Thomas Jefferson Born April 13, 1743 New Style

Summary

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, under the Gregorian New Style calendar, equivalent to April 2, 1743, Old Style Julian, at Shadwell in colonial Virginia. He was the third president of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, governor of Virginia, minister to France, secretary of state under Washington, and vice president under Adams. His own presidency from 1801 to 1809 featured the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. A noted polymath, he designed buildings, advanced agricultural science, and founded the University of Virginia. Jefferson’s writings articulated Enlightenment principles of liberty, separation of church and state, and republican government that shaped the early United States, while his personal ownership of enslaved people remains a subject of ongoing historical examination.