Born February 6, 1756 (Newark, New Jersey)

Died September 14, 1836 (Port Richmond, New York)

Vice president, U.S. senator

Aaron Burr played many roles in early U.S. history. He was a revolutionary soldier, a lawyer, a senator, and a vice president. However, he was also charged with treason (betrayal of one's own country), and he gunned down one of the nation's leading Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804; see entry in volume 1), in a famous duel. The treason charge resulted from various vague plots by Burr to invade the Spanish Southwest and to separate sections of the American West from the union. Burr helped shape America, but his influence and his contributions were complex and controversial.

Orphaned as an Infant

Aaron Burr was born in Newark, New Jersey, in February 1756, to a family with a rich background in religious and educational activity. His father, Aaron Burr Sr., became the second...