Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was a man of many talents and achievements. Born in 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia, Jefferson attended William and Mary College in Williamsburg, studied law, and was admitted to the bar.

Jefferson's political career began after college when he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1774, he wrote a pamphlet denying British authority over America. In 1775, he was sent as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, where he drafted, with input from Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and others, the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson then returned to the Virginia legislature, and drafted a statute guaranteeing religious freedom. In 1779, he became governor of Virginia. In 1789, he became the first secretary of state under the new Constitution. During that time, he became embroiled in a controversy with Alexander Hamilton that resulted in the formation of the American two-party political system.

In 1779, Jefferson became vice president under John Adams, and was later elected president in 1800. As president, he more than doubled the size of the country through the Louisiana Purchase, an acquisition of North American lands owned by France. After his retirement from public life, Jefferson devoted himself to planning the buildings and curriculum of the new University of Virginia. The Library of Congress was founded with some ten thousand volumes from Jefferson's private library. He died a few hours before John Adams on the fourth of July, fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.