Aaron Burr On February 6, 1756, Aaron Burr was born into quite a prestigious family in Newark, NJ. His father was Reverend Aaron Burr Sr., the co-founder of the College of New Jersey (Princeton) and its second president. His mother's father was New England minister Jonathan Edwards. Before the age of three, both of Burr's parents died and after some early training by his uncle, enrolled in Princeton as a sophomore at age thirteen in 1769. He graduated in 1772 with honors, along with classmate James Madison. After Princeton he studied theology and then law, but the Revolutionary War would impede all his progress.
Burr had an illustrious military record in the Revolutionary War serving under the likes of Arnold, General Washington, and Putnam. He took over command of a regiment in July 1772 as a lieutenant colonel. His last major battle before resigning because of ill health would be the Battle of Monmouth in 1779.
en: Aaron Burr (1756–1836), Vice President of th...
Aaron Burr, 3rd Vice President of the United State...
English: Aaron Burr. 3rd vice president of the Uni...It is believed that in the Revolutionary War, the seed of animosity between Burr and Hamilton was planted. Burr then resumed law and was emitted into the New York bar in 1782. Soon thereafter, Burr married a widow, Theodosia Prevost, with five children, who also bore him his daughter, Theodosia. The time that Aaron Burr turned towards the spotlight of politics was when, at the time, New York was divided between Hamilton and George Clinton. Burr became actively involved in 1789 with his appointment of attorney general by Governor Clinton. A brief term in the U.S. Senate, where he defeated Hamilton& 8217;s father-in-law General Phillip Schuyler, would be followed by an entering into the New York legislature. It was here that Burr was able to round up enough support to be placed on the Republican ticket as vice president in the election of 1800.