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A Confidential Letter
A transcript of Jefferson's confidential letter to the U.S. Congress outline the need and goals of what became the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Science & Exploration
Articles on Jefferson's lifelong interest in science, exploration, and technology written by Monticello researchers and scholars.
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![An image of the first page of Thomas Jefferson's January 18, 1803 letter to Congress proposing funding of what became the Lewis and Clark Expedition.]()
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![Asia map by Aaron Arrowsmith. Courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection.]()
EncyclopediaAaron Arrowsmith Maps of Africa, Asia, and Europe
An article about maps of Africa, Asia, and Europe by Aaron Arrowsmith, copies of which Thomas Jefferson owned and displayed at Monticello.
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Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (Silhouette)
Jefferson owned a silhouette of Aime Jacques Alexandre Bonpland, a botanist who collaborated with Alexander von Humboldt in his explorations of South America.
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![Silhouette of Baron Alexander von Humboldt]()
Alexander von Humboldt (Silhouette)
Alexander von Humboldt, a celebrated explorer known for his scientific contributions, visited Jefferson in 1804, establishing a lifelong friendship.
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![American moose antlers (Alces alces americana). Antlers and partial skull cap mounted on wooden shield-shaped plaque. Right antler has nine points; left antler has nine points.]()
EncyclopediaAmerican Moose
Jefferson used the American moose to illustrate that American wildlife was equal, if not superior to, the wildlife of Europe.
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![The official seal of the American Philosophical Society]()
EncyclopediaAmerican Philosophical Society
Understand the role of the American Philosophical Society in promoting intellectual dialogue during Jefferson's time.
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Anthony Fothergill (Silhouette)
Anthony Fothergill was a doctor who accompanied a delegation led by Charles Willson Peale to meet Thomas Jefferson at the President's House in 1804.
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![Fort Astoria, 1813. Earliest known illustration of Fort Astoria, by Gabriel Franchere, employed by John Jacob Astor, Courtesy Oregon Historical Society Research Library.]()
EncyclopediaAstoria
Founded by John Jacob Astor with Jefferson's support, Fort Astoria, Oregon was the first American settlement west of the Rockies.
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EncyclopediaAstronomical Clock
Learn about the astronomical case clock and its place within Jefferson's collection of scientific instruments.
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![A Westerly View of the Colledges in Cambridge New England, Paul Revere/Yale University Art Gallery/PD]()
Benjamin Waterhouse
The first American doctor to administer the smallpox vaccine in the United States, Benjamin Waterhouse was a physician and acquaintance of Jefferson, and the two maintained a long correspondence.
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![Lower jawbone of an American Mastodon]()
EncyclopediaBig Bone Lick, Kentucky
Read about the history of the Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, and Jefferson's support of William Clark's excavations there, which uncovered an unprecedented trove of prehistoric fossils.
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EncyclopediaCamera Obscura
Jefferson acquired several examples of the camera obscura, a device that led to the invention of photography.
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EncyclopediaClocks and Timekeeping
Discover Jefferson's fascination with clocks and their role in time management and scientific inquiry.
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![Public Domain]()
EncyclopediaCoin Collection
Learn about Jefferson's coin collecting efforts through this selection of quotes from his letters and records.
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![National Archives/PD]()
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Thomas Jefferson and Constantine Samuel Rafinesque shared interests in botany, exploration, and education and maintained a correspondence that spanned 20 years.
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![Public Domain]()
EncyclopediaCurrency and Coinage
Jefferson played a central role in the adoption of the decimal system of for U.S. coins and the creation of the first U.S. Mint.
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![David Rittenhouse by Charles Willson Peale; courtesy the American Philosophical Society]()
David Rittenhouse
David Rittenhouse was among America's leading scientists in the 18th-century who shared mutual interests with Thomas Jefferson, his fellow member of The American Philosophical Society, where both men served as President of the organization.
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![The Atlantic Ocean by John Thomson, Edinburgh, 1814 ;image courtesy Wikimedia Commons cooperation project with Geographicus Rare Antique Maps; public domain.]()
EncyclopediaDesalinization of Sea Water
In 1791, Jefferson led a small team of American scientists to test a method of removing salt from sea water proposed by Jacob Isaacks.
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![1803 drawings showing the progression of smallpox vs cowpox infection after 14 days.]()
StoryDisease and Inoculation in the 18th Century
Before he was President, before he wrote the Declaration of Independence, before the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson feared an invisible enemy.
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![A recreation of Jefferson's moldboard plow showing a V-shaped handle set that ends in a saddle-shaped moldboard tipped with a metal blade below a long arm for attaching to a harness that also has a long blade inserted down from it near the moldboard.]()
EncyclopediaDynamometer
Thomas Jefferson owned a dynamometer, a device for measuring force, and used it to measure the efficiency of his Moldboard Plow of Least Resistence.
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![John William Hill 1829 /PD: NYPL]()
EncyclopediaErie Canal
Thomas Jefferson was a great admirer of the Erie Canal and his writings contain many reference to the project, compiled here by Monticello researchers.
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![Jefferson's small-lens, bifocal reading glasses with silver case and two sets of replacement lenses next to his spectacles with green-tinted, round lenses]()
EncyclopediaEyeglasses
Read about Thomas Jefferson's use of various kinds of eyeglasses and his design for his own pair.
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![University of Virginia]()
Francis Walker Gilmer
Francis Walker Gilmer, the son of Jefferson's close friend George Gilmer, was a lawyer who traveled to England to recruit professors for the University of Virginia; appointed as the first Chair of Law at UVA, he died before taking the position.
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![An engraving of Natural Bridge by J.C. Stadler after William Roberts showing the tall natural arch and two couples standing along the river below it.]()
EncyclopediaGeology
A look at Thomas Jefferson's lifelong interest in the science of geology.
