Did Alexander Hamilton Lie About His Age?

Examining a question that has plagued biographers for centuries

For many years after his death in 1804, Alexander Hamilton remained a recognizable but slightly obscure figure in American history. His face adorned the $10 bill, he was credited with the creation of the country’s financial system, and he was an author of The Federalist Papers — but few Americans would have known the details of Hamilton’s life.

That all changed with the release of Hamilton: An American Musical, a wildly-popular Broadway show that thrust Alexander Hamilton back into the limelight. Suddenly, Americans began devouring every detail of Hamilton’s life. If you want to discover any small fact about Hamilton, you can certainly find it.

How old was Alexander Hamilton?

It seems like a simple question, but it’s not. Even Ron Ron Chernow, the biographer who penned the book that inspired the Broadway play, wrote that “Few questions bedevil Hamilton biographers more than the baffling matter of his year of birth.”

Here’s why the question remains baffling:

During his lifetime, Alexander Hamilton often told his friends that he was born in 1757. Even the listed age on Hamilton’s tombstone in New York matches that year.

Because of Hamilton’s own insistence, it was widely assumed for many years that the 1757 date was accurate. This would put Alexander Hamilton at the young age of 19 in 1776, when the United States declared independence from Great Britain.

In recent years, biographers have discovered official documents from the Caribbean island of Nevis, Hamilton’s birthplace, that dispute the 1757 date. The Nevisian records state that Hamilton was born in 1755 — two years before the supposed date of the founding father’s birth.

Biographers are still split on the actual reason why Alexander Hamilton lied about his age.

Some authors maintain that Hamilton did not know when he was actually born and that his claim of being born in 1757 was merely a guess. After all, Hamilton could not have asked his parents, as his father had abandoned the family when Hamilton was just a boy and his mother had passed away shortly after. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to say that Hamilton’s claim to 1757 was just conjecture.

Other notable authors — Ron Chernow especially — believe that Hamilton intentionally hid his own age.

As Chernow writes, “While applying to Princeton, Hamilton may have decided to ‘correct’ his real age and shed a couple of years. Prodigies aren’t supposed to be overaged freshman.”

It’s also possible that Hamilton changed his age even earlier.

According to History Hustle, Hamilton “changed his age to look more promising as an apprentice and got a job as a clerk with a trading company in St. Croix” before coming to the United States.

If Hamilton did change his age, did it really change history?

It actually does.

Let’s assume that Hamilton changed his age to become a clerk with the trading company, as theorized by History Hustle.

As History Hustle states,

The businessmen admired Hamilton’s skill with the pen and started a collection to send Hamilton the American colonies. And from there, the rest is history.

Hamilton came to America and did apply to Princeton, but he eventually went to King’s College (now Columbia University).

If Hamilton had not changed his age to become an apprentice and clerk, would his letter have been noticed by the businessmen? If not, would he have ever made it to the United States?

Alexander Hamilton was a vital member in the creation of our nation. It’s hard to imagine the foundation of the United States without mentioning Alexander Hamilton.

Who knows? By changing his age, Alexander Hamilton potentially influenced the entire narrative of the United States.

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