Biographies of 103 signers of The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, and The United States Constitution, taken from "Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence", by the Rev. Charles A. Goodrich (1829) and "The United States Manual of Biography and History", by James V. Marshall. (James B. Smith & Co., Philadelphia, 1856).

Learned and thoughtful, John Adams was more remarkable as a political philosopher than as a politician.  "People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity," he said, doubtless thinking of his own as well as ... more

Among those who signed the Declaration of Independence, and were conspicuous in the revolution, there existed, of course, a great diversity of intellectual endowments; nor did all render to their country, in those perilous days... more

Few Americans are well-acquainted with the gallantry and heroic exploits of Philadelphia's Irish-born naval commander, Commodore John Barry.  Obscured by his contemporary, naval commander John Paul Jones, Barry remains to this day an... more

Benjamin Franklin was born at Boston, on the 17th of January, 1706.   His ancestors were from the county of Northampton, in England, where they had for many generations possessed a small freehold estate, near the village of Eaton.   During the persecutions... more

America has never forgotten Benjamin Franklin because he did both.   He lived these words of wisdom by writing as... more

As part of the compilation of source documentation for a planned biography of Benjamin Franklin, J.A. Leo LeMay, Professor of Colonial American Literature at the University of Delaware, has made this exhaustive chronology available.  The chronology is divided into seven parts:
     Printer
     Rising Citizen
     Soldier, Scientist & Politician
     American
     Unofficial Ambassador to England
     The Oldest Revolutionary
     Elder Statesman
Of these, only the first two are complete, and they reveal the author's vast knowledge of the man exemplified in the almost daily accounting of Franklin's life in certain portions of the chronology.  Documentation is exhaustive and there is a large bibliography at the end of the Rising Citizen section that covers 1706-1748.  Sections from 1748 on are works in progress at this time, with each year containing a brief summary.     more

Governor of Spanish Louisiana (which extended from Texas to Florida and up into Georgia).  During the Revolution Spain joined the battle against England and ordered Galvez to action.   He defeated the British in Baton Rouge, Mobile, Pensacola, St. Louis and Fort St. Joseph (Michigan), relieving British pressure on General George Washington's armies and opening supply lines for money and military goods from Spain, France, Cuba, and Mexico (which included much of what is now the western part of the United States).

Little detail is known about Nathan’s childhood but he certainly would have helped with the many farm and household chores and spent many happy hours hunting, fishing ... more

In the thick of party conflict in 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a private letter, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over ... more

soldier, born in Huttendorf, Bavaria, 29 July, 1721; died near Camden, South Carolina, 19 August, 1780.  He served in the French army in 1743 as lieutenant, and in 1747 he was promoted to the rank of ... more

The FLSSAR has posted some anecdotes on the following links - (see p 71) and (see p 232).

Polish patriot, born near Novogrndek, Lithuania, 12 February, 1746; died in Solothurn, Switzerland, 15 October, 1817.   He was descended from a noble ... more

Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette was born in 1757.  Before his second birthday, his father, a Colonel of grenadiers was killed at Minden.  At the age of twelve, his ... more

Other interesting material can be found in the following article:   LaFayette: Triumph and Tragedy

At his inauguration, James Madison, a small, wizened man, appeared old and worn; Washington Irving described him as "but a withered little apple-John."   But whatever his deficiencies in charm, Madison's buxom wife ... more

On New Year's Day, 1825, at the last of his annual White House receptions, President James Monroe made a pleasing impression upon a Virginia lady who ... more

The Monroe Doctrine (1823) made it the policy of the United States to prevent further colonization of the American continent by European nations.

born in Thetford, Norfolk, England, 29 January, 1737; died in New York, 8 June, 1809.   His father was a Quaker and stay-maker, and Paine was brought up to the trade.   He left home before reaching his majority, and went to London, but soon moved ... more

"These are the times that try men's souls."  This simple quotation from Thomas Paine's The Crisis not only describes the beginnings of ... more

Polish soldier, born in Podolia, 4 March, 1748; died near Savannah, Georgia, 11 October, 1779.  He was the eldest son of Joseph Pulaski, founder of the confederation of ... more

William Henry Drayton was born at Drayton Hall outside of Charleston, South Carolina in September of 1742.  He was the son of John Drayton and Charlotta Bull Drayton ... more

The American soldier Richard Montgomery was born in county Dublin, Ireland, in 1736. Educated at St. Andrew's and at Trinity college, Dublin, he entered the British army in 1756 ... more

patriot, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 1 January, 173; died there, 10 May, 1818.   His grandfather, a Huguenot, emigrated from Sainte-Foy France, to the island of Guernsey, whence his, ... more

known in this country as BARON STEUBEN, German soldier, born in Magdeburg, Prussia, 15 November, 1730; died in Steubenville, New York, 28 November, 1794.   His father, a captain in the army, took him when a ... more

On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States.  "As the first of every thing, in our situation ... more

"Life of George Washington", by David Ramsay
The ancestors of George Washington were among the first settlers of the oldest British colony in America.   He was the third in descent from John Washington, an English gentleman, who about the middle of the 17th century emigrated from the north of ... more

Surveyor and Mapmaker
Most Americans are familiar with George Washington's role as the leader of the Continental army against the British forces in the American Revolution or as the first president of the United States, but many may be unaware of Washington's lifelong association with ... more

George Washington slept here!
During the Revolutionary War his duties as Commander in Chief kept George Washington almost constantly in motion during the eight years and six months he held this post.   It seemed to most people that he had stayed ... more

Farewell Address to the Congress
Friends and Fellow-Citizens:  The period for a new election of a citizen, to administer the executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be ... more

George Washington's Papers
The complete George Washington Papers collection from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 65,000 documents.  This is the largest collection of original ... more

George Washington's Paper - Series 1 -- 43 volumes of Exercise Books, Diaries, and Surveys dating from 1745 to 1799, organized by date and viewable as page images (in two sizes).

How did George Washington die?  Here is an eyewitness account of Washington's death

On Thursday December 12th the General rode out to his farms about 10 o'clock, and did not return home 'till past three.  Soon after he went out the weather became very bad. When he came in I carried ... more

Modern medical review of the case indicates that it is most likely that Washington died of a streptococcal infection that spread down the submucosa to the larynx, enlarging the epiglottis to the point that he could not swallow and could barely breathe, eventually resulting in suffocation.  It is almost unanimously agreed now that a tracheotomy would have saved his life.  This was suggested by one of his physicians, but it was a very new and uncertain operation at the time and was vetoed by the other two attending physicians.
- - - see Annals of Medical History 4: 245-248 (1932), "Washington's Last Illness", by F.O. Lewis [as cited by E. St. Germain, CASSAR]