(1743-1826) statesman, Governor of Virginia, author of the Declaration of Independence, President of the United States, founder of the University of Virginia

Thomas Jefferson's interests and talents covered an amazing range. He was one of the foremost architects of his time, designing the Virginia Capitol, the University of Virginia, and his own home, Monticello. As a scientific farmer, he cultivated the finest gardens in America. His many inventions included the swivel chair and the dumb-waiter. His interest in natural science led him to help finance the excavation of a mammoth. His excellent library became the nucleus of the Library of Congress. He drafted Virginia's civil code, and founded its state university. He devised the convenient decimal system of coinage that allows Americans to keep accounts in dollars and cents. He also found time to write a Manual of Parliamentary Practice, to prepare written vocabularies of Indian languages, and to play the violin in chamber music concerts.

Despite an already quite busy personal life, Jefferson also found time for an equally busy public life. He was twice Governor of Virginia; he all but single-handedly wrote the Declaration of Independence; he served as the country's first Secretary of State, its second Vice-President, and its third President. His last major achievement was the founding of the University of Virginia, which enrolled its first class the same year he died.

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The Thomas Jefferson Papers. Library of Congress. memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/
Coates, Sr., Eyler Robert. Thomas Jefferson on Politics and Government, Quotations from the Writings of Thomas Jefferson. University of Virginia, 2001. etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/
Monticello www.monticello.org
Poplar Forest, Jefferson's Retreat www.poplarforest.org
Thomas Jefferson Memorial www.nps.gov/thje/