Historical Figure
Aaron Burr
1756–1836
Vice President of the United States from 1801 to 1805
Talk to Aaron Burr
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Biography
Aaron Burr Jr. was an American politician, businessman, and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805, during Thomas Jefferson's first presidential term. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he is primarily remembered for the killing of Alexander Hamilton in a duel, as well as his alleged conspiracy to take parts of the United States or the Spanish Empire to form an independent country.
Timeline
The story of Aaron Burr, told in moments.
Tied Thomas Jefferson in the Electoral College with 73 votes each. The House of Representatives needed 36 ballots over seven days to break the deadlock. Jefferson won.
Shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel at Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton died the next day. Burr was still the sitting Vice President. He was charged with murder in two states but never tried.
Arrested and tried for treason after an alleged plot to create an independent nation in the Western territories. Chief Justice John Marshall acquitted him on a narrow reading of the Constitution.
Died on Staten Island at 80. He'd spent his final decades in obscurity, practicing law in New York. His second wife divorced him on the day he died.
In Their Own Words (4)
On that subject I am coy.
Last words; Burr was an atheist. His last words were a response to the efforts of his friend, Reverend P.J. Van Pelt, to get Burr to state that there was a God. Reported in Holmes Moss Alexander, Aaron Burr: The Proud Pretender (1937), p. 356., 1937
There is a maxim, 'Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.' It is a maxim for sluggards. A better reading of it is, 'Never do today what you can as well do tomorrow,' because something may occur to make you regret your premature action.
Reported in Marshall Brown, Wit and Humor of Bench and Bar (1899), p. 67. Alternately reported as "Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done", reported in Jacob Morton Braude, The Complete Art of Public Speaking (1970), p. 84., 1899
The rule of my life is to make business a pleasure and pleasure my business.
Letter to Pichon, reported in Marshall Brown, Wit and Humor of Bench and Bar (1899), p. 67., 1899
Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained.
Artifacts (15)
John Vanderlyn - Official Portrait of Vice President Aaron Burr (3x4 cropped)
John Vanderlyn
Aaron Burr
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
Aaron Burr
Enoch G. Gridley, active 1801 - 1818
More from the Enlightenment
Explore what happened on the days that shaped Aaron Burr's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.