Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809.

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, as the third of ten children in his family. His mother was Jane Randolph Jefferson and his father was Peter Jefferson. From the age of nine, he began learning Latin, Ancient Greek, and French. When he was fourteen, in 1757, his father died and left him an inheritance of approximately 20 km² of land and many enslaved people. Continuing his education, Jefferson received a classical curriculum alongside studies in history and science. In 1762, he graduated from the College of William and Mary.

After completing his legal studies, he worked for five years under a practicing lawyer and in 1767 was admitted to the Virginia Bar, officially becoming a lawyer. During this period, while Virginia was still a colony, he practiced law and served as a judge. He advocated for religious freedom, the abolition of slavery, equal inheritance rights for children, the establishment of public schools, and the reform of criminal laws. On July 4, 1776, he co-authored the Declaration of Independence—asserting that all people are created equal—together with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. In 1768, Thomas Jefferson began the construction of the neoclassical mansion known as Monticello.

In 1775, he was elected to the Continental Congress, and in the same year helped prepare the Declaration of Independence, which formally announced America’s separation from Britain. He served as Governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781. In 1784, Jefferson traveled to Europe to negotiate commercial agreements and served as ambassador to France from 1784 to 1789. Upon his return, President George Washington appointed him as Secretary of State. Jefferson resigned from this position in 1793 and temporarily withdrew from political life. In 1801, he was elected President of the United States, and four years later he won re-election for a second term. In 1806, he submitted to Congress a bill banning the slave trade. Under his presidency, the American economy developed significantly and democratic governance became firmly established.

Thomas Jefferson was the founder of the University of Virginia and is regarded as one of the most intellectually gifted American presidents in history. Believing that full control of the Mississippi Valley and the removal of French influence from the continent were essential, he achieved one of his greatest successes in 1803 by purchasing Louisiana from France. He was elected President for a second term in the election of 1804.

After leaving the presidency in 1809, Jefferson spent his later years reading and writing at his Monticello estate. His interests were extremely diverse, and during this period he founded the University of Virginia.

Thomas Jefferson married Martha Wayles, the daughter of a wealthy lawyer, in 1772. They had children named Martha, Mary, Lucy Elizabeth, Peter, and Jane.

Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, at the age of 83, at Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia.

In the state of South Dakota, on the rocky cliffs of the Black Hills known as Mount Rushmore, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial features sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, created by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his son.

Source: Biyografiler.com