Thomas jefferson biography

Thomas Jefferson, the third American president, played an important role in America's independence struggle. Besides politics, Jefferson was also a scientist, musician and a strong proponent of public education. In addition to that, he was one of the greatest contributors to human progress. Early Life Jefferson was born into a wealthy family in Virginia. Peter Jefferson was his father and he earned a living as a rich surveyor and plantation owner. Jane Randolph, Thomas Jefferson;s mother, was from one of the richest families in Virginia. He was the eldest son born to his parents, and a third born overall. His father willingly supported the young Jefferson;s education. Consequently, he ensured that his son had some of the best opportunities for education available at the time. Jefferson thus became one of the most educated and influential persons at that time. When he was seventeen years old, Jefferson secured admission in William and May. During his time there, he read widely on a range of topics. This included science, philosophy and law. In addition, Jefferson also learned French, Spanish and Italian. The college, which was located in the colony;s capital of Williamsburg, provided Jefferson with a glimpse of how government works. This knowledge would undoubtedly be crucial when he later on joined government. In the year 1761, he gained admission to the bar, establishing a practice that enjoyed much success. However, he had to abandon the practice when the war. Instead, h...

Biography of Thomas Jefferson President Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson, the man who became the third president of the fledgling United States of America, the author of the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and the father of the University of Virginia, was born to Peter Jefferson, a citizen of Welsh origins who wielded a large amount of influence in Albemarle County, Virginia, and his wife Jane Randolph on 2 April 1743. Thomas was the third of ten children. When his father died in 1757, he left "orders" that Thomas complete his education. Thomas, heeding the words of his father, entered the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in 1760. Jefferson would later credit one of his math professors, a man by the name of Dr. Small, as being one of his biggest inspirations to excel in school. Peter Jefferson had also encouraged his children to pursue musical studies. Thomas was a talented violinist who played often at the weekly parties hosted by the Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier. It was through his interaction with Fauquier that Jefferson learned about the social, political, and parliamentary life of Europe which heavily influenced that in America. After graduating from William and Mary, Jefferson studied law and in April 1764, after his 21st birthday, Jefferson assumed the management of his fathers estate and extensive lands. He was also named vestryman and a justice of the peace, positions he more or less inherited from his f...

By Tim Lambert His Early Life Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the USA. He was born on 13 April 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia. His father Peter was a wealthy landowner. His mother was called Jane. However, his father died when he was 14 leaving him a substantial amount of land. In 1760 Thomas Jefferson went to the College of William and Mary. Then in 1762 he began studying law. He was admitted to the bar in 1767. From 1769 to 1775 Jefferson was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1774 he wrote A Summary View of the Rights of British America. He argued that the British parliament had no authority over the American colonies who were bound to Britain only by loyalty to the king. Meanwhile, in 1772 he married a woman named Martha Wayles Skelton. The couple had 6 children but only two (a daughter named Martha and another named Maria) survived childhood. Sadly Martha senior died in 1782 aged only 33. Jefferson also had children by his slave, Sally Hemings. The Statesman In 1775 Jefferson became a member of the Second Continental Congress. He became one of 5 men appointed to write a declaration of independence and he was asked to write the first draft. It was edited by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin and also by the Continental Congress but the final version was adopted on 4 July 1776. In 1776 Jefferson entered the Virginia House of Delegates where he worked to reform the laws. He drafted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which was not passe...

Historian Marc Leepson is the author of seven books, including Saving Monticello (2001), a comprehensive history of the house built by Thomas Jefferson and the hands it passed through since his death in 1826. Here, Leepson provides a list of five must-reads for a better understanding of the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. Jefferson and His Time, by Dumas Malone This classic biography of Thomas Jefferson, written by one of the most renowned Jefferson scholars, was published in six volumes over 33 years. It consists of Jefferson the Virginian (1948), covering his childhood through his drafting of the Declaration of Independence; Jefferson and the Rights of Man (1951), about his years as a minister to France and secretary of state; Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty (1962), leading up through his presidential election; Jefferson the President: First Term, 1801-1805 (1970) and Jefferson the President: Second Term, 1805-1809 (1974); and The Sage of Monticello (1981), about the last 17 years of his life, as his priorities changed from politics to family, architecture and education. In 1975, author Dumas Malone won the Pulitzer Prize for history for the first five volumes. From Leepson: Malone is a Jefferson partisan, but his scholarship is impeccable. American Sphinx (1996), by Joseph J. Ellis National Book Award winner Joseph J. Ellis’ newest book, First Family, takes on the relationship between Abigail and John Adams. Bu...