Home › Timeline › Founding era
Founding era
Born 1700-1779 — the Revolution, the Constitution and the first federal government.
–1699
Colonial era
9
1700–1779
Founding era
46
1780–1819
Early Republic
77
1820–1864
Antebellum & Civil War era
132
1865–1899
Industrial & Progressive era
156
1900–1929
Early 20th century
327
1930–1949
Mid-20th century
251
1950–1969
Late 20th century
127
1970–1999
Contemporary era
51
2000–
Digital era
46 people, oldest first
The people
Jonathan Edwards 1703–1758Ideas & MediaTheologian and preacher whose role in the Great Awakening shaped American evangelical religion.
Benjamin Franklin 1706–1790Government & PoliticsPolymath who invented the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among many other creations.
Roger Sherman 1721–1793Government & PoliticsOnly person to sign all four founding documents and author of the compromise that produced the Senate.
Samuel Adams 1722–1803Government & PoliticsRevolutionary organizer who helped mobilize resistance to British rule and build support for independence.
George Mason 1725–1792Government & PoliticsFounding-era statesman whose Virginia Declaration of Rights helped inspire the Bill of Rights.
Benjamin Banneker 1731–1806Science & MedicineFree Black astronomer and almanac author who helped survey the federal district and challenged Jefferson on race.
Martha Washington 1731–1802Government & PoliticsFirst First Lady who defined the role and spent every wartime winter in the Continental Army's camps.
Richard Henry Lee 1732–1794Government & PoliticsVirginia delegate whose June 1776 resolution formally moved that the colonies be independent states.
George Washington 1732–1799Government & PoliticsFirst President of the United States and commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.
Daniel Boone 1734–1820Frontier & SportFrontiersman who blazed the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky.
John Adams 1735–1826Government & PoliticsSecond President and key Founding Father who helped secure independence and shaped early American diplomacy.
Paul Revere 1735–1818Ideas & MediaSilversmith and engraver whose Boston Massacre print and 1775 ride carried Revolutionary messaging.
Patrick Henry 1736–1799Government & PoliticsRevolutionary orator and Virginia leader remembered for mobilizing resistance and opposing centralized federal power.
John Hancock 1737–1793Government & PoliticsMerchant who presided over the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration first and largest.
Thomas Paine 1737–1809Ideas & MediaPamphleteer whose Common Sense and Crisis essays mobilized American public opinion for independence.
Benedict Arnold 1741–1801Crime & NotorietyContinental Army general whose plot to surrender West Point made his name the American synonym for treason.
Nathanael Greene 1742–1786Government & PoliticsContinental Army general whose Southern Campaign strategy helped exhaust British forces and secure American independence.
Thomas Jefferson 1743–1826Government & PoliticsPrincipal author of the Declaration of Independence and third President who oversaw the Louisiana Purchase.
Abigail Adams 1744–1818Reform & RightsCorrespondent and presidential spouse whose letters urged legal consideration for women in the new republic.
John Jay 1745–1829Government & PoliticsFounding Father, diplomat, Federalist Papers co-author, and first chief justice who helped construct the early republic.
Robert R. Livingston 1746–1813Government & PoliticsChancellor of New York who administered Washington's oath and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.
John Paul Jones 1747–1792Government & PoliticsContinental Navy captain whose Revolutionary War victories established early American naval tradition.
James Madison 1751–1836Government & PoliticsFourth President and Father of the Constitution who co-authored the Federalist Papers.
Betsy Ross 1752–1836Reform & RightsPhiladelphia upholsterer traditionally credited with sewing the first American flag.
Nathan Hale 1755–1776Government & PoliticsContinental Army officer hanged as a spy at 21 whose scaffold line became Revolutionary legend.
Alexander Hamilton 1755–1804Government & PoliticsFounding Father who established the nation's financial system and co-authored the Federalist Papers.
John Marshall 1755–1835Government & PoliticsChief justice who established judicial review and strengthened the Supreme Court and federal government.
Aaron Burr 1756–1836Government & PoliticsThird vice president who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel and was later tried for treason.
