Born April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Va., Thomas Jefferson was the third of ten children. In 1762 he graduated from the College of William and Mary and practiced law until 1769, when he took a seat with George Washington as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.    He was appointed to congress in 1775 and, when the Virginia convention unanimously voted for national independence, he was honorably asked to write the Declaration.    After serving two terms as governor of Virginia, Jefferson succeeded Benjamin Franklin as minister to France. In 1797 he was selected as our nation's second vice president, and then in 1800 was elected to be the third President of the U.S.. He served two distinguished terms, one legacy being his responsibility for the Louisiana Purchase.    In his old age, Jefferson founded the University of Virginia, and on July 4, 1826, Thomas Jefferson died in Monticello at the age of 83.