Biography - Weekly Lesson Plans & Resources for Elementary ...



Lesson Title: Leadership – Historical Figure PosterGrade(s): K-5ASCA Standards:A:A3.5 Share knowledgeA:B1.5 Organize and apply academic information from a variety of SourcesPS:A1.2 Identify values, attitudes and beliefsLearning Objectives:Identify leadership traits through one leader's life.Explore leadership character traits and apply those traits and skills to real life scenariosExpress their opinions about leadership traits in discussion.Materials:Poster paperMarkers/crayons/colored pencils/pencilsPrinted biographies from historical leadersLesson:Warm-upToday we will be discussing leadership. As a class, we will start by creating a list of people with positive leadership skills. Encourage students to consider leaders from a wide range of fields, including government, business, entertainment, philanthropy, and sports. For younger students, they may also include people like parents, teachers, friends, siblings, principals, etc. Ask how we know these individuals are leaders? What kind of behaviors do they exhibit showing us that they are good leaders?Whole GroupAs a class, brainstorm aspects of leadership. Ask, “Based on what we already know about each leader in the list we created, what are some traits that leaders possess?” On a white board, compile a list of leadership traits. Some traits might include honesty, vision, humility, competence, ability to inspire, intelligence, persistence, charisma, passion, emotional intelligence, curiosity, empathy, open-mindedness, empowerment, patience, diplomacy, and creativity.Small GroupWork as a class or break into groups to explore thoughts/opinions on the following questions and scenarios listed on the table discussion cards below.What traits do leaders have? How do you know?Is there such thing as a bad leader?Why is it important to have leaders? What would life be like without leaders?Share a time that you acted as a leader.How does having leadership traits affect the leader's ability to make a difference?What leadership traits do you have?You go to recess and start playing a game. Someone comes along and wants to play, but one of the kids tell the person that he/she can’t play. What would you do? Does that action show a positive leadership trait?Your mom gets the flu and is sick and stuck in bed. What is something kind you can do that shows leadership skills?There’s an elderly woman across the street from you who lives alone. Her family lives far away and she is rarely outside. Is there something you could do to help her? How could you show leadership in this situation?You’re on a soccer team and your coach asks you to pass the ball to your teammate. You really want to score the goal by yourself, but your teammate is open. If you pass the ball to your teammate, are you still showing leadership?Assignment:Grades K-1: Explain that students are going to make a poster about their favorite leader. Ask students to write the name of this person, draw a picture of this person, and to include words and pictures that show how this person is a leader.Grades 2-5: Explain what a biography is to students – A biography is a collection of information shared to tell about a person’s life and their accomplishments. Tell your students that they are going to learn about leaders from history and that they will then make a poster about this individual. Ask students to include the following in their poster: name, information about this individual’s life, character traits that made this person a good leader, behaviors that prove this person is a good leader, interesting facts about this person and his/her contributions, and one way that we can show similar leadership skills in our own lives. Students may work individually or in small groups. Provide poster paper, markers/crayons/colored pencils/pencils to complete this project.Have students work alone or work in small groups Provide a separate printout for each student/group of several of the biographies found at the following website or at the bottom of this lesson plan: DiscussionAsk one member of each group to share what they learned. As a class, discuss:Do leaders have to demonstrate all the leadership traits to be a good leader? Why or why not?Which of the leadership traits do you possess? How might you use these leadership traits in your future career?BiographyDaniel BooneDaniel Boone?by Alonzo ChappelOccupation:?Pioneer and ExplorerBorn:?October 22, 1734 in the colony of PennsylvaniaDied:?September 26, 1820 in MissouriBest known for:?Exploring and settling the frontier of KentuckyBiography:?Daniel Boone became one of America's first folk heroes. His exploits as a woodsman were legendary. He was an expert hunter, marksman, and tracker. He led the exploration and settlement of?Kentucky.?Where did Daniel Boone grow up??Daniel grew up in a Quaker home in Pennsylvania. His father was a farmer and he had eleven brothers and sisters. Daniel worked hard on his father's farm. He