 Born in what is now Quincy, Massachusetts (then part of the town of Braintree), Adams spent much of his youth in Europe, where his father served as a diplomat.After returning to the United States, Adams established a successful legal practice in Boston.In 1794, President George Washington appointed Adams as the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, and Adams would serve in high-ranking diplomatic posts until 1801, when Thomas Jefferson took office as president.