I think everyone has an historical figure with whom they identify/feel strongly. In recent years, I've become more fascinated with John Adams but for most of my life it's been Thomas Jefferson. I think part of it has to do with my watching the musical 1776 as a kid. Which is stupid, I know, but it sparked an interest and I began learning about him and who he was. As a fellow musician, I identify with his use of and love for music. While he was writing the Declaration of Independence and stuck for inspiration, he would stop writing and play the violin to clear his head. This is the kind of guy I can get behind.
In addition to being a fairly competent writer, he was also a scholar, inventor, naturalist, architect, archaeologist, and spoke six languages. He founded the University of Virginia and assembled a library which became the foundation for Library of Congress. Can anyone say Renaissance Man?
Sure he wasn't perfect and he's not without his controversy: Hey, let's free the slaves.... oh except for mine, I kind of need them - and let's not even get started on the Sally Hemmings thing. But he, like all of the founding fathers, was human... despite history's attempt to make them all look like demigods. I think that's what makes them more appealing to me. That they were able to do what they did even through their flaws and foibles. It give me hope.