February Program: Thomas Jefferson–Third President of the United States
February 17, 2025 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Photo: Official Presidential portrait of Thomas Jefferson (by Rembrandt Peale, 1800)
Thomas Jefferson: Third President of the United States
The extraordinary life of this very complex man.
Monday, February 17, 2025
Doors Open at 6:30 pm
Enjoy complimentary refreshments and browse our partner tables before the program.
Program 7:00-8:30 pm
Southridge Recreation Center
4800 McArthur Ranch Road, Highlands Ranch
$5 Donation Suggested at Door for non-HRHS members
Registration coming soon
Surely Thomas Jefferson was the most able and the most complex of America’s first presidents. One might look simply at the volume of paperwork he produced over his 83 years, his architectural drawings, the number of original inventions he incorporated into the building of his beloved Monticello, the careful botanical observations and experiments he conducted and the massive plans he prepared for the University of Virginia to prove that he was an extraordinary scientist and engineer.
Monticello by Thomas Jefferson
One must add to the picture his long experience as a politician and public servant: representative in the Virginia House of Burgesses, delegate to the Continental Congress, Governor of Virginia, American Minister to France, U.S. Secretary of State, Vice President and then President of the United States.
In the complex creation of a new nation, it was often Jefferson’s ideas and philosophy that helped shape the states.
This program will present an overview of the biography of Thomas Jefferson, looking most closely at his role in shaping the United States and delving into his family life at Monticello that sustained him through his long public service career.
ABOUT OUR PRESENTER: 
Mary Sudman Donovan
Mary Sudman Donovan is a historian and author. She earned a Ph.D. in American history at Columbia University and has taught American and World History. Having taught for many years at Hunter College of the City University of New York, she now teaches Learners’ Courses at Wind Crest in Highlands Ranch. Mary’s interest in Thomas Jefferson was sparked by the fact that her husband, Herbert Donovan, grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia and attended the University of Virginia. She could see how pervasive Thomas Jefferson’s influence was on the culture and mind set of that small city and how it shaped the education that was offered at “Mr. Jefferson’s University.”
