That would be Alexander Hamilton:
Fatal duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, appointed secretary of the treasury by George Washington, has a LONG history of great things, but has one affair that hurt his reputation, yet his face is on US currency. Who knows, maybe Bill Clinton will someday be on a coin or something.
Affair
In 1794, Hamilton became sexually involved in an affair with Maria Reynolds that badly damaged his reputation. Reynolds's husband, James, blackmailed Hamilton for money by threatening to tell Hamilton's wife, Elizabeth. When James Reynolds was arrested for counterfeiting, he contacted several prominent members of the Democratic-Republican Party, most notably James Monroe and Aaron Burr, touting that he could finger a top level official for corruption. When they visited Hamilton with their suspicions (believing Hamilton had abused his position in Washington's Cabinet), Hamilton insisted he was innocent of any misconduct in public office and admitted to the affair with Maria Reynolds. When rumors began spreading, Hamilton published a confession of his affair, shocking his family and supporters by not merely confessing but narrating the affair in detail, thus injuring Hamilton's reputation for the rest of his life.
At first Hamilton accused Monroe of making his affair public, and challenged him to a duel. Aaron Burr stepped in and persuaded Hamilton that Monroe was innocent of the accusation. His well-known vitriolic temper led Hamilton to challenge several others to duels in his career.
2007-03-29 11:56:09
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answer #1
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answered by Curious_Yank_back_in_South_Korea 7
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