was chopping wood by the time he was five years old and was taking care of his father's cows by the time he was ten.Daniel loved the outdoors. He would do anything not to be cooped up inside. While watching his father's cowherd, he would hunt small game and learn to find their tracks in the woods. He also became friends with the local Delaware Indians. They taught him a lot about surviving in the woods including tracking, trapping, and hunting. Daniel soon began to dress like the Indians.?Learning to Hunt?About the age of thirteen, Daniel got his first rifle. He had a natural skill at shooting and soon was the main hunter for the family. He often went off on his own for days hunting. He would kill foxes, beaver, deer, and wild turkey.?Yadkin Valley?In 1751 the Boones moved to Yadkin Valley in North Carolina. Daniel hunted enough animal skins to help his family buy 1300 acres of land. He became known as the land's best sharpshooter winning all the contests he entered.?French-Indian War?The French-Indian War began in 1754. This was a war between the British colonies and an alliance of the French and the Indians. Daniel joined the British army where he worked as a supply-wagon driver and a blacksmith. He was at the Battle of Turtle Creek where the French-Indian forces defeated the British easily. Daniel managed to escape on horseback.?Getting Married?Daniel returned to North Carolina and married a girl named Rebecca. They would have ten children together. Daniel met a man named John Findley who told him about a land west of the Appalachian Mountains called Kentucky.?Expeditions to Kentucky?In 1769 Daniel Boone made an expedition into Kentucky. He discovered the Cumberland Gap, a narrow pass through the Appalachian Mountains. On the other side, Daniel discovered a land that he considered a paradise. There were meadows for farmland and plenty of wild game to hunt.?Daniel and his brother John stayed in Kentucky to hunt and trap furs and pelts. However, they were soon captured by the Shawnee Indians. The Shawnee had agreed with England that the land west of the Appalachians was theirs. They took Daniel's furs, guns, and horses and told him never to return.Boonesborough?In 1775 Daniel made another expedition into Kentucky. He and a group of men helped to build a road to Kentucky named the Wilderness Trail. They chopped down trees and even built small bridges for wagons to pass through.??Wilderness Road?by Nikater?Daniel worked the next three years building a fort and starting a settlement called Boonesborough. He brought his family there and settled down. However, things were not easy for Daniel and his family. The Indians did not want the settlers on their land. They attacked the fort regularly. One time, Daniel's daughter Jemima was kidnapped and Daniel had to rescue her. Even Daniel was captured once, but managed to escape.?Eventually, Boone and his family left Boonesborough. They lived in West Virginia for a time and then moved to Missouri. Daniel enjoyed hunting and the woods until the end of his days.?Interesting Facts about Daniel BooneDaniel likely never attended school. He learned to read and write at home. However, he enjoyed reading and often took books with him on the trail.When Daniel was still just fourteen years old, he spotted bear tracks near his father's herd. He tracked the bear down and killed his first bear.Boone's rifle was given the nickname the "Ticklicker" because it was said that he could shoot the tick off of a bear's nose.One of his nicknames was the Great Pathfinder.In 1784 a book was written about Daniel called The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boon. It made him a folk hero (even though his last name was spelled wrong).Winston ChurchillOccupation:?Prime Minister of Great BritainBorn:?November 30th, 1874 in Oxfordshire, EnglandDied:?24 January 1965 in London, EnglandBest known for:?Standing up to the Germans in World War IIBiography:?Winston Churchill was one of the great world leaders of the 20th century. His leadership helped?Britain?to stand strong against?Hitler?and the Germans, even when they were the last country left fighting. He is also famous for his inspiring speeches and quotes.?Childhood and Growing Up?Winston was born November 30th, 1874 in Oxfordshire, England. He was actually born in a room in a palace named Blenheim Palace. His parents were wealthy aristocrats. