Alexander Hamilton

A Caribbean orphan who became the Founding Father who built the U.S. financial system.

Life

Caribbean orphan

Hamilton was born illegitimate on the Caribbean island of Nevis. As a boy his father left home and his mother died of illness, and he worked as an apprentice clerk at a trading house. An essay he wrote after a hurricane attracted attention, and locals raised money to send him to school in New York.

Federalist Papers

During the War of Independence he served as Washington's aide-de-camp; after the war he helped draft the Constitution and co-wrote the Federalist Papers with Madison and others. In 1789 he became the first Secretary of the Treasury, founding a national bank and having the federal government assume the states' debts, laying the foundations of America's fiscal and financial system.

Duel

In 1804 he fought a duel with his political rival, Vice President Burr, and was fatally shot.

Legacy

Hamilton was the architect of the U.S. financial system, and his portrait appears on the U.S. ten-dollar bill; the 2015 musical Hamilton made him widely known again.

Major works & achievements

• The Federalist Papers (co-author)

Did you know? Three years earlier, his eldest son had also been killed on the same dueling ground.

Key dates

• 1772Came to New York from Nevis
• 1777Became Washington's aide-de-camp
• 1788The Federalist Papers published
• 1789Became the first Secretary of the Treasury
• 1791Founded the First Bank of the United States
• 1804Killed in a duel