Thomas Jefferson Biography Essay

On April 13, 1743, Thomas Jefferson was born. He was later known as a leading figure in our country’s quest for independence. Jefferson also played important roles in the early history of our fledgling nation as its Minister to France, Secretary of State, the third President of the United States and a native of Virginia. Jefferson was a true Renaissance man, he was known for his many talents in writing, economics, religion and philosophy as well as horticulture and mathematics. He spoke 6 languages including English, French, Greek, Italian, Latin and Spanish. He also had a love for the written word, having written over 19,000 letters in his lifetime. Jefferson was known to be an avid inventor, lawyer and educator. He graduated from the

He was a father of six children, though only two daughters had survived to adulthood. Throughout Jefferson's life, he had twelve grandchildren, and several of them having had lived with him at Monticello. He loved to play with his with his grandchildren, teaching them how to play chess and Goose. Fun fact, Goose was one of the first board games in the United States. And after his wife passed, he began a relationship with Sally Hemings. That relationship lasted the rest of Thomas Jefferson's life, he died on July 04, 1826. Sally Hemings died in the year of

Their friendship deepened through years of letter-writing, including letters written between Abigail Adams and Jefferson. They spent years in France together as Jefferson and Adams served as trade ministers in Europe. The two remained close friends despite their political differences; that is, until Jefferson beat Adams in the Election of 1801 to become President of the United States. They resumed their close friendship after about 10 years of separation. Both Jefferson and Adams died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Adams last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives”, un-aware that Jefferson had died a few hours earlier. They were the last surviving members of the original group of Patriots that became known as America’s Founding Fathers. Jefferson and Adams also share the distinction of being the only Declaration of Independence signatories who would later serve as