“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts, and he has not …[Continue]
Biographies Resources
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper (December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was a U.S. Naval officer and a pioneering computer programmer. Among other accomplishments, Admiral Hopper was instrumental in the development of the computer programming language COBOL. Here’s another fun …[Continue]
Jonas Salk
Dr. Jonas Salk (October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995) was an American research biologist who studied immunity, influenza, AIDS and polio. He is best known for the development of the polio vaccine that has nearly eradicated the threat of …[Continue]
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg (March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American judge who served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death. Also known as RBG or Notorious RBG, Ginsburg is admired by …[Continue]
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was the third Vice President of the United States (1801–05), serving during President Thomas Jefferson’s first term. Despite his successful career as a politician and lawyer, Burr is frequently remembered …[Continue]
Jane Austen
Romantic novelist Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) achieved success in her lifetime with the publication of “Sense and Sensibility” in 1811, followed by four additional novels. Her continued popularity after two-hundred years is nothing short of phenomenal, with adaptations of …[Continue]
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was a Founding Father of the United States, the first Secretary of the Treasury (under President George Washington), author of the Federalist papers, Father of the United States Coast …[Continue]
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) is one of the greatest composers in history. His work marked a turning point for composers, who had previously written primarily for religious services, to teach, or to entertain at social functions. But Beethoven’s …[Continue]
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree) was one of the best-known abolitionists of the nineteenth century. Born a slave in New York in approximately 1797, she was freed in 1828. She took the name Sojourner Truth in 1843 when she began …[Continue]
Pablo Picasso
Born October 25, 1881 in Malaga, Spain, Pablo Picasso became the defining artist of the twentieth century. As I learned about his life, I was struck by the observation that Picasso was blessed with parents who recognized his gift at …[Continue]
