As aforementioned, Jefferson has been recognized throughout history as an esteemed politician and statesman, an established architect, as well as an influential educator; however, we will now look at Jefferson from a different point of view through an analysis of his life as an inventor. When discussing the role of science in his life, Jefferson often commented, "Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight." This philosophy becomes overwhelmingly apparent as we analyze not only Jefferson's inventions themselves but also his unique attitude toward invention as a science. Below are brief descriptions and pictures of many of Jefferson's inventions; however, if you are interested in a more formal, analytical approach to Jefferson's life as an inventor, the following two essays focus upon the aspects of Jefferson's life which are commonly characteristic of that of an inventor.

Thomas Jefferson: A New Perspective

Thomas Jefferson as an Inventor

AN OVERVIEW OF JEFFERSON'S INVENTIONS

MOLDBOARD PLOW OF LEAST RESISTANCE

When in Europe as Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson observed that the Dutch moldboard, which is the front of a plow that lifts up and turns over sod, was awkward and ineffective. Setting his mind to the problem, Jefferson interwove art and purpose to invent a new moldboard based on pure mathematical principles, namely, the right angle. This original moldboard briefly transformed agriculture (before iron came to replace the wooden plows), and yet Jefferson never tried to patent it. Believing that invention should be solely for the good of the people and not for the advancement of the inventor, Jefferson encouraged public use of this easily duplicated invention.

WHEEL CIPHER

Jefferson developed his wheel cipher between the years 1792 and 1793 while he was serving as the United States' Secretary of State and the country was faced with controversial foreign policy and national security issues. The wheel cipher consisted of twenty-six cylindrical wooden pieces which each had a hole bored into its center so that they could then be threaded onto an iron spindle. On the edge of each wheel, all twenty-six letters of the alphabet was inscribed. By using the cipher, a person could scramble and unscramble letters in order to code messages.

SUNDIAL

Jefferson constructed his sundial in conjunction with Benjamin H. Latrobe in 1809. Jefferson best described his thought process which eventually led to his creation of the sundial. "I had placed the Capital on a pedestal of the size proper to it's diameter, and had reconciled their confluence into one another by interposing plinths successively diminishing. It looked bald for want of something to crown it. I therefore surmounted it with a globe and it's neck, as is usual on gate posts. I was not yet satisfied; because it presented no idea of utility. It occurred then that this globe might be made to perform the functions of a dial. I ascertained on it two poles, delineated it's equator and tropics, described meridians at every 15 degrees from tropic to tropic, and shorter portions of meridian intermediately for the half hours, quarter hours, and every 5 minutes. I then mounted it on it's neck, with it's axis parallel to that of the earth by a hole bored in the Nadir of our latitude, affixed a meridian of sheet iron, moveable on it's poles, and with it's plane in that of a great circle, of course presenting it's upper edge to the meridian of the heavens corresponding with that on the globe to which it's lower edge pointed." After his completion of the sundial, Jefferson stated, "Perhaps indeed this may be no novelty. It is one however to me."

CLOCK

One of Jefferson's most visible inventions, the Great Clock, dominates the entrance hall of Monticello. Cannonballs from the Revolution, powered by gravity, hang along both sides of the doorway, and onlookers can read the day of the week and the time from markings on the wall. In another of Jefferson's insights, the Great Clock's face can be seen from both inside and outside to encourage exercise and productivity. There is purposely no minute hand on the face of the clock because, Jefferson said, "two wheels were to turn an hour hand on the reverse face of the wall on a wooden hour plate of 12 inch radius. There need be no minute hand, as the hour figures will be 6 inches apart, but the interspace should be divided into 1/4 seconds and 5 minute marks" - the hour hand provides the necessary accuracy. The Great Clock was connected to a large copper gong on the roof and was reputed to sound all the way to the University of Virginia. Although he did collaborate on the clock with his mechanical confidant, Louis Leschot, the idea was Jefferson's.

For repairs to the Great Clock, Jefferson invented a mahogany ladder that folded up into almost a pole for storage. This ladder, which Jefferson also recommended for pruning trees, was the first of its kind in the United States and, in the late 1800's, became prevalent in U.S. libraries.

PORTABLE COPYING PRESS

Jefferson invented the portable copying press when his overseas travel called for a compact version of the copying press previously invented by James Watt. In the original copying machine, one wrote with ink on a copper plate which could then produce numerous copies; Jefferson praised this enthusiastically because of how well it facilitated record-keeping and correspondence and subsequently sought to improve it. Jefferson designed a lap desk which would hold all the essentials of his day, from a thermometer to pencils to a nightcap, as well as his portable copying press. With his wide-ranging intellect, Jefferson examined not just the pure science of an invention but also its practicality and aesthetics.

The polygraph, another letter copying device, was invented by an Englishman, John Hawkins, but was perfected by Thomas Jefferson. When Jefferson first received the polygraph, constructed of two connected pens, he called it "the finest invention of the present age". (Jefferson to Bowdoin, 1806)In correspondence with museum director Charles Peale, Jefferson continually suggested improvements that arose through his observant use of the polygraph.

In the Dining Room at Monticello on each side of the fireplace, Jefferson placed mechanical dumb waiters which permitted servants to send wine bottles up from the cellar. It is possible that Jefferson saw a similar apparatus in the Café Mecanique, located in the Palais Royal.

"AUTOMATIC" DOUBLE DOORS

When Jefferson installed the glass doors between the hall and the parlor in 1804, he added a very unique touch to the design. The doors were controlled by an operating mechanism which was hidden under the floor and consisted of two wheels joined by a chain whose figure-eight arrangement allowed both doors to move when one was opened or closed.

BOOKSTAND

Jefferson designed an unique revolving stand with five adjustable rectangular shaped rests for holding books. The rests could be folded in to make a small smooth-surfaced box which could then attach to the base.

BEDS

Monticello contained no bedsteads; instead, Jefferson designed beds which lay in alcoves of rooms on a mesh of rope hung on hooks. Although Jefferson could have seen this design in Europe, he applied in ingeniously to his mansion. Jefferson's own bed lay in an alcove between two rooms, and it is possible that he installed a mechanical apparatus to raise the bed to the ceiling during the day to allow passage below.

REVOLVING CHAIRS

Thomas Jefferson introduced an improved revolving Windsor chair to the United States after seeing it in Europe. Combining the Windsor chair with a writing arm and a leg rest in Monticello's joinery, Jefferson, according to his own definition of invention, created a new piece of furniture.

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