Happy Birthday Hamilton! 2016

Celebrate Founding Father Alexander Hamilton's Birthday

It's Alexander Hamilton's Birthday!

NOTE: THIS PROGRAM HAS ALREADY PASSED. SEE PHOTOS, VIDEOS, AND MORE FROM THE EVENTS AT THE OFFICIAL EVENT PAGE HERE.


Come celebrate this Founding Father's birthday - join the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society on January 8-13th for events in Nevis, New York, and New Jersey.


Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1757 on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean. At age 15, he moved to New Jersey and then New York to get an education. From there, he became a prominent figure during the Revolutionary War and the founding of United States. Perhaps best known today for being the first Secretary of the Treasury and principal author of the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton has had long-lasting influences in law, politics, economics, finance, industrial development, education, foreign affairs, the military, and more.


Learn more about Alexander Hamilton's life during Happy Birthday Hamilton - all are welcome to join in on the celebration!

Happy Birthday Hamilton! Schedule

All events listed here are free (unless otherwise noted with an *) and open to the public.


Note: Additional times and events still to be confirmed


Friday, January 8th


At Alexander Hamilton Birthplace on the island of Nevis:

4:30 pm (5:30 pm ET): Alexander Hamilton Birthday Tea Party


Saturday, January 9th


At Hamilton Grange National Memorial in Northern Manhattan:

9 am-5 pm: Presentations (at 12 pm and 2 pm), plus house tours &, movie showings


At Morris-Jumel Mansion in Northern Manhattan:

3 pm: Talk - "Hamilton and Jefferson, Part I: Competing Visions for America"*


Monday, January 11th


At Federal Hall National Memorial in Lower Manhattan:

11 am-12 pm: Talk: "Part II - From Colleagues to Rivals: Hamilton and Jefferson in Washington's Cabinet and Beyond"

12 pm: Birthday cake cutting


At Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan:

1 pm: Graveside Remembrance at Hamilton's Grave

1:30 pm: Talk - "The Alliance That Forged America"


Wednesday, January 13th


At the Van Horne House in Bridgewater, New Jersey:

7 pm: Talk - "Alexander Hamilton: America's Indispensable Founder and Visionary"


Scroll down for event descriptions and details.

Friday, January 8th Events

Alexander Hamilton Birthday Tea Party

Friday, Jan. 8th, 4:30pm

Alexander Hamilton Birthplace Museum

The Nevis Historical and Conservation Society hosts an annual tea party on the grounds on the Alexander Hamilton Birthplace Museum in Charlestown, Nevis in honor of Hamilton's birthday.


The highlight of this event is the presentation of scholarships to Nevisian schoolchildren. These scholarships follows the tradition of supporting education for youth, something from which Alexander Hamilton so greatly benefited. Would you like to support or sponsor one of these youth scholarships? Make a donation through the AHA Society specifying that your donation is earmarked for that purpose and you can help the youth of Nevis.


Note: The event will be held at 4:30 pm Nevis time, which is 5:30 pm Eastern.

Saturday, January 9th Events

Hamilton Grange Birthday Program

Saturday, Jan. 9th, 9am-5pm

414 W 141st St

New York, NY

The National Park Service at Hamilton Grange National Memorial is hosting a full day of activities for Alexander Hamilton's birthday. The event is part of the year-long celebration of the National Park Service Centennial.


Come visit Hamilton's home to take a tour of its restored interior, explore the permanent exhibit on Hamilton's life, and watch the Hamilton Grange film. Guided tours of Hamilton's house are available at 10 am, 11 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm.


Birthday activities include signing a birthday card to Alexander Hamilton with a quill and ink and several special presentations throughout the day.


Presentation schedule:

12 pm: “Manhattan Well Murder Trial" AHA Society Chapter President Pooja Nair will speak on the Manhattan Well murder trial, the first fully recorded murder trial in the United States. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton teamed up for this dramatic case in 1800 for the defense of Levi Weeks, whose brother built the Grange.


2:00 pm: "History of The Grange" National Park Rangers will give a presentation about the history of Hamilton's “Sweet Project,” The Grange.


See the official Grange event flyer.

