May 2003
Thomas Jefferson was a philosopher, architect, musician, scientist, diplomat, and inventor, as well as the third President of the United States. His great intellect is summed up with a quip by President John F. Kennedy at a 1962 dinner for 49 Nobel laureates, when he noted that, "this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." Jefferson, on the other hand simply remembers himself as "author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia."
The Memorial was dedicated on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birth, and some 42 years after it's construction was first authorized.
Learn more about the Jefferson Memorial.
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This view of the Jefferson Memorial was taken looking south across the Tidal Basin. |
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This view of the Jefferson Memorial was taken looking south across the Tidal Basin. |
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The statue of Jefferson was not brought in until some four years after the dedication of the memorial. |
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The statue of Jefferson was not brought in until some four years after the dedication of the memorial. |
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Franklin Roosevelt is responsible for this view of the Jefferson Memorial from the White House. FDR enjoyed watching the construction of the memorial, and had a small gap in the trees enlarged to improve his view of the construction. |
