France and went on to become the second vice president and the third president of the United Sates. Though in public life, he disliked pomp and circumstance, in his private life, Jefferson had a weakness for finery that left him deeply in debt when he died. Like his friend (and sometime-foe) John Adams, Jefferson passed away on July 4, 1826.

You can tell what was most important to him in his life by the words he wrote for his tombstone. They don¡¯t mention the fact that he was the president of the United States. Instead they say: ¡°Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.