Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies in either 1755 or 1757 and educated in New York. When the Revolutionary War broke out, he joined a Patriot militia, and quickly became an aide and adviser to General George Washington. After the war’s end, Hamilton authored the majority of The Federalist (later called The Federalist Papers), playing a pivotal role in ensuring ratification of the new United States Constitution. Washington later appointed Hamilton the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, where he created the U.S. Mint. Hamilton died in 1804, after being shot by Aaron Burr in their now-infamous duel.