M. David Ramsay, Histoire de la Revolution d' Amerique, vol. 1, 1787
Herodotus, Herodoti Historiarum Liber Tetius, Book 3, 1761
John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, Vol. 1, 1787
Stefano Arteaga, Le Rivoluzioni del Teatro Musicale Italiano, Vol. 1, 1785
Thomas Jefferson had a passion for books and assembled the finest private library in America. After the Capitol burned in 1814, he sold his library to Congress, providing it with a collection that covered a wide range of knowledge, from history to science to the arts.
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
Selection of Books from Thomas Jefferson’s Library
Establishing a Library for Congress
The Library of Congress was established in the act that provided for relocating the federal government to Washington, D.C. That act also authorized purchasing $5,000 worth of books “. . . as necessary for the use of Congress” and the “fitting up of a suitable apartment for containing them.” Most of these books were destroyed when British troops burned the Capitol in 1814. To replace them, Thomas Jefferson sold to the government his personal library of over seven thousand volumes. The Library of Congress was housed in the Capitol until 1897, when the Library moved to its own building.
M. David Ramsay, Histoire de la Revolution d' Amerique, vol. 1, 1787
Herodotus, Herodoti Historiarum Liber Tetius, Book 3, 1761
John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, Vol. 1, 1787
Stefano Arteaga, Le Rivoluzioni del Teatro Musicale Italiano, Vol. 1, 1785
Thomas Jefferson had a passion for books and assembled the finest private library in America. After the Capitol burned in 1814, he sold his library to Congress, providing it with a collection that covered a wide range of knowledge, from history to science to the arts.
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
