BIO

Dissertation: N/A

Highest degree: N/A

Fields of interest:

• history
• science
• classical languages
• mathematics
• metaphysics
• philosophy
• politics
• architecture
• theology

Biography:
Thomas Jefferson was born in april 1843 in a wealthy, prominent planter family in Shadwell, Virginia. At age 16, Jefferson entered the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, and first met the law professor George Wythe, who became his influential mentor. For two years he studied mathematics, metaphysics, and philosophy under Professor William Small, who introduced the enthusiastic Jefferson to the writings of the British Empiricists, including John Locke, Francis Bacon, and Isaac Newton. A diligent student, Jefferson displayed an avid curiosity in all fields and graduated in 1762 with highest honors. Throughout his life, science and books would play a pivotal role in his life. Through the years Jefferson collected and accumulated thousands of books for his library at Monticello, Virginia. Jefferson was also an accomplished architect who helped popularize the Neo-Palladian style in the United States. He personally designed his own home, Monticello and the campus of the University of Virginia. Jefferson invented many small practical devices and improved contemporary inventions. Although his interested varied widely, he started his career as a lawyer. In 1769 he first entered politics as a representative of Albemarle Country. In 1774 he first offered the then radical notion that the colonists had the natural right to govern themselves. After the American Revolutionary War broke out Jefferson served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. When Congress began considering a resolution of independence Jefferson wrote a draft version. The Declaration would eventually become Jefferson's major claim to fame, and his eloquent preamble became an enduring statement of human rights. In September 1776, Jefferson returned to Virginia. During his term in the Virginia House of Delegates, Jefferson set out to reform and update Virginia's system of laws to reflect its new status as a democratic state. He drafted 126 bills in three years, including laws to abolish primogeniture, establish freedom of religion, and streamline the judicial system. With the Revolutionary War at full force, Jefferson became Governor of Virginia. During the war, he was almost encaptured by the British, yet managed to publish an extensive work on the state of Virginia. When the colonies had won their independence and became the United States of America, Jefferson was elected to Congress and in 1785 he became Minister to France and upon his return to the United States in 1789 Secretary of State. In this position he often argued with Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson sided with the French revolutionaries as he believed that to back away from them would undermine the cause of republicanism in America. As the Democratic-Republican candidate in 1796 he lost to John Adams, but had enough electoral votes to become Vice President. In 1801, he won the presidency. Jefferson's presidency is remembered for three major achievements. First came the purchase of the Louisiana territory from France in 1803, which doubled the size of the United States. A second accomplishment was the defeat of Mediterranean Sea pirates in the First Barbary War. The third occurred during Jefferson's second term, when he proposed legislation outlawing the importation of African slaves. After leaving the Presidency, Jefferson continued to be active in public affairs. In 1819 he founded the University of Virginia. The university had no campus chapel as Jefferson believed the university should be free from religion. Thus, the university was centered around a library. Regadering slavery, he opposed slavery as an institution and said he wanted it to end, but he depended on enslaved labor to support his household and plantations. Jefferson's views of race did not differ much from many of his age. He believed blacks were inferior to whites in reasoning, mathematical comprehension, and imagination.
3rd President of the United States, 2nd Vice President of the United States, 1st United States Secretary of State, United States Ambassador to France, principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Credited with the phrase separation of church and state.

Residence

• Monticello (VA) 

Occupation

• Statesman 

Education

N/A

Membership

• Koninklijk Instituut, eerste klasse
  Associated Member 25-02-1809

Provenance

• Ledenlijst in: De leden van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen. Een demografisch perspectief: 1808 tot 2008. Kaa, D.J. vam de, Roo, Y. de. KNAW Press (2008)

Publications

N/A

Wiki and VIAF

Wiki Data: Q11812
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/41866059