Aaron Burr
A brilliant but polarizing Founding Father whose legacy was forever altered by a single pistol shot that killed Alexander Hamilton.
1756–1836 (age 80)·Vice President of the United States from 1801 to 1805·Birthday: February 6
Biography
Aaron Burr’s story is the American epic of ambition, talent, and spectacular downfall. A hero of the Revolutionary War and a skilled lawyer, he rose to become Thomas Jefferson’s vice president, yet his career was defined by rivalry and suspicion. His fatal duel with Alexander Hamilton in 1804, stemming from years of political and personal animosity, turned him into a national pariah and ended Hamilton’s life. After his term, Burr embarked on a mysterious expedition to the American West, leading to his arrest and trial for treason on charges of plotting to create an independent nation from Spanish or American territories. Acquitted but disgraced, he lived much of his later life in Europe, a shadow of his former self. Burr remains an enigmatic figure, a man of undeniable ability whose actions left an indelible stain on the early republic’s political fabric.
#1 When Aaron Was Born
The biggest hits of 1756
Aaron's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1756Born
1761Started school
1769Became a teenager
1772Could drive
1774Could vote
1777Turned 21
1786Turned 30
1796Turned 40
1806Turned 50
1816Turned 60
1826Turned 70
1836Turned 80
Key Achievements
- Served as the third Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson from 1801 to 1805.
- Founded the Bank of the Manhattan Company, which later evolved into JPMorgan Chase.
- Was a successful defense attorney in several high-profile cases after his political career ended.
- Tied Thomas Jefferson in the Electoral College vote in the presidential election of 1800, throwing the decision to the House of Representatives.
Did You Know?
He was the grandson of the famous theologian Jonathan Edwards.
He married Eliza Jumel, one of the wealthiest women in America, when he was 77 and she was 58; she divorced him for adultery a year later.
His only child, Theodosia, was lost at sea, a tragedy from which he never fully recovered.
He was charged with murder in New York and New Jersey for killing Hamilton but was never convicted.
“The law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained.”
