Alexander Hamilton, the first financial genius of the United States, overcame tremendous childhood odds to lead America through its early monetary decisions and foundations in the time following the American Revolution. .
Alexander Hamilton was born in 1755 on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies. Hamilton was the illegitimate son of a Huguenot woman, Rachel Faucett Lavien, and a Scottish merchant named James Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton got his first financial experience while working as a clerk and bookkeeper at a store operated by his mother. Alexander soon became the topic of the town because of his mother's reputation as a whore and his status as an illegitimate child. .
After the death of Hamilton's mother in 1768, Hamilton's life and career began to take off. Hamilton's first real job came with an international trading firm run by Nicholas Cruger. Hamilton's duties included inspecting cargoes, advising ships' captains, and preparing bills of lading. Hamilton gained great knowledge and mastery of the "global finance game,"" including how international trade was done, under Cruger's guidance. .
Another individual who had a great influence on Hamilton was the reverend Hugh Knox. Knox, a Scottish Presbyterian minister, "adopted- Hamilton after his mother's death, and provided him with a strong intellectual and spiritual base. Knox's philosophy on free will over predestination particularly appealed to Hamilton because it showed that he could be a respected person, despite his illegitimate status [http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/hamilton/hamil02.html]. Knox tutored Hamilton in the humanities and sciences and allowed Hamilton to browse in the library, where Hamilton read tirelessly. In 1773, funding was made possible by Knox, Cruger, and other wealthy islanders for Hamilton to go to the United States to study medicine. .
When Hamilton arrived in the United States, he enrolled at King's College (now Columbia University) in New York.