Alexander Hamilton

A decade ago, some people may have heard of the name Alexander Hamilton, but did they really know what he had done? Then he was just a figure on the ten dollar bill, but know with the extremely popular musical Hamilton by Lin Manuel Miranda, many more people know much more about him.

Alexander Hamilton grew up in Nevis. His parents were not married. His father abandoned the family and his mother died of severe fever. Alex and his brother lived with his mother’s cousin, but after he committed suicide Hamilton clerked in Nevis. There, a fund was put together to send Alexander Hamilton to the mainland. There he went to King’s College for a great education.

Hamilton turned down several invitations to serve as a right hand man to Nathanael Greene, William Alexander, and other, but finally got an invitation he couldn’t turn down- General George Washington’s. He served as Washington’s right hand man for the rest of the war, and then continued to work alongside him during the construction of America’s backbone.

Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler, and together they had eight children: Phillip, Angelica, Alexander, James, John, William, Eliza, and Phillip. The first Phillip was killed in a duel by George Eaker in 1801, hence the naming of Phillip number two.

Alexander Hamilton was appointed to the post of Secretary of Treasury in 1789.  He served for five years. In 1787, Hamilton recruited John Jay and James Madison to write a series of essays defending the Constitution under an alias name (Publius). Hamilton wrote 51 of the 85 essays, whereas Jay wrote 5 and Madison wrote 29.

Hamilton was mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804 at Weehawken, New Jersey. He died the next day.