Three Presidents, One Date, Zero Coincidences
We explore the unbelievable “coincidence” of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both dying on the Fourth of July on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the uncomfortable fact that James Monroe also died on the Fourth of July five years later, and the circumstances surrounding James Madison’s deliberate choice to break with this weird tradition.
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Show Notes
George Washington was the first president, and the first president to die – on December 14, 1799.
After that, it would be more than 26 years before another presidential death, and on July 4, 1826, two presidents died – Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
Jefferson passed away in his alcove bed at Monticello in Virginia.

Thomas Jefferson’s alcove bed separating his bedroom and office.
Adams died at his home, often known as Peacefield but which he then called Montezillo, meaning “little hill,” a play on Jefferson’s “little mountain” Monticello.
This amazing coincidence – if it was a coincidence at all – was widely referred to as some kind of divine intervention. How else could the nation explain how two of its founders responsible for the Declaration of Independence should die on the same day – the fiftieth anniversary of its founding.
Then, exactly five years later, James Monroe got in on the Fourth of July death day action and died on July 4, 1831. In my original post about these deaths, I called him a copycat dier. Whether he had any role in choosing his death, the coincidence is too much to bear. It just seems uninspired and uncomfortable.
In this episode, we explore some details of each death and dig into bioethicist and professor Margaret P. Battin’s theories on these non-coincidental deaths – including the roles their doctors played.

Robley Dunglison, potions professor [citation needed] and physician to both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison

James Madison if he had taken his doctors’ advice about stimulants. And a whole lot of steroids.
Correction: My math is a little off in the episode when I say the length of time between Monroe and Madison’s deaths was 4 years and 9 months; it’s just 6 days short of 5 years. Also, our apologies to Dennis Hopper who died in 2010.
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Due to Covid, we are homeschooling tour fifth grader his year. We have chosen to learn American history through profiles of each American President. We found this site by exploring the Anne Royall myth. Now I wish I’d found it five presidents ago! Thanks!
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Thank you for the kind words!!