Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was the third President of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. A Virginia planter, lawyer and architect, he wrote the Declaration at thirty-three, served as governor of Virginia, minister to France, the first Secretary of State and Vice President, and as President from 1801 to 1809 doubled the country's size by the Louisiana Purchase. He drafted Virginia's statute for religious freedom, founded the University of Virginia, and built Monticello. He owned several hundred slaves throughout his life. He died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration, a few hours before John Adams.