| Charles Adams | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 29, 1770 Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 30, 1800 (aged 30) Quincy, Massachusetts |
Charles Adams (May 29, 1770 – November 30, 1800) was the second son of President John Adams and his wife, Abigail (Smith) Adams. He died of alcoholism in 1800.
At the age of nine he traveled with his father and older brother John Quincy to Europe, studied briefly in Passy, Amsterdam, and Leyden.
In December 1781, Adams returned to America unaccompanied by family members. After graduating from Harvard University in 1789, he studied law and established his practice in New York.
On August 29, 1795, Adams married Sally Smith (1769–1828), the sister of his brother-in-law, William Stephens Smith. They had two daughters, Susanna Boylston (1796–1884) and Abigail Louisa Smith (1798–1836).[1]
In 2008, HBO presented the miniseries entitled John Adams based on the book by David McCullough. This biographical presentation represents Charles Adams (played by Irish actor Kevin Trainor) as a drunken, irresponsible man with weak character who brings disgrace to his family and is disowned by his father, President John Adams. However, the series also depicts President Adams' actions as a possible influence on Charles's development; he was a frequently absent father whose political life separated him from his family for extended periods, and he did not approve of Charles' choices as an adult. Historians, however, have pointed out the inaccuracies of the series' characterization of their relationship.[2]