This statue of Thomas Jefferson – funded by the University of Virginia alumni in Paris, art collector Guy Wildenstein, and the Florence Gould Foundation – was presented as a gift to the city of Paris on July 4, 2006, the 180th anniversary of Jefferson’s death. The statue is on the left bank of the Seine, near the Palace of the Legion of Honor that inspired Jefferson’s design for Monticello. Thomas Jefferson is one of my heroes in history. I convinced Linda to put his places of interest in Paris on our to–do list. She happily agreed provided, “It won’t take away from our museum time.”

Following his wife’s death in 1784, Jefferson went to Paris as ambassador to the Court of Versailles to replace John Adams. He took up residence at the Hôtel de Langeac on the Champs-Elysées. He placed his 12–year–old daughter, Patsy, in an exclusive girls school (Abbaye Royale de Panthémont convent school) with French princesses and English aristocrats. (He later withdrew her when she announced she planned to be a nun.) The Jeffersons were entertained by King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and leaders of French society.

The Palace of the Legion of Honor (Hôtel de Salm) was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson’s. His design for Monticello was influenced by it. Three years later, Jefferson’s nine–year–old daughter, Polly, and 14–year–old slave girl, Sally Hemings, arrived.

The popular Jefferson became an aficionado of French fashion, music, theater, gardening, wines, cooking, and the French language. He assisted Lafayette in writing the French Declaration of Rights and prepared a plan to deal with the Barbary Pirates. When the Bastille was stormed, Lafayette and others gathered at Jefferson’s home to draft a constitution.

This tree, planted in 1605, stands outside the building that once housed the Abbaye Royale de Panthémont convent school attended by Jefferson’s daughter, Patsy. Not all was business for Jefferson. He had an affair with Maria Cosway, a married English lady. It is rumored that he broke his wrist while carousing with Maria in the Tulieries Gardens.

When the revolution heated up, Jefferson and his family returned to Monticello. He accepted Washington’s request to be our first Secretary of State.

During our first walk in Paris, we paid homage to America’s third president at

• The Thomas Jefferson statue on the east bank of the Seine River.

• The Thomas Jefferson Plaque at his home on the Champs–Elysées.

• The Abbaye Royale School attended by Patsy Jefferson.

• The Tulieries Gardens where Jefferson allegedly trysted with Maria Cosway and broke his wrist.

Thandie Newton played Sally Hemmings in the 1995 movie, Jefferson in Paris. Nick Nolte played Jefferson, Greta Scacchi played Maria Cosway, and Gwyneth Paltrow played Patsy Jefferson. • The Salm Palace (now Palace of the Legion of Honor) Jefferson used as a model for Monticello.

(Next week:

Les Véhicules de Paris)

It was near this site in the Tulieries Gardens where Jefferson broke his wrist flirting with Maria Cosway.
This marker at the corner of Rue de Berri and the Champs–Elysees marks where Jefferson’s home once stood. Translated from French, it reads: In this place resided Thomas Jefferson Mini ster of the Uni ted Sta tes to Fra nce 1785–1789, President of the United States 1801–1809, Author of the American Declaration of Independence, Founder of the University of Virginia. This plaque was affixed on the 13th of April 1919, by the care of former students of the University of Virginia, soldiers of the World War, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the university.