In 2011, staff at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History discovered a hair, light red in color and possibly human, between the pages of an unpublished manuscript by Thomas Jefferson. That hair sparked an unprecedented scientific quest: Could advances in modern genomics recover Jefferson’s DNA and finally resolve the most divisive and enduring question surrounding his personal life—the paternity of the children of Sally Hemings, one of hundreds of African Americans enslaved at Monticello?
For more than two centuries, the Jefferson–Hemings story has shaped American conversations about race, power, slavery, and the nation’s founding ideals. Historians have debated the evidence, families have lived with uncertainty, and earlier DNA studies brought important insight without fully resolving the question. Until now.
Richard Kurin, Smithsonian distinguished scholar, reveals the decade-and-a-half-long genomic investigation—conducted with leading DNA scientists, archaeologists, genealogists, and forensic experts and relying on the cooperation and participation of Jefferson and Hemings descendants across the country—that settles the historical record, deepens understanding of the third president’s life and legacy, and acknowledges generations of family histories.
Kurin’s new book, History by a Hair: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings & Solving a 200-Year-Old Mystery (Crown), is available for purchase.
Book Sales Information
- Beginning September 12, pre-order your signed copy of History by a Hair: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings & Solving a 200-Year-Old Mystery. Additional details will be posted on this page and emailed to program registrants in mid-September once the pre-order link is available.
General Information
