On this day in 1751, James Madison, who served as the fourth president of the United States, was born on a plantation in Virginia. James Madison is recognized as the “Father of the Constitution” for being instrumental in drafting the United States Constitution and as the key champion and author of the United States Bill of Rights.
No other delegate was better prepared for the Federal Convention of 1787, and no one contributed more than Madison to shaping the document’s ideas and contours or explaining its meaning.
Madison was the shortest U.S. President, standing just 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing around 100 pounds. Despite his small stature, he had a towering intellect.