Aaron Burr, Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) is the third Vice President of the United States under President Thomas Jefferson.
After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr becomes a successful lawyer and politician.
He is elected twice to the New York State Assembly (1784–1785, 1798–1799), is appointed New York State Attorney General (1789–1791), is chosen as a United States Senator (1791–1797) from the state of New York, and reaches the apex of his career as Vice President of the United States (1801–1805).
The highlight of Burr's tenure as President of the Senate (one of his few official duties as Vice President) is the Senate's first impeachment trial, of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase.
In 1804, the last full year of his single term as Vice President, Burr kills his political rival Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
Burr is never tried for the illegal duel and all charges against him are eventually dropped.
The death of Hamilton, however, ends Burr's political career.
President Jefferson drops him from the ticket for the 1804 presidential election, and he never holds office again.
After leaving Washington, Burr travels west seeking new opportunities, both economic and political.
His activities eventually lead to his arrest on charges of treason in 1807.
Although the subsequent trial results in acquittal, Burr's western schemes have left him with large debts and few influential friends.
In a final quest for grand opportunities, he leaves the United States for Europe.
He remains overseas until 1812, when he returns to the United States and to the practice of law in New York City, where he spends the remainder of his long life in relative obscurity.
