Early Years

Alexander Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis, in the British West Indies. the illegitimate son of a Scottish father and an English mother. He was vague about his birth year, and his tombstone inscription indicated 1757. However, census records show it to have been 1755. After simple schooling, Alexander went to work at the age of 11 as a clerk in a trading firm on St. Croix Island. He showed a genius for financial and commercial matters. With help from relatives, at 17 he went to New York City, and he entered King's College (now Columbia University) in 1773.