Founding Father of Finance Feted

Descendants will gather Thursday at the grave of Alexander Hamilton in Manhattan to commemorate his 250th birthday. The awkwardly named Friends of Alexander Hamilton & Descendants Committee succeeded in making January 11th a city-wide holiday in Paterson, New Jersey—founded by Hamilton in 1792—and members will be present at the Wall Street churchyard to toast his bullet-ridden corpse.

Although Americans say they think like Jeffersonians, they live like Hamiltonians, pundits say. It was this immigrant, from the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and Nevis, who was prescient enough to establish a strong monetary system, which funded American growth and expansion throughout the 19th century and beyond. [Link]

Unfortunately, he was not prescient enough to skip the duel with Aaron "Quick Draw" Burr.

So be sure to pull out a sawbuck and wish Alexander a happy 250th on Thursday. And then be sure to slip it an envelope and mail it to me.