The deaths of former U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on July 4, 1826–the day of the Jubilee–the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, was an extraordinary and eerie coincidence. Jefferson died shortly after noon at the age of 83 in Monticello, Virginia. Several hours later Adams died in Quincy, Massachusetts at the age of 90. Though the nation’s second and third presidents were friends at the time of their deaths, they had been politically estranged for eleven years after the presidential election of 1800. Jefferson, along with James Madison, formed the Democratic-Republican Party while Adams was a Federalist. Adams wrote a letter to Jefferson on January 1, 1812, the first of many that renewed their friendship that lasted until their deaths. The last letter Jefferson wrote to Adams was on March 23. The last letter written by Adams to Jefferson was dated April 17, 1826. The news did not travel fast during this time and the former presidents were not aware of each other’s deaths. Newspapers printed in the days immediately following their deaths included letters from Adams, Jefferson, and other surviving signers of the Declaration of Independence declining their attendance at the July 4th Jubilee celebration in Washington.
Sources: Library of Congress Blog