He was a learning junkie
Jefferson was one of ten children born on April 13, 1743 (April 2 on the pre-Gregorian calendar), at his father's Shadwell farm in Virginia (eight of whom survived to adulthood). At Tuckahoe, Jefferson and the Randolph children started their educations together with tutors. Thomas' father Peter, a self-taught man who regretted not having had a formal education, enrolled his son in an English school when he was five years old. He started attending a local school operated by a Scottish Presbyterian preacher in 1752 when he was nine years old. He also started studying the natural environment, which he grew to love. He started learning Latin, Greek, and French at this time, as well as how to ride a horse. Thomas read books from his father's little collection as well. As time went on, Jefferson got to meet and became friends with a variety of American Indians, including the renowned Cherokee chief Ontasseté, one of the interesting facts about Thomas Jefferson.
At the age of 16, Jefferson enrolled at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he studied philosophy, mathematics, and metaphysics under Professor William Small. Jefferson became acquainted with the theories of the British empiricists, such as John Locke, Francis Bacon, and Isaac Newton while studying under Small. Small introduced Francis Fauquier and George Wythe to Jefferson. Small, Wythe, and Fauquier welcomed Jefferson into their inner group after recognizing his outstanding talent. He soon joined them for Friday dinner gatherings where they debated politics and philosophy.
He was reported to have studied for 15 hours a day in addition to practicing the violin while he was a student at the College of William & Mary. He graduated in 1762. The effort paid off, as Jefferson continued to study law before passing the bar exam in 1767. He joined the Virginia House of Burgesses, the state's legislature, two years later. Throughout his life, Jefferson continued to learn things on his own. He could speak four languages (English, Italian, French, and Latin) and read two more (Greek and Spanish).
