13 April 2011
“The only birthday I ever commemorate is that of our Independence, the Fourth of July.”
~Thomas Jefferson
(Born April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, Virginia; died July 4, 1826, Monticello)According to James A. Bear, Jr., no reference has been found in Jefferson’s or his family’s papers to a private celebration of any of his eighty-three birthdays. Neither were public levees or galas held during his lifetime to mark the day. Jefferson himself seems to have actively discouraged public observances of his birthday… Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
