In 1807, Jefferson installed the compass rose to the ceiling of Monticello’s East Portico. The rose connected to a wind vane mounted on the roof and its rotation allowed Jefferson to record which direction the wind was blowing at any given time.
On this day 195 years ago, 11 July 1824, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Richmond merchant Bernard Peyton asking him to procure 20 pounds of tin. He explained that “We have been a year or two without the use of such of our kitchen utensils as, being of copper, need tinning.” [i] Jefferson was rightly...
Over the past few weeks, our local governments have debated whether they should continue to observe April 13, Thomas Jefferson’s birthday, as an official holiday. We respect our local governments’ processes for establishing public holidays. The larger question is whether Jefferson’s legacy remains...
In 1786, Thomas Jefferson took a serious fall in Paris, dislocating and possibly breaking his right wrist. The injury healed slowly, and though he regained use, stiffness and pain in his joint troubled him as he aged. Years later, retired to Monticello and searching for comfort, Jefferson got a...
Veteran historical actor-interpreter Bill Barker is widely recognized as the nation’s foremost interpreter of Thomas Jefferson. Now, after portraying Thomas Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg for the last 26 years, Barker will join the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello starting with a...
Two centuries ago, on February 13, 1819, James Tallmadge, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party formed by Thomas Jefferson, offered an amendment to a bill regarding the admission of the Territory of Missouri into the United States. The so-called Tallmadge Amendment proposed banning further...
Why the Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom is the key to political freedom and free thought. ‘divided we stand, united we fall’ —Thomas Jefferson to Jacob de La Motta, 1 September 1820 Thomas Jefferson asked that three things, and only three things , be remembered on any grave...
“Rebellion to tyrants is Obedience to God” – We have come to think of this impassioned phrase as distinctly Jefferson, but there’s more to this story. In December 1775 the Pennsylvania Evening Post included a brief transcription of what was said to be the epitaph of the famed regicide John Bradshaw...
In 1804, after journeying thousands of miles through Central America and northern South America, Alexander von Humboldt -- who would later gain international renown for exploits and writings -- made a special stop in Washington, DC, to see one of his intellectual heroes, Thomas Jefferson.
