Thomas Jefferson
Born April 13, 1743
Shadwell, Virginia
Died July 4, 1826
Charlottesville, Virginia
President and vice president of the United States, lawyer, philosopher, writer
Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant man with broad-ranging interests who greatly influenced the political and intellectual life of America. His gift for language made him the most eloquent leader of the American Revolution. His vision for America helped make him one of its most respected presidents.
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, to Peter Jefferson, a pioneer farmer and surveyor, and his wife, Jane Randolph Jefferson. The family was not wealthy, but Jeffer son's mother was from a well-respected Virginia family. As a teenager, Jefferson boarded with the local schoolmaster to learn Latin and Greek. In 1760, at age seventeen, he attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Jefferson was an excellent student who sometimes studied fif teen hours a day.
After graduation in 1762 he studied law in Williams burg for five years, then began practicing law on his own. He mostly defended small-scale planters in land claims cases. He was well prepared and knowledgeable about the law, but he was not a great speaker.
In 1768 Jefferson began building his beautiful moun taintop home, Monticello, on land he had inherited from his father.
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