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| Thomas Jefferson |
Why is the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, who
was born at Shadwell in Albemarle county, Virginia on April 2, now
celebrated on April 13? The letters O.S. appearing after dates on Thomas
Jefferson's tombstone stand for "Old Style. The Julian or Old Style
calendar was in effect in England and her colonies until 1752, when the
Gregorian or New Style calendar was adopted. This added eleven days to the
current date to bring the calendar year into step with the astronomical year.
Thus, the birthday of Jefferson, who was born on April 2 under the Old Style
calendar, is now celebrated on April 13, the New Style date. The Gregorian or
New Style calendar is still in use today.
Jefferson died, perhaps appropriately, on the
fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. On June
24, 1826, Jefferson's physician was called to his bedside because of an
illness, and his condition worsened until he lost consciousness on July 2. From
then on, Jefferson slept fitfully, waking only to inquire whether it were yet
the Fourth of July. Around noon on the fourth -- the Jubilee of Independence --
Jefferson died in bed at the age of eighty-three. Coincidentally, his friend,
colleague, and co-signer of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams, died
just hours later that day. Jefferson is buried
in the family cemetery at Monticello.
After his death, a family
member found a sketch prepared by Jefferson, containing instructions for his
tombstone. Jefferson desired that his grave be marked by an obelisk inscribed
with the three accomplishments for which he most wished to be remembered,
"and not a word more."
It was Jefferson's wish that his tomb
stone reflect the things that he had given the people, not the things that the
people had given to him. It is for this reason that Thomas Jefferson's epitaph
reads:
HERE WAS BURIED
THOMAS JEFFERSON
AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF THE
STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
BORN APRIL 2, 1743 O.S.
DIED JULY 4. 1826
Conspicuously missing is the fact that
Jefferson held all of the higher offices of political service, including
governor of Virginia, secretary of state, vice president, and, of course, third
president of the United States.
Jefferson's legacy can be found all over Virginia. No other home in the United States more accurately
reflects the personality of its owner than Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's
architectural masterpiece and beloved mountaintop home.
In 1923 the nonprofit Thomas Jefferson Foundation was
formed for the purpose of acquiring and preserving Monticello. Since then, the
Foundation has owned and operated Monticello with a dual mission of
preservation and education. Today, the significance of Monticello is recognized
internationally -- it is the only house in America on the World Heritage List,
a United Nations compilation of treasures that must be preserved at any cost.
A home and working farm for nearly 300 years,
Tuckahoe Plantation is the boyhood home of Thomas Jefferson. Tuckahoe is
considered by architectural historians to have one of the most complete
eighteenth century plantation layouts in North America. A beautiful example of
the early Georgian Period, Tuckahoe still contains the rare outbuildings which
were the office and schoolhouse where Thomas Jefferson began his education.
Tuckahoe is the only early Randolph home still standing on its original site
and contains outstanding interior paneling and embellishments. The rambling
gardens of Tuckahoe draw visitors all times of year for their show of bloom
from March through October
The original Grounds of the University of Virginia,
including the Rotunda and the Lawn, were designed by Jefferson to be what he
called an "Academical Village." The Academical Village includes a
rectangular, terraced green space known as the Lawn; two parallel rows of
buildings, the Pavilions, connected by colonnaded walkways and student rooms;
and the Rotunda, which closes off the north end of the Lawn. The Rotunda, a
half-scale interpretation of the Pantheon in Rome, is the signature landmark of
the University and its Dome Room originally housed the University library. The
Pavilions are in the Federal style and no two are alike.
The Capitol was designed by Thomas Jefferson and
first occupied in 1788 by Virginia's General Assembly, America's oldest
English-speaking legislature. During the Civil War, the Confederate Congress
also met here. The east (House) and west (Senate) wings were added between
1904-1906. The Capitol has reopened after a $104.5 million restoration and
expansion project. Free one-hour guided tours are offered daily, including some
holidays. Visitors also may tour on their own. Impressive interior designs and
colors from 1910 have been replicated in the Rotunda, House and Senate chambers.
The Barboursville ruins was preserved as a ruin after its destruction by fire
on December 25, 1884. Barboursville was one of the largest and finest
residences in the region. The only building in Orange County known to have been
designed by Thomas Jefferson, Barboursville was constructed between 1814-1822
for Jefferson's friend James Barbour, who served as governor of Virginia, U.S.
senator and secretary of war. A brick Flemish-bond mansion with a hipped roof,
Barboursville stood two stories high over an English basement. Today the estate
is run as a vineyard.
Natural Bridge,
in Rockbridge County, Virginia, is a geological formation in which Cedar Creek,
a small tributary of the James River, carved out a gorge in the mountainous
limestone terrain, forming a natural arch 215 ft high with a span of 90 ft. It consists of
horizontal limestone strata, and is the remains of the roof of a cave or tunnel
through which the creek once flowed. Thomas Jefferson purchased 157 acres of
land including the Natural Bridge from King George III of England for 20
shillings in 1774. He called it "the most Sublime of nature's works".
Jefferson built a two-room log cabin, with one room reserved for guests,
beginning its use as a retreat. While President, in 1802, he surveyed the place
with his own hands. Natural Bridge was one of the wonders of the new world that
Europeans visited during the 18th and 19th centuries. Natural Bridge has been
designated a Virginia Historic Landmark and a National Historic Landmark and today
is a major tourist attraction.
These are just some of
Jefferson's legacy and accomplishments that happen to be close to our home in
Charlottesville. More than a mere renaissance man, Jefferson may actually have
been a new kind of man. He was fluent in five languages and able to read two
others. He wrote, over the course of his life, over sixteen thousand letters.
He was acquainted with nearly every influential person in America, and a great
many in Europe as well. He was a lawyer, agronomist, musician, scientist,
philosopher, author, architect, inventor, and statesman. Though he never set
foot outside of the American continent before adulthood, he acquired an
education that rivaled the finest to be attained in Europe. He was clearly the
foremost American son of the Enlightenment.