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a politician who held many high offices in the British government.??Winston Churchill?from the Library of CongressJoining the Military?Churchill attended the Royal Military College and joined the British cavalry upon graduation. He traveled to many places while with the military and worked as a newspaper correspondent, writing stories about battles and being in the military.?While in South Africa during the Second Boer War, Winston Churchill was captured and became a Prisoner of War. He managed to escape from prison and traveled 300 miles to be rescued. As a result, he became something of a hero in Britain for a while.?Rise to Power?In 1900 Churchill was elected to Parliament. Over the next 30 years he would hold a number of different offices in the government including a cabinet post in 1908. His career had many ups and downs during this time, but he also became famous for many of his writings.?Prime Minister?At the outbreak of World War II, Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty in command of the Royal Navy. At the same time the current Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, wanted to appease Germany and Hitler. Churchill knew this would not work and warned the government that they needed to help fight Hitler or Hitler would soon take over all of Europe.?As Germany continued to advance, the country lost confidence in Chamberlain. Finally, Chamberlain resigned and Winston Churchill was chosen to be his successor as Prime Minister on May 10, 1940.?World War II?Soon after becoming Prime Minister, Germany invaded France and Britain was alone in Europe fighting Hitler. Churchill inspired the country to keep fighting despite the bad circumstances. He also helped to forge an alliance of?Allied Powers?with the Soviet Union and the United States. Even though he did not like?Joseph Stalin?and the communists of the Soviet Union, he knew the Allies needed their help to fight Germany.??Tehran Conference?from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library?Churchill with?President Roosevelt?and Joseph StalinWith the Allies help, and Winston's leadership, the British were able to hold off Hitler. After a long and brutal war they were able to defeat Hitler and the Germans.??Churchill waving to the crowd after the end of World War II?Churchill on VE DayAfter the War?After the war, Churchill's party lost the election and he was no longer Prime Minister. He was still a major leader in the government, however. He was again elected Prime Minister in 1951. He served the country for many years and then retired. He died on January 24, 1965.?Churchill was concerned about the Soviet Union and the Red Army. He felt they were just as dangerous as Hitler now that the Germans were defeated. He was right as soon after World War II ended, the Cold War between the Western nations of NATO (such as Britain, France, USA) and communist Soviet Union began.?Famous Quotes?Winston Churchill was famous for his rousing speeches and quotes. Here are a few of his famous quotes:?In a speech criticizing the appeasement of Hitler, he said "You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war."?He also said of appeasement: "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."?In his first speech as Prime Minister he said "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."?In a speech about fighting the Germans he said "We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."?When talking about the RAF during the Battle of Britain he said "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."?Fun Facts about Winston ChurchillHe wrote a number of historical books and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953.He was named an honorary citizen of the United States.Churchill married Clementine Hozier in 1908. They had five children including four daughters and one son.Winston did not do well in school as a child. He also had trouble getting into the Royal Military College. Although, once in, he finished near the top of his class.He was not healthy during World War II. He had a heart attack in 1941 and pneumonia in 1943.BiographyPresident George Washington?Portrait of George Washington?Author: Gilbert StuartGeorge Washington was the?First President?of the United States.?Served as President:?1789-1797Vice President:?John AdamsParty:?FederalistAge at inauguration:?57?Born:?February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia?Died:?December 14, 1799 in Mount Vernon, Virginia?Married:?Martha Dandridge WashingtonChildren:?none (2 stepchildren)Nickname:?Father of His Country?Biography:?What is George Washington most known for??One of the most popular Presidents of the United States, George Washington is known for leading the Continental Army in victory over the British in the?American Revolution. He also was the first President of the United States and helped to define what the role of the president would be going forward.??Crossing the Delaware River?by Emanuel LeutzeGrowing Up?George grew up in Colonial Virginia. His father, a landowner and planter, died when George was just 11 years old. Fortunately, George had an older brother named Lawrence who took good care of him. Lawrence helped to raise George and taught him how to be a gentleman. Lawrence made sure that he was educated in the basic subjects like reading and math.?When George turned 16 he went to work as a surveyor, where he took measurements of new lands, mapping them out in detail. A few years later George became a leader with the Virginia militia and became involved in