Early life, education, and early career

John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767, to John Adams and his wife Abigail (née Smith) in a part of Braintree Massachusetts that is now Quincy.^[9] He was named for his mother's maternal grandfather, Colonel John Quincy, after whom Quincy, Massachusetts, is named.^[10] Young Adams was educated by private tutors – his cousin James Thaxter and his father's law clerk, Nathan Rice.^[11] He soon began to exhibit his literary skills in 1779, when he initiated a diary which he kept until just before he died in 1848.^[12] The diary comprised an unprecedented fifty volumes, representing one of the most extensive and widely cited collections of first-hand information about the early republic.^[5]
Much of Adams' youth was spent accompanying his father overseas. He accompanied his father on diplomatic missions to France from 1778 until 1779 and to the Netherlands from 1780 until 1782.^[5] Adams acquired an education at institutions such as Leiden University. He matriculated in Leiden on January 10, 1781.^[13][14] For nearly three years, beginning at the age of 14, he accompanied Francis Dana as a secretary on a mission to Saint Petersburg, Russia, to obtain recognition of the new United States. He spent time in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark and, in 1804, published a travel report on Silesia.^[15] During these years overseas, Adams became fluent in French and Dutch and became familiar with German and other European languages.
Though Adams enjoyed Europe, he and his family decided he needed to return to the United States to complete his education and eventually launch a political career.^[16] He entered Harvard College, graduated in 1787 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and was elected by Phi Beta Kappa.^[5] Adams, mainly with the influence of his father, had excelled in classical studies and reached fluency in Latin and Greek. Upon entering Harvard he had already translated Virgil, Horace, Plutarch, and Aristotle^[17] and within six months memorized his Greek grammar and translated the New Testament.^[18] After graduating from Harvard, he studied law with Theophilus Parsons in Newburyport, Massachusetts from 1787 to 1789.^[19] He earned a Master of Arts from Harvard in 1790, was admitted to the bar in 1791, and began practicing law in Boston.^[5]