Trivia About the Non-Trivial Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the first president to be inaugurated in the new city of Washington, although John Adams had occupied the Executive Mansion, which would become known as the White House.

Although member of a committee to draft the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was its main author.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died July 4, 1826, 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Adams' last words were "Jefferson survives." Unfortunately, he was in error.

Jefferson played the violin and enjoyed singing.

Jefferson liked expensive fine wines, a taste for which he developed while a diplomat in France.

Finely dressed diplomats would arrive at the White House often to be greeted by Jefferson in work clothes and slippers.

He took a cold foot bath every morning.

Jefferson once ate a tomato in public to prove that it was not poisonous.

It was Jefferson who recommended the decimal system we now use for money.

Jefferson never patented any of his inventions -- which included a revolving chair, a walking stick which unfolded into a chair, and a hemp mahcine -- to allow for their free use.

In the 1930's it was revealed that Jefferson, disguising his identity under a different name, submitted a design in 1792 for the proposed White House. His design lost to James Hoban of South Carolina. A check of his personal notebooks revealed his design was identical to one of those submitted.

Jefferson's favorite pet was a mockingbird named Dick, letting it fly about his White House study when he was alone. It frequently rode on his shoulder. When Jefferson mounted the stairs, it hopped after him, a step at a tme.

Jefferson's sister Elizabeth was developmentally disabled and required care by her mother and her brother. At the age of 30, she wandered away into the woods where she died.

Jefferson founded the University of Virginia.

The epitaph on Jefferson's tombstone mentions several achievements, but does not mention that he was president of the United States.

Jefferson was married to Martha Wayles Skelton for ten years when she died. They had six children. He never remarried.

Jefferson's daughter, Martha "Patsy" Jefferson, was the First Lady during his tenure in the White House. She was also the only one of his children to survive to adulthood and the first to have a child while in the White House.

Following his inauguration, Jefferson returned to his boarding house to find everyone seated for dinner with none available for him. He declined the eventual offer of a Kentucky senator's wife's seat.

In 1802, Jefferson signed the order that established the nation's first military academy, the US Military Academy at West Point, NY. (When Benedict Arnold tried to turn West Point over to the British during the Revolutionary War, it was because of a huge anti-shipping chain that stretched across the Hudson River at that point, preventing British ships from going farther upriver.)

Jefferson was one of eight presidents born in Virginia. Technically, since all eight were born when the states were then among the 13 original colonies, they are not American born.

Jefferson began the custom of shaking hands with visitors at White House receptions rather than bow.

Jefferson's beloved Georgian Colonial home at Monticello is the only American home on the World Heritage List.

The achievements of the Jefferson presidency included the Louisiana Purchase which resulted when Jefferson sent a delegation to France to see if they would sell New Orleans to the United States for $2,000,000 after discovering France had bought it from Spain. New Orleans, after all, was in position to control the present-day Midwestern trade on the Mississippi River. France counter-offered with the vast lands that became known as the Louisiana Purchase for $20,000,000. The deal was struck although Jefferson could not be consulted.

Another achievement was the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which brought back bear cubs which Jefferson often walked around the grounds. They were for many years exhibited on the lawn, occasionally referred to as the President's Bear Garden.

Jefferson's 6,000-book library was sold by him for $23,950 to become the basis of the Library of Congress.