the start of the French and Indian War. At one point during the war, he narrowly escaped death when his horse was shot out from under him.?Before the Revolution?After the French and Indian War George settled down and married the widow?Martha Dandridge Custis. He took over the estate of Mount Vernon after his brother Lawrence died and raised Martha's two children from her former marriage. George and Martha never had kids of their own. George became a large landowner and was elected to the Virginian legislature.?Soon George and his fellow landowners became upset with unfair treatment by their British rulers. They began to argue and fight for their rights. When the British refused they decided to go to war.??Mount Vernon was where George and Martha Washington livedfor several years. It was located in Virginia on the Potomac River.The American Revolution and Leading the Army?George was one of Virginia's delegates at the?First and Second Continental Congress. This was a group of representatives from each colony who decided to fight the British together. In May of 1775 they appointed Washington as general of the Continental Army.?George Washingtonby Gilbert StuartGeneral Washington did not have an easy task. He had a ragtag army of colonial farmers to fight trained British soldiers. However, he managed to hold the army together even during tough times and losing battles. Over the course of six years George led the army to victory over the British. His victories include the famous?crossing of the Delaware River?on Christmas and the final victory at Yorktown, Virginia. The?British Army surrendered in Yorktown?on October 17, 1781.?Washington's Presidency?The two terms that Washington served as president were peaceful times. During this time, George established many roles and traditions of the President of the United States that still stand today. He helped build and guide the formation of the actual US Government from the words of the Constitution. He formed the first presidential cabinet which included his friends?Thomas Jefferson?(Secretary of State) and Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury).?George stepped down from the presidency after 8 years, or two terms. He felt it was important that the president not become powerful or rule too long, like a king. Since then only one president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, has served more than two terms.The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.How did he die??Just a few years after leaving the office of president, Washington caught a bad cold. He was soon very sick with a throat infection and died on December 14, 1799.?Fun Facts about George WashingtonHe was the only president unanimously elected. Meaning all of the state representatives voted for him.He never served as president in Washington D.C., the capital that was named for him. In his first year the capital was in New York City, then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.He was six feet tall, which was very tall for the 1700s.The story of George Washington chopping down his father's cherry tree is considered fiction and likely never happened.George Washington did not have wooden teeth, but did wear dentures made from ivory.Washington gave freedom to his slaves in his will.BiographyWalt DisneyOccupation:?EntrepreneurBorn:?December 5, 1901 in Chicago, IllinoisDied:?December 15, 1966 in Burbank, CaliforniaBest known for:?Disney animated movies and theme parksNickname:?Uncle Walt?Walt Disney?Source: NASABiography:?Where did Walt Disney grow up??Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1901. When he was four years old his parents, Elias and Flora, moved the family to a farm in Marceline, Missouri. Walt enjoyed living on the farm with his three older brothers (Herbert, Raymond, and Roy) and his younger sister (Ruth). It was in Marceline that Walt first developed a love for drawing and art.After four years in Marceline, the Disneys moved to Kansas City. Walt continued to draw and took art classes on the weekends. He even traded his drawings to the local barber for free haircuts. One summer Walt got a job working on a train. He walked back and forth on the train selling snacks and newspapers. Walt enjoyed his job on the train and would be fascinated by trains for the rest of his life.?Early Life?About the time Walt was entering high school, his family moved to the big city of Chicago. Walt took classes at the Chicago Art Institute and drew for the school newspaper. When he was sixteen, Walt decided he wanted to help fight in World War I. Since he was still too young to join the army, he dropped out of school and joined the Red Cross. He spent the next year driving ambulances for the Red Cross in France.??Walt Disney in 1935?Work as an Artist?Disney returned from the war ready to begin his career as an artist. He worked at an art studio and then later at an advertising company. It was during this time that he met artist Ubbe Iwerks and learned about animation.?Early Animation?Walt wanted to make his own animation cartoons. He started his own company called Laugh-O-Gram. He hired some of his friends including Ubbe Iwerks. They created short animated cartoons. Although the cartoons were popular, the business didn't make enough money and Walt had to declare bankruptcy.?One failure was not going stop Disney, however. In 1923, he moved to Hollywood, California and opened a new business with his brother Roy called Disney Brothers' Studio. He again hired Ubbe Iwerks and number of other animators. They developed the popular character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The business was a success. However, Universal Studios gained control of the Oswald trademark and took all of Disney's animators except for Iwerks.?Once again, Walt had to start over. This time he created a new character named Mickey Mouse. He created the first animated film to have sound. It was called?Steamboat Willie?and starred Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Walt performed the voices for?Steamboat Willie?himself. The film was a great success. Disney continued to work, creating new characters such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. He had further success with the releases of the cartoon?Silly Symphonies?and the first color animated film,?Flowers and Trees.?Snow White?In 1932, Disney decided he wanted to make a full-length animated film called?Snow White. People thought he was crazy for trying to make a cartoon that long. They called the film "Disney's folly." However, Disney was sure the film would be a success. It took five years to complete the film which was finally released in 1937. The film was a huge box office success becoming the top film of 1938.?More Movies and Television?Disney used the money from?Snow White?to build a movie studio and to produce more animated movies including?Pinocchio,?Fantasia,?Dumbo,?Bambi,?Alice in Wonderland, and?Peter Pan. During World War II, Disney's movie production slowed down as he worked on training and propaganda films for the U.S. government. After the war, Disney began to produce live action films in addition to animated films. His first big live action film was?Treasure Island.?In the 1950's, the new technology of television was taking off. Disney wanted to be a part of television as well. Early Disney television shows included?Disney's Wonderful World of Color, the?Davy Crockett?series, and the?Mickey Mouse Club.?Disneyland?Always coming up with new ideas, Disney had the idea to create a theme park with rides and entertainment based on his movies. Disneyland opened in 1955. It cost $17 million to build. The park was a huge success and is still one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world. Disney would later have the idea to build an even larger park in Florida called Walt Disney World. He worked on the plans, but died before the park opened in 1971.?Death and Legacy?Disney died on December 15, 1966 from lung cancer. His legacy lives on to this day. His movies and theme parks are still enjoyed by millions of people each year. His company continues to produce wonderful movies and entertainment every year.?Interesting Facts about Walt DisneyThe original name for Mickey Mouse was Mortimer, but his wife didn't like the name and suggested Mickey.He won 22 Academy Awards and received 59 nominations.His last written words were "Kurt Russell." No one, not even Kurt Russell, knows why he wrote this.BiographyHenry FordHenry Ford?Occupation:?Businessman and InventorBorn:?July 30, 1863 in Greenfield Township, MichiganDied:?April 7, 1947 in Dearborn, MichiganBest known for:?Founder of the Ford Motor Company and helped develop the assembly line for mass productionBiography:?Henry Ford is most famous for founding the Ford Motor Company. Ford is still one of the world's largest producers of cars including brands such as Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Mazda, and Land Rover. Ford was a pioneer in manufacturing using the assembly line. This enabled his company to manufacture cars on a large scale at a cheap price. For the first time, cars were affordable for the average American family.?Where did Henry Ford grow up??Henry grew up in Greenfield Township, Michigan. His father was a farmer and wanted Henry to take over the family farm, but Henry had no interest in farming. He was much more interested in machines and building things. He left home at the age of 16 and went to Detroit to become an apprentice machinist. Ford had two brothers and two sisters.?What did Henry Ford invent??The Assembly Line?- It is often stated that Henry Ford invented the assembly line. This is where a large number of products are made one step at a time as they pass down a line. Using an assembly line allows for the mass production of products at a cheaper price than trying to build an entire product one at a time. What Henry Ford did was apply this concept to the automobile and perfect it for the mass production of cars at a much lower price than current production methods. Ford's work in streamlining the assembly line for cars was an example of just how powerful an assembly line could be in mass producing products.?1908 Ford Model T?by Ford Motor CompanyThe Model T Ford?