John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the 50th anniversary of U.S. independence. They died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
The coincidence was especially striking because Adams and Jefferson were both Founding Fathers, former presidents, and important participants in the independence movement. Jefferson, the Declaration’s principal drafter, died at Monticello in Virginia earlier in the day. Adams died several hours later at Peacefield in Massachusetts.
Their deaths also carried a personal connection: the two men had once been close political allies, later became fierce partisan opponents, and eventually resumed a remarkable correspondence. Adams reportedly said, “Thomas Jefferson survives,” unaware that Jefferson had already died.
The anniversary is sometimes described as the 50th anniversary of “independence,” while the more precise historical wording is the 50th anniversary of the Declaration’s adoption. The Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776, although most delegates signed the engrossed document on August 2.