Thomas Jefferson, polymath.
Fluent in seven languages, interested in every subject under the sun, and all those above, disciplined since childhood to study from five am until late, incorporating also a vigorous run into his daily routine, his abilities, achievements and activities were stupendous.
They included, among many other things:
Principal author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
"all men are created equal" ; "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness": TJ.
3rd President of the United States. Also, Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State.
Self-taught architect, and designer of his neo-classical home, Monticello (Little Mountain).The brochure reads 'Inside and out, Jefferson incorporated design elements from famous buildings of antiquity. By making references to ancient Rome, Jefferson was suggesting connections between the young American republic and the Roman republic'.
One of the more bizarre and impressive aspects of the house: a gigantic 16 ' deep and 16 ' wide cirular ice pit, built in 1802. Every year between November and February it was filled with ice cut from the nearby Rivana river, or snow from the mountaintop, then sealed and insulated to last all the way through summer. It was used to refridgerate meat, cool wine and beer (distilled and brewed on the estate, of course), and to make ice cream.
One of the more bizarre and impressive aspects of the house: a gigantic 16 ' deep and 16 ' wide cirular ice pit, built in 1802. Every year between November and February it was filled with ice cut from the nearby Rivana river, or snow from the mountaintop, then sealed and insulated to last all the way through summer. It was used to refridgerate meat, cool wine and beer (distilled and brewed on the estate, of course), and to make ice cream.
Orchardist.
Six acres of vineyards.
Six acres of vineyards.Flower gardener.
His goal was to create an ornamental farm by 'interspersing the articles of husbandry with the attributes of a garden'.
Horticulturalist.He grew plants for the dinner table, but also planted more than 330 varieties of more than 70 species of vegetable.
Inventor.His inventions included: a 'macaroni machine' (after a trip to Italy); a multi-book swiveller; a plough; clocks; a dumb waiter; a 'wheel cipher' for coding and decoding secret messages; a sundail; portable printing press.
Plantation Owner. He inherited 5000 acres from his father at the age of 14, and managed it until his death. Tobacco didn't grow so well, so he tried growing corn instead.
Slave owner. At the time of his death he had around 200, who, due to the major debt he had accumlated in his life, were sold off to pay the debts. Children separately from their mothers, bothers, sisters, parents, all sold to different owners.
Such cruelty was not unknown during his life time either. Rations were small, hours were long, attempts to run away harshly punished, children sold away from their parents.
There is also the matter of his relationship with one of the slaves, Sally Hemings, with whom he is thought to have had at least one child. Her children were the only of his slaves to whom he granted freedom in his will.
He is buried in the grounds of Monticello. Incredibly, he died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a few hours before his friend and fellow fighter for independence, John Adams. In 1962, when J.F.K. hosted a dinner for 49 Nobel prize winners, he said to them 'I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.'
Jefferson also was the founder and designed the grounds of the University of Virginia. We go there in the morning for a lecture on 'George W. and the new party system'.
George W. Bush, mathpoly, pothmaly, malypoth.
2 comments:
Gosh -- you're circling about familiar territory. On the trip south from Gettysburg you'd have passed by Frederick MD (home of my former office at Bechtel), and a bit further down the road probably passed within a few hundred yards of our house in Rockville. Unless, of course, you crossed the river further north and took the rural route along the Appalachian "Mountains" down to Charlottesville. Either way, your blog reads like old home week. Hope you're enjoying it ... shame it's not October with the changing trees.
Don't be surprised at Obamamania in Charlottesville; it's a little liberal heaven in the countryside. Everyone who went to "The University" (that's U Va to you and me) and graduated on "The Lawn" (that's the big green bit in the middle) remains a fan of "Mr. Jefferson" (the polymath) and longs to find gainful employment in Charlottesville. Alas, like Hawke's Bay and Nelson, not everyone can find a job or afford the real estate. So the rest of us just visit when the spirit moves us.
Enjoy the South, but don't listen when they tell you how great Virginia wine is. There's a bottle of NZ Pinot coming over with Graeme, and it'll beat anything Virginia offers by a country mile.
"Don't Go Back to Rockviiiiiiillle
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