James Monroe 1758–1831Government & PoliticsFifth president associated with the Monroe Doctrine and an era of territorial expansion and one-party dominance.
Noah Webster 1758–1843Ideas & MediaLexicographer whose spellers and American dictionary standardized United States spelling and schoolroom instruction.
John Jacob Astor 1763–1848Business & LaborAmerica's first multimillionaire, made in furs, the China trade and Manhattan land
Robert Fulton 1765–1815Technology & BuildingEngineer and inventor whose steamboat Clermont revolutionized American river transportation.
James Smithson 1765–1829Science & MedicineBritish scientist whose bequest founded the Smithsonian Institution, America's museum complex.
Eli Whitney 1765–1825Technology & BuildingInventor of the cotton gin, which revolutionized Southern agriculture and had profound economic impacts.
John Quincy Adams 1767–1848Government & PoliticsDiplomat, sixth president, and later congressman who opposed slavery’s expansion and shaped early American foreign policy.
Black Hawk 1767–1838Reform & RightsSauk leader whose 1832 resistance to removal from Illinois lands became the Black Hawk War.
Andrew Jackson 1767–1845Government & PoliticsSeventh President whose populist policies and Indian Removal Act left a deeply contested legacy.Denmark Vesey 1767–1822Reform & RightsFree Black carpenter executed for organizing a large planned slave revolt in Charleston.
Dolley Madison 1768–1849Government & PoliticsFirst Lady who built the political salon of early Washington and saved the Washington portrait in 1814.
Tecumseh 1768–1813Reform & RightsShawnee leader who sought a broad Indigenous confederacy to resist U.S. territorial expansion.
William Clark 1770–1838Frontier & SportCo-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and later Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
Sequoyah 1770–1843Reform & RightsCherokee scholar who created the Cherokee syllabary, enabling mass literacy and strengthening Cherokee political and cultural life.
William Henry Harrison 1773–1841Government & PoliticsWhig general elected ninth president who died one month into his term.Sally Hemings 1773–1835Reform & RightsEnslaved woman at Monticello who bore children by Thomas Jefferson and negotiated their freedom in France.
Meriwether Lewis 1774–1809Frontier & SportCo-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which mapped the American West to the Pacific Ocean.
Joseph Story 1779–1845Government & PoliticsEarly Supreme Court justice and legal scholar whose treatises and opinions strengthened federal judicial authority.
Benjamin Franklin 1706–1790Government & PoliticsPolymath who invented the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among many other creations.Roger Sherman 1721–1793Government & PoliticsOnly person to sign all four founding documents and author of the compromise that produced the Senate.Samuel Adams 1722–1803Government & PoliticsRevolutionary organizer who helped mobilize resistance to British rule and build support for independence.George Mason 1725–1792Government & PoliticsFounding-era statesman whose Virginia Declaration of Rights helped inspire the Bill of Rights.Benjamin Banneker 1731–1806Science & MedicineFree Black astronomer and almanac author who helped survey the federal district and challenged Jefferson on race.Martha Washington 1731–1802Government & PoliticsFirst First Lady who defined the role and spent every wartime winter in the Continental Army's camps.Richard Henry Lee 1732–1794Government & PoliticsVirginia delegate whose June 1776 resolution formally moved that the colonies be independent states.George Washington 1732–1799Government & PoliticsFirst President of the United States and commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.Daniel Boone 1734–1820Frontier & SportFrontiersman who blazed the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky.John Adams 1735–1826Government & PoliticsSecond President and key Founding Father who helped secure independence and shaped early American diplomacy.Paul Revere 1735–1818Ideas & MediaSilversmith and engraver whose Boston Massacre print and 1775 ride carried Revolutionary messaging.Patrick Henry 1736–1799Government & PoliticsRevolutionary orator and Virginia leader remembered for mobilizing resistance and opposing centralized federal power.John Hancock 1737–1793Government & PoliticsMerchant who presided over the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration first and largest.Thomas Paine 1737–1809Ideas & MediaPamphleteer whose Common