Detail from a portrait of an elderly Thomas Jefferson as painted by Thomas Sulley, 1821. In a previous post, I examined some of the speculation about George Washington's death, and the curious legend that he had died having confessed himself to a Catholic priest. That has gone on to be the most popular post on this blog, garnering over 15,000 views to date. In the case of death of Thomas Jefferson, there is considerably less cause for speculation. For one thing, Jefferson had been a Unitarian/Deist from his youth, and a consistent critic of Catholic beliefs and practices well into...