Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826) was a founding father of the United States. He authored the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and served as the third President of the United States from 1801-1809, as well as the first Secretary of State (under George Washington) and the second Vice President (under John Adams). During his presidency, he made the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, which very nearly doubled the country's territory. (The Louisiana Purchase contained not just Louisiana, but also the territory which became several other states, including South Dakota).
Jefferson achieved distinction as, among other things, a horticulturist, statesman, architect, archaeologist, inventor, and founder of the University of Virginia. He also served as governor of Virginia from 1779-1781 and ambassador to France from 1785-1789 (succeeding Benjamin Franklin).
Following the War of Secession, Thomas Jefferson's status as a Virginian (and more substantively, his insistence on a weak central government) tarnished his memory considerably in the United States. His Northern contemporaries, such as John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, were viewed much more favorably.[1]
