Today is Washington’s birthday– but he wasn’t born on February 22, 1732. He was born on February 11, 1731. Actually, both dates are correct. When Washington was born, the English colonies, England, and Ireland still used the Julian (Old Style) Calendar. In 1750, the Calendar (New Style) Act was passed, mandating the change to the […]
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John Jay, Skier?
Vincent Jay, of France, has won the gold medal in the Biathlon 10K sprint (beating the legendary Norwegian, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen) and the bronze in the 12.5km pursuit. Is he a relative of our Jay’s? Well, the Jay family has its origins in France. John Jay’s grandfather, Auguste (or Augustus) was born in La Rochelle […]
Influenza
I had written thus far when a Variety of Interruptions prevented my proceeding for several Days, and then I became violently attacked with the Influenza, from which I am now just beginning to recover. It has been very severe on all my Family, none except my Nephew, having escaped. Mrs. Jay has been obliged to […]
Christmas, 1775
Ordinarily, I will not be posting entire letters, but I think this one, written by John Jay to his wife Sally on December 23, 1775 warrants it. Then, as now, the vicissitudes of war and politics prevent many from being with their families and friends during the holidays. Mr. Lewis is Francis Lewis (1713-1803) and […]
John Jay is featured in an article by R. B. Bernstein, "Inventing American Diplomacy," in the September 2009 issue of History Now. The article also provides links to other resources, including The Papers of John Jay image database of Jay documents, one of the digital collections at the Columbia University Libraries. […]
Welcome
This is a blog about the editorial project, The Selected Papers of John Jay. John Jay (1745-1829) was a graduate of King’s College (Columbia University), noted statesman and diplomat, co-author of the New York State Constitution, negotiator of the peace between Great Britain and the United States, co-author of the Federalist Papers, first Chief Justice […]
Coming Soon!
Coming soon! […]