Today in 1804 -- Alexander Hamilton succumbs to wound suffered in duel with Vice President Aaron Burr

What a life this guy had -- makes Clinton and JFK look like monks! Here are a few excerpts from the Free Dictionary's mini biography -- well worth reading in its entirety. (Click the headline)

 The next time you look at a ten-dollar bill, give it a wink!

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In spring 1779, Hamilton asked his friend John Laurens to find him a wife in South Carolina: 

"She must be young�handsome (I lay most stress upon a good shape) Sensible (a little learning will do) �well bred... chaste and tender (I am an enthusiast in my notions of fidelity and fondness); of some good nature�a great deal of generosity (she must neither love money nor scolding, for I dislike equally a termagant and an economist)�In politics, I am indifferent what side she may be of�I think I have arguments that will safely convert her to mine�As to religion a moderate stock will satisfy me�She must believe in God and hate a saint. But as to fortune, the larger stock of that the better."

Hamilton found his own bride on December 14, 1780 when he married Elizabeth Schuyler, daughter of General Philip Schuyler, and thus joined one of the richest and most political families in the state of New York. The marriage took place at Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York.

Hamilton grew extremely close to Eliza's sister, Angelica Church, who was married to John Barker Church, a Member of Parliament in Great Britain.^[28] Some historians argue that the two may have had an affair, although, due to extensive editing of much Hamilton-Church correspondence by Hamilton's later descendants, it is impossible to know for sure.^[29]

In 1791, Hamilton became sexually involved in an affair with Maria Reynolds that badly damaged his reputation. Reynolds' husband, James, blackmailed Hamilton for money, threatening to inform Hamilton's wife Elizabeth. When James Reynolds was arrested for counterfeiting, he contacted several prominent members of the Democratic-Republican Party, most notably James Monroe and Aaron Burr, touting that he could expose a top level official for corruption. When they visited Hamilton with their suspicions (expecting that James Reynolds could implicate Hamilton in an abuse of his position in Washington's Cabinet), Hamilton insisted he was innocent of any misconduct in public office and admitted to the affair with Maria Reynolds. When rumors began spreading, Hamilton published a confession of his affair, shocking his family and supporters by not merely confessing but also by narrating the affair in detail, thus injuring Hamilton's reputation for the rest of his life.
At first Hamilton accused Monroe of making his affair public, and challenged him to a duel. Aaron Burr stepped in and persuaded Hamilton that Monroe was innocent of the accusation. His well-known vitriolic temper led Hamilton to challenge several others to duels in his career.
Hamilton resigned as Secretary of the Treasury while this affair was still being investigated; he submitted his resignation on December 1, 1794, effective on January 31, 1795.^[63]