President: Thomas Jefferson

Wife: Martha Wayles Skelton (1748-1782), on January 1, 1772

Kids: Martha Washington Jefferson (1772-1836); Jane Randolph Jefferson
(1774-75); infant son (1777); Mary Jefferson (1778-1804); Lucy Elizabeth
Jefferson (1780-81); Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson (1782-85)

Pets: mockingbird; two bear cubs, a gift from Lewis and Clark

Bio: Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), was the third President Of The United States. On April 13, 1743, he was born in Albemarle County, Virginia to a highly respected and prominent family in the community. Thomas Jefferson was well educated in small private schools. He attended the College of William and Mary where he excelled in law studies, therefore becoming a successful lawyer. On Jan. 1, 1772, he married Martha Wayles Skelton, and received the famous Monticello Estate from her father.

Jefferson stood for freedom from the start. As a member of the Continental Congress (1775-1776), Jefferson was chosen in 1776 to draft the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that all men are equal in rights, regardless of birth, wealth, or status, and that government is the servant, not the master, of human beings. In 1796, he became vice-president to John Adams. Then in the election of 1800 he beat John Adams to become President. Probably the most important achievement of Jefferson's presidency was the purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803. This opened up a vast area to the new Americans and made it easier to navigate the Mississippi River. He was easily re-elected in 1804 with James Madison as his vice-president.

After retirement, he personally directed the operations of his mills and farms into his 70s. Jefferson's last great public service was the founding of the University of Virginia, which was chartered in 1819. He died at Monticello on July 4, 1826, a few hours before John Adams, on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Historically, Jefferson was a man of controversy. Supposedly a man devoted to individual rights and freedoms, his ownership of over 200 slaves flew in the face of that philosophy. Many African-Americans today do not view him as the hero he is made out to be.