Jan. 11, 1757: Alexander Hamilton is born in the West Indies. Hamilton, of course, is regarded as one of this nation’s most important founders. He was named treasury secretary by President Washington in 1789 and championed policies designed to strengthen the central government, including the establishment of the Bank of the United States. Hamilton served in government until 1795 when a personal scandal forced him from office. In 1804, a longtime political feud between Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr was settled with pistols on a Weehawken, N.J., cliff. The duel ended with Hamilton sustaining a fatal gunshot wound. That infamous example of the politics of personal destruction is now pervading popular culture thanks to the sawbuck-flashing characters in the “Saturday Night Live” Narnia rap video—“You can call us Aaron Burr / From the way we’re droppin’ Hamiltons.” —Jeffrey Kanige
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