Happy Birthday, Thomas Jefferson

Today marks the birth of the United States’ 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson. A founding father alongside the virtuous Benjamin Franklin et al, he was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson’s face appears on the illusive $2 bill and the trusty nickel. He’s also been immortalised – his impressive, (literally) chiseled looks grace the face of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. A wine connoisseur and book lover, he enjoyed the finer things in life – a trait he shared with Franklin.

After a long, industrious life, Jefferson died aged 83 on July 4, 1826 – the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. He confirmed this in his last words, “This is the Fourth?” Mere hours later, his pal, presidential predecessor and fellow Founding Father John Adams also passed away, but not before declaring – somewhat ironically – that, “Thomas Jefferson still survives.”

Jefferson is still survived by his words of wisdom, and we’ve selected some of his most quotable observations.

Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.
— Thomas Jefferson

A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.
— Thomas Jefferson

He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.
— Thomas Jefferson

Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.
— Thomas Jefferson

The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.
— Thomas Jefferson

Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.
— Thomas Jefferson

In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.
— Thomas Jefferson

I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.
— Thomas Jefferson

Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
— Thomas Jefferson

If I am to succeed, the sooner I know it, the less uneasiness I shall have to go through.
— Thomas Jefferson

The glow of one warm thought is worth more to me than money.
— Thomas Jefferson

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
— Thomas Jefferson

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
— Thomas Jefferson

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
— Thomas Jefferson

He who knows best knows how little he knows.
— Thomas Jefferson

For more Founding Father wisdom, check out our quotes from Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

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