Profile of the Day: John Adams

John Adams

Have you ever used the Library of Congress for your genealogy research? On this day in 1800, President John Adams approved legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress,” thus establishing the Library of Congress. The initial books came from London and the collection was housed in the new Capitol.

In 1814, invading British troops had set fire to several government buildings, including the Capitol, destroying the Library’s entire collection. Thomas Jefferson would play an important role in the Library’s early formation, offering his personal library as a replacement after the Library of Congress was destroyed. Jefferson’s collection was considered one of the finest in the United States, having spent 50 years accumulating a wide variety books.

Today the Library of Congress serves as the de facto national library of the United States and is one of the largest and most international libraries in the world.

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