Thomas Jefferson grew to be nearly as tall as his fellow Virginian, George Washington. Washington’s physician left his records listing the height of Washington as 6’ 3 ½ s” inches exact! Tom’s height was listed as 6’ 2 ½”.

Both men grew up as natives of Virginia and both were known as great horsemen, with the nod going to Washington as the slightly better rider. Both of them also learned a great deal from their fathers, despite losing them at an early age. Tom’s father, Peter, died in 1757, when Tom was only 14.

In 1743, when George was only 11, his father Augustine passed away. He had seen to it that George learned to tell the truth no matter the situation (such as the cherry tree incident), he also made sure George learned rules of decent behavior in company while at the same time George learned good penmanship (“The 110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,”) The Mount Vernon Ladies Association).

Peter taught Tom how to hunt, fish, and live off the land, and how to get a good education. Peter’s dying instructions to Tom were that his son, Tom, should receive a: “ . . .thorough classical education . . . [and] not neglect the exercise requisite for his bodie’s [sic] development.”

Tom’s inheritance was substantial and insured that he could attend William and Mary College and get his first rate education. He then studied law under George Wythe, one of the signers of Tom’s Declaration of Independence. He became a successful lawyer, then inventor, musician, architect, statesman, author, and the founder of a new nation, and a new College—now the University of Virginia.

What a noble Founding Father.