President John Adams was born on this day in 1735 in Braintree, Mass. A bookworm, Adams published several letters and essays proposing several methods of governance that ended up being foundational to the functioning of the government of the United States, including the three branches of government. He was also the chief negotiator with the United Kingdom to end the Revolutionary War.
Adams served as the second president of the U.S. after running against Thomas Jefferson, who felt states should have more authority over their own affairs. He then lost to Jefferson, now his hated rival, when running for his second term in 1800. He lived through the presidential term of his son John Quincy Adams from 1825-1829 and then re-entered public service as a member of the House of Representatives from 1831 to his death in 1848.
