Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1757, the illegitimate son of a poor itinerant merchant. He would go on to become a lieutenant colonel in the American Revolution, a close confidant to George Washington, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and first Secretary of the Treasury.
On September 11, 1789 George Washington nominated Alexander Hamilton to be the first Secretary of the Treasury. The Senate approved the nomination that same day. Hamilton resigned as Secretary of the Treasury in 1795.
Nomination message, 9/11/1789, SEN 1B-A1, U.S. Senate
Alexander Hamilton’s “Statement of My Property and Debts, with Remarks”, 07/01/1804
On July 11, 1804, Alexander Hamilton was mortally wounded during a duel with Aaron Burr and died the following day, July 12. Believed to be written on July 1, 1804, just days before he died, Hamilton’s statement is an explanation of his financial circumstances “if an accident should happen to me.” Five years after Hamilton’s untimely death, his widow, Elizabeth Hamilton, submitted this statement with a petition to Congress asking for a pension based on her husband’s military service as Lieutenant Colonel in the Revolutionary war.
