New DNA analysis has provided further evidence that US president Thomas Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman at his Monticello estate.
Researchers extracted DNA from a lock of hair believed to have belonged to Jefferson and compared it with genetic samples from descendants of Jefferson as well as of Hemings. The analysis found genetic evidence linking Jefferson to descendants of Hemings' sons Madison and Eston. The researchers reported a less than 0.001 percent chance that Jefferson was not the father of both Madison and Eston.
The findings come from research conducted by Smithsonian scientists over almost 15 years.
The Independent has more information on this research.