John J. Beckley

John James Beckley ( August 4, 1757 *, † April 8, 1807 ) was the first head of the Library of Congress.

Life

John James Beckley was born in England. He came at the age of eleven years to Virginia to work as a clerk in a commercial house. Beckley was a political friend of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, and was appointed by him in 1802 in the double office of Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Head of the Library of Congress. These two offices were not separated until 1815. The Library of Congress at that time consisted of about 740 volumes and three maps.

His son Alfred Beckley founded the city of Beckley, West Virginia.