Happy Birthday, Thomas Jefferson

Born on April 13 in 1743, Thomas Jefferson helped shape the new American nation and also shaped some of the country's most distinguished buildings. It was Jefferson's idea to model America's famous Capitol building after the Roman Pantheon with a circular domed rotunda. Jefferson modeled his own home, Monticello, after Villa Almerico-Capra (also known as Villa La Rotonda) by the Italian Renaissance architect, Palladio.

^{Photo: The United States Capitol Building. Clipart.com}

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