Early Life and Education Gouverneur Morris was born on January 31, 1752, in New York City to a wealthy family. His father had extensive economic and political engagements throughout the neighboring colonies, emphasizing the significant role family lineage played in…

Early Life and Revolutionary War Service James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father, Spence Monroe, joined the Northern Neck Farmers protest against the Stamp Act in 1766.1 Monroe enrolled in Westmoreland County's school…

Early Life and Emigration to America Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737, in Thetford, Norfolk, England. His early life was marked by hardship and minimal formal education, attending school only until the age of 13. His father, a…

Early Life and Education Thomas Jefferson, born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, grew up on a plantation owned by his father, Peter Jefferson, a successful planter and surveyor. At the age of nine, Jefferson began his formal schooling,…

Early Life and Family Background Elbridge Gerry was born on July 17, 1744, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a thriving seaport town. His father, Thomas Gerry, was a merchant who had migrated from England in the early 1730s, and his mother, Elizabeth…

Family Background and Early Life Robert R. Livingston was born on November 27, 1746, into a prominent New York family. His father, Judge Robert Livingston, and his mother, Margaret Beekman Livingston, resided at their family seat, Clermont, along the Hudson…

Early Life and Education Patrick Henry was born on May 29, 1736, at Studley, his family's farm in Hanover County, Virginia. His father, John Henry, was a planter, surveyor, and justice of the Hanover County Court. His mother, Sarah Winston…

Early Life and Career Beginnings Roger Sherman was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1721, into a modest family where his father William was a farmer and shoemaker. His early life was shaped by practical skills as he learned…

Early Life and Immigration Born on January 11, in either 1755 or 1757 on the small Caribbean island of Nevis, Alexander Hamilton's early life was marked by hardship. His parents, Rachel Faucette and James Hamilton, were not married, and his…

Early Life and Influences Samuel Adams was born into a family well-acquainted with the dynamics of political unrest. His father, Deacon Adams, was an active participant in local politics, including the contentious Land Bank initiative of the 1730s. The Land…

Early Life and Education John Jay was born on December 12, 1745, in New York City to a prosperous merchant family of French Huguenot roots. He received his early education from private tutors and entered King's College (later renamed Columbia…

Early Life and Inheritance John Hancock was born on January 23, 1737, in Braintree, Massachusetts. After the death of his father, young John moved in with his uncle Thomas Hancock, a prosperous merchant in Boston. Under the guidance of his…

Early Life and Education James Madison was born into a prosperous Virginia family on March 16, 1751, at Belle Grove plantation. His upbringing afforded him educational opportunities that many of his contemporaries lacked. From the age of 11, under private…

Early Life and Family Background John Hancock was born on January 23, 1737, in Braintree, Massachusetts. His father died when he was young, and John moved in with his wealthy uncle and aunt, Thomas and Lydia Hancock, in Boston. Thomas…

Family Background and Early Life James Monroe was born into a planter family in 18th-century Virginia. His father, Spence Monroe, was of Scottish descent, while his mother, Elizabeth Jones Monroe, brought Welsh heritage to the family. Monroe was raised on…

Early Life and Family Background Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737, in Thetford, Norfolk, England. His father, Joseph Paine, was a Quaker and a corset maker by trade. Joseph likely impressed upon young Thomas the Quaker values of…

Early Life and Revolutionary War Service John Marshall was born on September 24, 1755, near Germantown, Virginia. As the eldest of 15 children, he experienced a childhood of rugged frontier living which influenced his later views on life and law.…

Early Life and Education Born on September 19, 1737, in Annapolis, Maryland, Charles Carroll was immersed from birth into a family where Catholic faith and prosperous society intertwined. At age ten, Charles began his schooling at the Jesuit school at…

Early Life and Education Richard Henry Lee was born on January 20, 1732, in Stratford, Virginia, to the wealthy and influential Lee family. Following the early deaths of both his parents during his adolescence, Lee's education was entrusted to the…

Early Life and Education Rufus King was born on March 24, 1755, in Scarborough, Massachusetts, which would later become part of Maine. His father, a well-to-do merchant and farmer, was known locally for his prosperity and his staunch Loyalist views…

Family Background and Puritan Influence John Adams, born to John Adams Sr. and Susanna Boylston, hailed from a lineage deeply rooted in the Puritan tradition that pervaded Massachusetts in the 18th century. The Adams family commanded respect within their community…

Formative Years in the Caribbean Alexander Hamilton was born in Charlestown, Nevis, an island in the West Indies, between 1755 and 1757. His father, James Hamilton, was a Scottish merchant, and his mother, Rachel Fawcett, was of French Huguenot descent.…

Early Life and Education Roger Sherman was born in Newton, Massachusetts and later lived in Stoughton. Despite sparse formal schooling, he pursued a rigorous self-education with support from his father's well-stocked library. This ignited his intellectual curiosity from a young…

Early Life and Education Gouverneur Morris was born in 1752 at Morrisania estate, now part of modern-day Bronx. His father was a judge and his grandfather a colonial governor. Morris enrolled in King's College (present-day Columbia University) at the age…

Early Life and Education John Adams, born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts, grew up in modest surroundings, which instilled in him a strong work ethic. The eldest of three sons to farmer and cobbler John Adams…

Early Life and Military Beginnings Born in 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, George Washington was introduced early to the expectations and challenges of the Virginia planter elite. His family had notable connections, with his father, Augustine Washington, involved in agriculture…

Early Life and Education Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706, to Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger. He was the fifteenth of seventeen children in a family of modest means. Franklin's formal education was brief, lasting…