The Beginning...

Alexander Hamilton was born January 11, 1755. 

Some say he was born 1757, which would tie in with his arrival to America, but others prove that he was born in 1755. 

1757 was accepted both by A. Ham himself and his family.  But after uncovering documents in his Caribbean home, historians think otherwise. 

In 1771, he wrote a poem for a newspaper and told the editor, "Sir, I am a youth about seventeen." Or in other words, he was sixteen at the time.  Which gives a boost to the 1755 theory. Remember, this was olden times and not very many people documented dates such as birth, death, or marriage. 

Why the 2 dates?  Well, Alexander was quite the prodigy, just not a child one.  Most believe that when he applied for colleges in America, he changed his age so that he could be seen as almost a child prodigy, like, for example Aaron Burr (sir. Couldn't resist.). Otherwise, he was the same age, or even older than, the rest of the scholars in the college. 

Facts found in Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton