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Thomas Jefferson Timeline

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Timeline of Jefferson’s life

Year Event
1743 -Thomas Jefferson born at Shadwell 1760-1762- Thomas Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary
1762- Started to study law with George Wythe
1767-admitted to practice law before the General Court.
1768- Elected to House of Burgesses.
1772- Married Martha Wayles Skelton
1774- Wrote a summary view of the Rights of British America, and retired from legal practice.
1775- Elected to continental congress.
1776- Drafted declaration of independence, elected to Virginia house of delegates, and appointed to revise Virginia laws.
1777- Drafted Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, passed by General Assembly in 1786.
1778- Drafted the Bill of the More General Diffusion of knowledge. …show more content…
His father, Peter Jefferson, patented 1,000-acre tract which became Monticello. He had been among the earliest settlers in this wilderness country, and his position of leadership transferred to his oldest son. Thomas Jefferson became one of the best-educated Americans of his time. At 17 years, he was admitted to the College of William and Mary, where he got exciting first glimpses of "the expansion of science, and of the system of things in which we are placed." Jefferson read widely in the law, sciences, and in both ancient and modern history, philosophy, and …show more content…
In addition, he wanted to learn about the water passages between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. Lastly, after retirement from the presidency in 1809, Jefferson became the "Sage of Monticello." He maintained interest in a broad variety of intellectual pursuits and participated in the founding of the Library of Congress in 1815. Jefferson sold his personal library, consisting of almost 6,700 volumes, to the federal government for less than 24,000 dollars. These books formed the core collection of the Library of Congress. He was attracted by unfinished business from the Revolution, such as revision of the Virginia constitution and the gradual emancipation, or freedom, of slaves. The University of Virginia was planned and designed by Jefferson in all its parts, in terms of buildings, university rules, teachers, and subjects taught. He died at Monticello on the fiftieth anniversary of American independence, July 4,

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