Sense and Crisis essays mobilized American public opinion for independence.Benedict Arnold 1741–1801Crime & NotorietyContinental Army general whose plot to surrender West Point made his name the American synonym for treason.Nathanael Greene 1742–1786Government & PoliticsContinental Army general whose Southern Campaign strategy helped exhaust British forces and secure American independence.Thomas Jefferson 1743–1826Government & PoliticsPrincipal author of the Declaration of Independence and third President who oversaw the Louisiana Purchase.Abigail Adams 1744–1818Reform & RightsCorrespondent and presidential spouse whose letters urged legal consideration for women in the new republic.John Jay 1745–1829Government & PoliticsFounding Father, diplomat, Federalist Papers co-author, and first chief justice who helped construct the early republic.Robert R. Livingston 1746–1813Government & PoliticsChancellor of New York who administered Washington's oath and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.John Paul Jones 1747–1792Government & PoliticsContinental Navy captain whose Revolutionary War victories established early American naval tradition.James Madison 1751–1836Government & PoliticsFourth President and Father of the Constitution who co-authored the Federalist Papers.Betsy Ross 1752–1836Reform & RightsPhiladelphia upholsterer traditionally credited with sewing the first American flag.Nathan Hale 1755–1776Government & PoliticsContinental Army officer hanged as a spy at 21 whose scaffold line became Revolutionary legend.Alexander Hamilton 1755–1804Government & PoliticsFounding Father who established the nation's financial system and co-authored the Federalist Papers.John Marshall 1755–1835Government & PoliticsChief justice who established judicial review and strengthened the Supreme Court and federal government.Aaron Burr 1756–1836Government & PoliticsThird vice president who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel and was later tried for treason.James Monroe 1758–1831Government & PoliticsFifth president associated with the Monroe Doctrine and an era of territorial expansion and one-party dominance.Noah Webster 1758–1843Ideas & MediaLexicographer whose spellers and American dictionary standardized United States spelling and schoolroom instruction.John Jacob Astor 1763–1848Business & LaborAmerica's first multimillionaire, made in furs, the China trade and Manhattan landRobert Fulton 1765–1815Technology & BuildingEngineer and inventor whose steamboat Clermont revolutionized American river transportation.James Smithson 1765–1829Science & MedicineBritish scientist whose bequest founded the Smithsonian Institution, America's museum complex.Eli Whitney 1765–1825Technology & BuildingInventor of the cotton gin, which revolutionized Southern agriculture and had profound economic impacts.John Quincy Adams 1767–1848Government & PoliticsDiplomat, sixth president, and later congressman who opposed slavery’s expansion and shaped early American foreign policy.Black Hawk 1767–1838Reform & RightsSauk leader whose 1832 resistance to removal from Illinois lands became the Black Hawk War.Andrew Jackson 1767–1845Government & PoliticsSeventh President whose populist policies and Indian Removal Act left a deeply contested legacy.Denmark Vesey 1767–1822Reform & RightsFree Black carpenter executed for organizing a large planned slave revolt in Charleston.Dolley Madison 1768–1849Government & PoliticsFirst Lady who built the political salon of early Washington and saved the Washington portrait in 1814.Tecumseh 1768–1813Reform & RightsShawnee leader who sought a broad Indigenous confederacy to resist U.S. territorial expansion.William Clark 1770–1838Frontier & SportCo-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and later Superintendent of Indian Affairs.Sequoyah 1770–1843Reform & RightsCherokee scholar who created the Cherokee syllabary, enabling mass literacy and strengthening Cherokee political and cultural life.William Henry Harrison 1773–1841Government & PoliticsWhig general elected ninth president who died one month into his term.Sally Hemings 1773–1835Reform & RightsEnslaved woman at Monticello who bore children by Thomas Jefferson and negotiated their freedom in France.Meriwether Lewis 1774–1809Frontier & SportCo-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which mapped the American West to the Pacific Ocean.Joseph Story 1779–1845Government & PoliticsEarly Supreme Court justice and legal scholar whose treatises and opinions strengthened federal judicial authority.