Talk - "Hamilton and Jefferson: Competing Visions for America"

Saturday, Jan. 9th, 3-4pm

65 Jumel Terrace

New York, NY

Dr. Thomas Oller, lecturer at Boston University and Harvard University, presents a two-part lecture series based on his history course on Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. The first talk, which will be held at the Morris-Jumel Mansion, is called "Hamilton and Jefferson: Competing Visions for America." This talk explores the different philosophies of these two Founding Fathers and what they envisioned the newly-formed United States should become.


Admission: $15

Discounted admission for AHA Society members: $10

Discounted admission for Morris-Jumel Mansion members: $10


To reserve a space, call 212-923-8008 or email visitorservices@morrisjumel.org

Monday, January 11th Events

St. Kitts and Nevis Flag-Raising Ceremony

Monday, Jan. 11th, 10:30am

Bowling Green

New York, NY

The Lower Manhattan Historical Society will host a flag-raising ceremony of the St. Kitts and Nevis flag at Bowling Green in honor of the island on which Alexander Hamilton's was born.


The flag will be raising at the Bowling Green flagpole, right on Broadway next to the Charging Bull statue.

Talk: "From Colleagues to Rivals: Hamilton and Jefferson in Washington's Cabinet and Beyond"

Monday, Jan. 11th, 11am-12pm

26 Wall Street

New York, NY

Boston University and Harvard University lecturer Dr. Thomas Oller will give the second presentation in his two-part series inspired by his history course on Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. This talk at Federal Hall, is titled "From Colleagues to Rivals: Hamilton and Jefferson in Washington's Cabinet and Beyond," which gives an overview of Hamilton and Jefferson's roles while they served in Washington's cabinet as Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of State, respectively.


This event is part of the year-long celebration of the National Park Service Centennial.


Following the presentation, there will be a cake-cutting for Alexander Hamilton's birthday (more information below).


See the official Federal Hall event flyer.

Birthday Cake Cutting

Monday, Jan. 11th, 12pm

26 Wall Street

New York, NY

Following Dr. Oller's talk on Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson at Federal Hall, Hamilton's birthday cake will be cut by US Coast Guard Captain Michael Day and served to attendees.


Remarks will be made by the Hon. Mark Brantley, Deputy Premier of Nevis and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.


The birthday cake is sponsored by Nevis Naturally and Tribeca Treats.

Blessing and Wreath-laying at Hamilton's Grave

Monday, Jan. 11th, 1-1:15pm

74 Trinity Pl

New York, NY

Gather for a wreath-laying ceremony and blessing at Alexander Hamilton's grave at Trinity Church in honor of his birthday. The US Coast Guard Color Guard from Sector New York will present the colors, sing the national anthem, and perform taps.


The memorial wreath is sponsored by the Museum of American Finance, who has maintained this tradition for over 25 years.

Talk: "Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Forged America"

Monday, Jan. 11th, 1:15-2:30pm

75 Broadway

New York, NY

Dr. Stephen Knott, author of Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth, will speak about his latest book co-authored with Tony Williams, Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Forged America. This new book explores the twenty-two year partnership between George Washington and Alexander Hamilton and how vital this collaboration was to the founding of the United States.


This talk will be given inside Trinity Church.

Wednesday, January 13th Events

Talk - "Alexander Hamilton: America's Indispensable Founder and Visionary"

Wednesday, Jan. 13th, 7pm

914 East Main Street

Bridgewater, NJ

AHA Society President Rand Scholet returns to the Heritage Trail Association to give his second presentation from his "Essence of Alexander Hamilton's Greatness" series. The title of the talk is "Alexander Hamilton: America's Indispensable Founder and Visionary" and focuses on Hamilton's contributions to the country's foundations, including in the constitutional, economic, and legal spheres.


The Heritage Trail Association is based in the Van Horne House in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

Sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society

The Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, also known as The AHA Society, strives to enrich the public's knowledge and understanding of Alexander Hamilton and the Founding period of the United States.


Keep up-to-date at theAHAsociety.com and learn more about Alexander Hamilton from AllThingsHamilton.com


Also, please consider donating to the AHA Society so that we may continue to provide free and diverse programming such as Happy Birthday Hamilton!.