(1743–1826)
the third US President (1801–9) and one of the nation’s Founding Fathers . He wrote most of the Declaration of Independence but was opposed to a strong central government. As president, he supported the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Jefferson helped design Washington, DC, and was the first president to have his Inauguration Day there. He was also governor of Virginia (1779–81) and US Secretary of State (1789–93). He established the University of Virginia (1819) and designed its buildings. He died, like John Adams , on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.