- This was the original car that Ford manufactured using the assembly line process. It was revolutionary in many ways, but primarily in its cost. It was very cheap compared to competitive cars and it was easy to drive and to repair. These features made it perfect for the middle class American. Over 15 million Model T cars were made and, by 1918, over 50% of the cars in America were Model Ts.?Mr and Mrs Henry Ford in his first carby UnknownFun facts about Henry FordHenry worked as an engineer at the Edison Illumination Company where he met Thomas Edison.His first try at an automobile company was in collaboration with Thomas Edison and was called the Detroit Automobile Company.Ford had Edison's last breath saved in a test tube and you can still see the test tube at the Henry Ford Museum.In 1918 he ran for a?US Senate?seat, but lost.He was a race car driver early in his career.BiographyBill GatesOccupation:?Entrepreneur, Chairman of MicrosoftBorn:?October 28, 1955 in Seattle, WashingtonBest known for:?Founder of Microsoft, one of the richest men in the world?Bill GatesSource: US Treasury DepartmentBiography:?Where did Bill Gates grow up??William Henry Gates III was born in Seattle, Washington on October 28, 1955. He was the middle child of William H. Gates II, a prominent Seattle lawyer, and Mary Gates, who worked as a teacher before she had kids. Bill had an older sister, Kristi, and a younger sister, Libby.?Bill loved to play board games and was competitive at most everything he did. He was an intelligent student and his best subject in grade school was math. However, Bill got easily bored with school and ended up getting into trouble a lot. His parents kept him occupied with outside activities like Boy Scouts (he earned his Eagle Scout badge) and reading science fiction books.?When Bill turned thirteen his parents sent him to the Lakeside Preparatory School hoping it would prove more of a challenge for him. It was at Lakeside where Bill met his future business partner Paul Allen. He also was introduced to computers at Lakeside.?Computers?At the time when Bill was growing up, there weren't home computers like the PC, the laptop, or the tablet like we have today. Computers were owned by large companies and took up lots of space. Lakeside school purchased time on one of these computers that the students could use. Bill found the computer fascinating. The first computer program he wrote was a version of tic-tac-toe.?At one point, Bill and some of his fellow students were banned from using the computer because they hacked it to get extra computing time. They then agreed to look for bugs in the computer system in return for computer time. Later, while still in high school, Bill wrote a payroll program for a company and a scheduling program for his school. He even started a business with his friend Paul Allen writing a computer program that helped to track traffic patterns in Seattle.?College?After graduating from high school in 1973, Gates attended Harvard University. At first he planned to study as a lawyer, but he continued to spend much of his time on computers. He also kept in touch with his friend Paul Allen who was working for Honeywell.?When the Altair personal computer came out in 1974, Gates and Allen decided they could write a BASIC software program to run on the computer. They called up Altair and told them they were working on the program. Altair wanted a demonstration in a few weeks, but Gates hadn't even started on the program. He worked hard over the next month or so and, when they finally went to New Mexico to run the software, it worked perfectly the first time.?Starting Microsoft?In 1975, Gates dropped out of Harvard to start a software company with Paul Allen called Microsoft. The company was doing well, but it was in 1980 that Gates made a deal with IBM that would change computing. Microsoft reached a deal to provide the MS-DOS operating system on the new IBM PC. Gates sold the software to IBM for a fee of $50,000, however he held onto the copyright of the software. When the PC market took off, Microsoft also sold MS-DOS to other PC manufacturers. Soon, Microsoft was the operating system in a large percentage of computers around the world.??Bill GatesSource: U.S. Department of StateWindows?In 1985, Gates and Microsoft took another risk. They released the Microsoft Windows operating system. This was Microsoft's answer to a similar operating system introduced by Apple in 1984. At first, many people complained that Microsoft Windows wasn't as good as the Apple version. However, Gates continued to press the open PC concept. Microsoft Windows could run on a variety of PC compatible machines, while the Apple operating system only ran on Apple