[Enchante]

oops, I would certainly include John Adams in any such list!!!

and, of course, the list can be considerably expanded with those who had at least one major achievement and/or contribution during that era.... John Paul Jones and quite a variety of early military leaders etc.

[Tainan]

Very good piece showing the time and Jays place in the sequence of events.
It would make for an interesting series to focus on Jay, and his wife, such as was done in the excellent John Adams series.

I especially enjoyed how Jay matured into his position and learned how to deal with Euro intrigue and falsehoods...very good reading!