Lots of people criticize the millennials of these days, but what we see is true for any period of time.
About three percent of every age group are remarkable young people.
About 97% aren't worth a bucket of warm spit.
The Age of Reason that occurred through the 1770s-1780s was an extremely remarkable period in history, bringing together some of the most remarkable people, producing a 5000-year leap in human history.
How Old Were the Leaders of the American Revolution on July 4, 1776?
Younger than you think.
By Todd Andrlik
John Trumbull's painting, Declaration of Independence, depicting the five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Congress. Declaration of Independence
It’s a simple question—perhaps so basic that it’s been overlooked: How old were the leaders of the American Revolution?
As it turns out, many Founding Fathers were younger than 40 years old in 1776, with several qualifying as Founding Teenagers or Twentysomethings. And though the average age of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was 44, more than a dozen of them were 35 or younger.
“We tend to see them as much older than they were,” said John Adams biographer David McCullough in a 2005 speech. “Because we’re seeing them in portraits by Gilbert Stuart and others when they were truly the Founding Fathers—when they were president or chief justice of the Supreme Court and their hair, if it hadn’t turned white, was powdered white. We see the awkward teeth. We see the elder statesmen. At the time of the revolution, they were all young. It was a young man’s–young woman’s cause.”
A list of ages of important American Revolution characters seems elementary enough, and certainly easy to assemble, yet I wasn’t able to find such a list anywhere I looked. And I don’t recall ever stumbling upon such an appendix while researching my book, so I figured I’d just make one. This is a list of ages, from youngest to oldest, of key American Revolution figures, providing their age as of July 4, 1776. An asterisk signifies that the individual was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. A double asterisk means that there is evidence that the person’s age is not precise, or only a birth year is known. If you spot any corrections or recommend any additions, let me know in the comments and I’ll continue modifying the original list.
Andrew Jackson, 9
(Major) Thomas Young, 12
Deborah Sampson, 15
James Armistead, 15
Joseph Plumb Martin, 15
Peter Salem, 16**
Peggy Shippen, 16
Marquis de Lafayette, 18
James Monroe, 18
Henry Lee III, 20
Gilbert Stuart, 20
John Trumbull, 20
Aaron Burr, 20
John Marshall, 20
Nathan Hale, 21
Banastre Tarleton, 21
Alexander Hamilton, 21**
Benjamin Tallmadge, 22
Robert Townsend, 22
George Rodgers Clark, 23
David Humphreys, 23
Gouveneur Morris, 24
Betsy Ross, 24
William Washington, 24
James Madison, 25
Henry Knox, 25
John Andre, 26
Thomas Lynch, Jr., 26*
Edward Rutledge, 26*
Abraham Woodhull, 26
Isaiah Thomas, 27
George Walton, 27* **
John Paul Jones, 28
Bernardo de Galvez, 29
Thomas Heyward, Jr., 29*
Robert R. Livingston, 29
John Jay, 30
Tadeusz Kosciuszko, 30
Benjamin Rush, 30*
Abigail Adams, 31
John Barry, 31
Elbridge Gerry, 31*
Casimir Pulaski, 31
Anthony Wayne, 31
Joseph Brant, 33
Nathanael Greene, 33
Thomas Jefferson, 33*
Thomas Stone, 33* **
William Hooper, 34*
Arthur Middleton, 34*
James Wilson, 34* **
Benedict Arnold, 35
Samuel Chase, 35*
Thomas Knowlton, 35
William Paca, 35*
John Penn, 35*
Hercules Mulligan, 36
Andrew Pickens, 36
Haym Solomon, 36
John Sullivan, 36
George Clymer, 37*
Charles Cornwallis, 37
Thomas Nelson, Jr., 37*
Ethan Allen, 38
Charles Carroll, 38*
King George III, 38
Francis Hopkinson, 38*
Carter Braxton, 39*
George Clinton, 39
John Hancock, 39*
Daniel Morgan, 39
Thomas Paine, 39
Patrick Henry, 40
Enoch Poor, 40
John Adams, 40*
Daniel Boone, 41
William Floyd, 41^
Button Gwinnett, 41* **
John Lamb, 41**
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 41*
Paul Revere, 41
Thomas Sumter, 41
Robert Morris, 42*
Thomas McKean, 42*
George Read, 42*
John Dickinson, 43
John Glover, 43
Benjamin Edes, 43
Samuel Huntington, 44*
Richard Henry Lee, 44*
Charles Lee, 44
Francis Marion, 44
Lord North, 44
George Washington, 44
Joseph Galloway, 45
Robert Treat Paine, 45*
Friedrich von Steuben, 45
Richard Stockton, 45*
Martha Washington, 45
William Williams, 45*
(Dr.) Thomas Young, 45
Josiah Bartlett, 46*
Henry Clinton, 46
Joseph Hewes, 46*
William Howe, 46
George Ross, 46*
William Whipple, 46*
Caesar Rodney, 47*
John Stark, 47
Mercy Otis Warren, 47
William Ellery, 48*
Horatio Gates, 48
Artemas Ward, 48
Oliver Wolcott, 49*
Abraham Clark, 50*
Benjamin Harrison, 50*
Lewis Morris, 50*
Lord Stirling, 50
George Wythe, 50* **
Guy Carleton, 51
John Morton, 51* **
Comte de Rochambeau, 51
Lyman Hall, 52*
James Rivington, 52**
Samuel Adams, 53*
Comte de Grasse, 53
John Witherspoon, 53*
John Burgoyne, 54
Johann de Kalb, 55
Roger Sherman, 55*
Thomas Gage, 56
James Smith, 56*
Israel Putnam, 58
Comte de Vergennes, 58
Lewis Nicola, 59**
George Germain, 60
Philip Livingston, 60*
George Taylor, 60* **
Matthew Thornton, 62*
Francis Lewis, 63*
John Hart, 65* **
Stephen Hopkins, 69*
Benjamin Franklin, 70*
Samuel Whittemore, 81
This piece is reprinted from Journal of the American Revolution.
