The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father

Alexander Hamilton was born on 11 January, either in 1754 or 1757, on the island of Nevis. In 1772, after the locals of St. Croix were amazed with his talent in writing, he was sent to King’s College (now known as Columbia University) in New York for an education. He joined George Washington’s staff as aide-de-camp in March of 1777 and promptly became close friends with fellow revolutionaries such as John Laurens (who he might’ve had a romantic connection with) and the Marquis de Lafayette. In 1780 he married the beautiful, kind, and rich Elizabeth Schuyler, with whom he’d go on to have eight children with.

After fighting in some major battles of the Revolutionary War, he resigned and became a delegate in the Constitutional Convention. He then became the first secretary of the treasury, and his career was going uphill until “The Reynolds Pamphlet” (which consisted of 95 pages detailing his affair with Maria Reynolds) brought that all crashing down in 1797. In 1801 his oldest son, Philip Hamilton, died in a duel with George Eacker at 19 years old. Three years later Alexander Hamilton would die in a duel with Aaron Burr on 12 July, 1804. He was only 47 years old.