Born: April 13 (April 2, Old Style), 1743, Shadwell, Virginia
Died: July 4, 1826, Monticello, Virginia

Best known as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He was a man of many talents--an architect, an inventor, a scientist, and a collector of books and artifacts of American history. He could read more than five languages and was the U.S. minister to France for several years.