Episode 3 of 3

Jefferson's 1802 administrative bill

When: January 26, 1802
Where: Washington, D.C.
Part of: Founding of the Library of Congress

On January 26, 1802, Jefferson signed a bill creating the librarian of Congress appointment and a Joint Committee on the Library.

Thomas Jefferson, Adams' successor as U.S. president, played a crucial role in shaping the Library of Congress's development. On January 26, 1802, he signed a bill allowing the president to appoint the librarian of Congress and establishing a Joint Committee on the Library to oversee the institution.

Sources

Library of Congress Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-23

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.