Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia. In 1760 he attended the College of William and Mary and decided to study law. He was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767.
In 1768 Mr. Jefferson was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. He became one of Virginia’s delegates to the continental congress and worked with Mr. Adams to draft the declaration of independence.
Virginia elected Mr. Jefferson as its second Governor in 1779 where he served two terms until 1781.
Mr. Jefferson replaced Benjamin Franklin as the United States minister to France in 1785 and returned to America in 1789 to become Secretary of State under President George Washington.
Mr. Jefferson served as Vice President of the United States in 1797 and he was elected President in 1800. He was re-elected in 1804.
Thomas Jefferson is the author of “A Summary View of the Rights of British America” published in 1774. He also authored “notes on the State of Virginia” published in 1781.