Just for grins and giggles, here is the list sorted alphabetically.
Adams, Samuel 53*
Adams, Abigail 31
Adams, John 40*
Allen, Ethan Jr. 38
Andre, John 26
Armistead, James 15
Arnold, Benedict 35
Barry, John 31
Bartlett, Josiah 46*
Boone, Daniel 41
Brant, Joseph 33
Braxton, Carter 39*
Burgoyne, John 54
Burr, Aaron 20
Carleton, Guy 51
Carroll, Charles 38*
Chase, Samuel 35*
Clark, Abraham 50*
Clark, George Rodgers 23
Clinton, George 39
Clinton, Henry 46
Clymer, George 37*
Cornwallis, Charles 37
de Galvez, Bernardo 29
de Grasse Comte 53
de Kalb, Johann 55
de Rochambeau, Comte 51
de Vergennes, Comte 58
Dickinson, John 43
Edes, Benjamin 43
Ellery, William 48*
Floyd, William 41^
Franklin, Benjamin 70*
Gage, Thomas 56
Galloway, Joseph 45
Gates, Horatio 48
George, King III 38
Germain, George 60
Gerry, Elbridge 31*
Glover, John 43
Greene, Nathanael 33
Gwinnett, Button 41***
Hale, Nathan 21
Hall, Lyman 52*
Hamilton, Alexander 21**
Hancock, John 39*
Harrison, Benjamin 50*
Hart, John 65***
Henry, Patrick 40
Hewes, Joseph 46*
Heyward, Thomas Jr 29*
Hooper, William 34*
Hopkins, Stephen 69*
Hopkinson, Francis 38*
Howe, William 46
Humphreys, David 23
Huntington, Samuel 44*
Jackson, Andrew 9
Jay, John 30
Jefferson, Thomas 33*
Jones, John Paul 28
Knowlton, Thomas 35
Knox, Henry 25
Kosciuszko, Tadeusz 30
Lafayette, Marquis de 18
Lamb, John 41**
Lee III, Henry 20
Lee, Francis Lightfoot 41*
Lee, Richard Henry 44*
Lee, Charles 44
Lewis, Francis 63*
Livingston, Philip 60*
Livingston, Robert R. 29
Lynch, Thomas Jr 26*
Madison, James 25
Marion, Francis 44
Marshall, John 20
Martin, Joseph Plumb 15
McKean, Thomas 42*
Middleton, Arthur 34*
Monroe, James 18
Morgan, Daniel 39
Morris, Lewis 50*
Morris, Gouveneur 24
Morris, Robert 42*
Morton, John 51***
Mulligan, Hercules 36
Nelson, Thomas 37*
Nicola, Lewis 59**
North, Lord 44
Paca, William 35*
Paine, Thomas 39
Paine, Robert Treat 45*
Penn, John 35*
Pickens, Andrew 36
Poor, Enoch 40
Pulaski, Casimir 31
Putnam, Israel 58
Read, George 42*
Revere, Paul 41
Rivington, James 52**
Rodney, Caesar 47*
Ross, Betsy 24
Ross, George 46*
Rush, Benjamin 30*
Rutledge, Edward 26*
Salem, Peter 16**
Sampson, Deborah 15
Sherman, Roger 55*
Shippen, Peggy 16
Smith James 56*
Solomon, Haym 36
Stark, John 47
Stirling, Lord 50
Stockton, Richard 45*
Stone, Thomas 33***
Stuart, Gilbert 20
Sullivan, John 36
Sumter, Thomas 41
Tallmadge, Benjamin 22
Tarleton, Banastre 21
Taylor George 60***
Thomas, Isaiah 27
Thornton, Matthew 62*
Townsend, Robert 22
Trumbull, John 20
von Steuben, Friedrich 45
Walton, George 27***
Ward, Artemas 48
Warren, Mercy Otis 47
Washington, William 24
Washington, George 44
Washington, Martha 45
Wayne, Anthony 31
Whipple, William 46*
Whittemore, Samuel 81
Williams, William 45*
Wilson, James 34***
Witherspoon, John 53*
Wolcott, Oliver 49*
Woodhull, Abraham 26
Wythe, George 50***
Young, (Major) Thomas 12
Young, (Dr.) Thomas 45