The Monticello Graveyard--Obelisque

Jefferson left a sketch and specific instructions for the size and material of the monument he wished to be erected over his grave, and the inscription he would prefer.  "Could the dead," Jefferson had written on the back of a partially mutilated envelope, "feel any interest in monuments or remembrances of them," he would prefer "on the grave a plain die or cube three feet without any mouldings, surmounted by an obelisk of six feet height, each a single stone: on the faces of the obelisk the following inscription and not a word more –

Here was buried

Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of American Independence

of the statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom
and Father of the University of Virginia

On the Die

Born April 2, 1743 O.S.

Died July 4, 1826

By these as testimonials I had lived and desire most to be remembered."

The "O.S." refers to the Old Style or Julian calendar in-use when he was born.  (His birthday under the New Style or Gregorian calendar is April 13).  Jefferson further directed that these memorials be made from "the coarse stone of which my columns [at Monticello] are made, that no one might be tempted hereafter to destroy it for the value of the materials."  The obelisk was fabricated by John M. Perry and James Dinsmore, who had earlier helped Jefferson as carpenters and builders of Monticello, and placed over his grave with a white marble slab around the base. 

While the 3 achievements listed by Mr. Jefferson for his tombstone were certainly major accomplishments, it is interesting to note that he omitted many of his other achievements, including (i) being the 3^rd President of the United States (for 2 terms) during which he dispatched Lewis & Clark on the expedition to the Western Territory, (ii) having been the principal negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase (which nearly doubled the size of our young nation), (iii) serving as the Governor of Virginia, Ambassador to France, Secretary of State and Vice President, (iv) having proposed using the decimal system for the U.S. currency, (vi) having proposed building an interstate highway system, (vii) donating his personal library to the U.S. Government which became the nucleus of the Library of Congress, and (viii) his achievements in architecture, which involved helping design Washington, D. C., the Richmond state capitol and Monticello, plus (ix) his love of antiques, music, gardening, scientific instruments and collections of natural history.