Thomas Jefferson

It all began when Peter Jefferson, an ambitious surveyor, farmer, and mapmaker met Jane Rudolph during his trip to England. They married and moved to the British colony of Virginia. Years later, Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Albermarle County. He was the third child out of eight.

By the age of five, Jefferson began to be schooled, along with his cousins, by a tutor. When he was nine, Thomas Jefferson was sent to a boarding school where he studied French, Latin, and Greek. He spent his vacations at home with his siblings, and first took interest in learning the violin given to him by his father. Tom and his father were quite close, and every time Thomas visited, he and his father would spend hours riding, canoeing, and enjoying the many pleasures nature had to offer. Thomas Jefferson mentioned in his autobiography, which he wrote many years later, how much he admired his father. Peter Jefferson died when his son was only fourteen years old, and he left behind a large estate of 5000 acres for Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson left for college when he was seventeen years old. He attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Though he spent the majority of his first year fox hunting and horse racing rather than concentrating on his studies, he promised himself he would work harder his second year. He became studious and realized the importance of a good education. He began to balance excessive studying with his social life. He graduated with highest honors. While in college, Jefferson was a member of a secret organization known then as the Flat Hat Club, now evolved into the William and Mary College newspaper, Thomas Jefferson had a propensity for joining secret associations.

Soon he faced a majo...

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...ist, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, author, inventor, and the founder of the University of Virginia, among other roles. People still believe him to be the most multi-faceted president in history. President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962, saying, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House?with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

Thomas Jefferson left behind a great legacy. He gave us the true meaning of freedom and America?s destiny would be very different if it was not for him. One of the Founding Fathers of America, Jefferson?s great debating and compromising talent helped the Unites States through many obstacles. Also, the next time you eat French fries, make sure you thank him.