The third President of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson, was one of the most interesting men of his time. He was not only the writer of the Declaration of Independence but also played a crucial role in early American history. As the president, he was involved with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. He was a man of the Enlightenment, he was astoundingly intelligent, who functioned as a polymath with talents as a horticulturist, lawyer, politician, architect, paleontologist, archaeologist, and inventor. Just name the talent required and he was your man. Here are a few interesting facts about Thomas Jefferson that you may not be aware of-
#1: Tech Lover
Jefferson was in love with science and technology. One of his favorite devices was a rotating bookstand that could hold five books at once. Kind of like having five windows open on your computer.
#2: A Good Great Grandfather
Jefferson had a big family with 12 grandchildren who lived with him at the same time. He loved them whole heartedly and would organize races for them on the enormous lawn of Monticello. He even taught them how to play chess.
#3: Everything Happens for a Reason
Jefferson’s love for his home began from his childhood itself where he would play with his friends and discover the corners of the place.
#4: Archaeologist
Jefferson had the bones of a mastodon. For those who don’t know that it is an animal from 40 million years ago that looked a bit like an elephant. Jefferson laid down the bones to make the complete skeleton.
#5: Book Lover
Jefferson had a personal collection of 6487 books with which he replenished the library of congress after the attack of the British troops.
#6: Letters Have a Special Charm
Despite the advancement of technology, the charm that letters hold can never be replaced by emails or tweets. Jefferson knew this very well and wrote about 19000 letters in his life time
#7: Ice-cream Lover
Vanilla was Jefferson’s favorite flavor. He first tried it while on his trip to France and landed up getting the recipe home which now has a place in the Library of Congress.
#8: Rome was not built in a day
It took him more than 40 years to complete the house’s 33 rooms to complete the building of Monticello on four floors in which many of the rooms are octagonal and had doors equipped with a special handle so that he could close two doors using just one handle.
#9: Mockingbirds as Pets
Another interesting fact about Thomas Jefferson is that he loved mockingbirds and kept at least four of them as pets. His favorite bird’s name was dick and he loved their singing.
#10: Achievement
Jefferson loved to read and write. His love towards knowledge was of such an extent that on his grave it is written, author of the declaration of independence.
