Thomas Jefferson and the Peale Family: Sparking Science and Exploration

President Thomas Jefferson, a scientist as well as a statesman, worked closely with Charles Willson Peale, the leading portrait painter of the Founding Fathers, to advance early American science. As members of the American Philosophical Society, they hosted Alexander von Humboldt, helped uncover mastodon skeletons in New York, and supported major expeditions including Lewis and Clark.