machines. Microsoft won the operating system battle and was soon installed on nearly 90% of the world's personal computers.?Microsoft Grows?Gates wasn't satisfied with just winning the operating system portion of the software market. Over the next few years he introduced new products such as Windows Office programs like Word and Excel. The company also introduced new and improved versions of Windows.?World's Richest Man?In 1986, Gates took Microsoft public. The company's stock was worth $520 million. Gates owned 45 percent of the stock himself which was worth $234 million. The company continued its rapid growth and the stock price soared. At one point, Gates' stock was worth over $100 billion. He was the richest man in the world.?Why was Bill Gates successful??Like most successful entrepreneurs, Bill Gates' success came from a combination of hard work, intelligence, timing, business sense, and luck. Gates constantly challenged his employees to work harder and innovate, but he also worked as hard or harder than the people who worked for him. Gates also wasn't afraid to take risks. He took a risk when he dropped out of Harvard to start his own company. He also took a risk when he changed Microsoft's operating system from MS-DOS to Windows. However, his risks were calculated. He had confidence in himself and his product.?Personal Life?Gates married Melinda French in January of 1994. They have since had three children including two daughters and a son. In 2000, Gates and his wife formed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Today, this is one of the largest charitable foundations in the world. Gates personally has donated over $28 billion to charity.?Interesting Facts about Bill GatesBill's nickname as a child was "Trey" which was given to him by his grandmother.He scored a 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT.At first Microsoft had a hyphen in the name "Micro-soft". It was a combination of microcomputer and software.When Microsoft first started out, Gates would look at every line of code before a new software product shipped.In 2004, Gates predicted that email spam would be gone by 2006. He was wrong on that one!He was dubbed an honorary knight by Queen Elizabeth. He does not use the title "Sir" because he is not a citizen of the?United Kingdom.BiographyMilton HersheyOccupation:?Entrepreneur and chocolate makerBorn:?September 13, 1857 at Derry Township, PennsylvaniaDied:?October 13, 1945 at Hershey, PennsylvaniaBest known for:?Founding the Hershey Chocolate Corporation?Milton Hershey?Biography:?Where did Milton Hershey grow up??Milton Snavely Hershey was born on September 13, 1857 in the small town of Derry,?Pennsylvania. He only had one sibling, a sister named Serina who sadly died from Scarlet fever when Milton was nine years old. His mother, Fanny, was a devoted Mennonite. His father, Henry, was a dreamer who was constantly starting new jobs and working on his next "get rich quick" scheme.Because Milton's family moved so much, he didn't get a very good education. By the time he turned thirteen he had attended six different schools. Even though he was smart, it was tough on Milton to always be changing schools. After the fourth grade, his mother decided that Milton should leave school and learn a trade?Milton's mom found him a job as an apprentice to a printer. He would help set up each letter for the printing press and then load the paper and ink for the printer to work. He thought the work was boring and didn't enjoy the job. After two years with the printer, Milton's mom helped him to find a new apprentice job with a candy maker.?Learning to Make Candy?In 1872, Milton went to work for Joseph Royer at the Lancaster confectionery shop. There Milton learned about the art of candy making. He made all sorts of candy including caramels, fudge, and peppermints. He really enjoyed being a candy maker and knew he had found what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.?Starting His Own Business?When Milton was nineteen years old he decided to open his own candy business. He borrowed money from his aunt and uncle to get the business open. He opened the shop in the big city of Philadelphia. He had all sorts of candy products and he also sold nuts and ice cream.?Failing?Unfortunately, no matter how hard Milton worked, he couldn't figure out how to get his business to make a profit. He worked harder and harder, but soon he ran out of money and had to shut his business down. Milton wasn't one to give up. He moved to Denver, Colorado and got a job with a candy maker where he learned that fresh milk made the best tasting candy. He then opened another candy shop in New York City. This shop failed, too.?Lancaster Caramel Company?Back in Lancaster, Milton once again started a new candy business. This time he would specialize in making just caramels. His caramel company was a huge success. Before long, Milton had to open up new candy making factories and branches all over the country. He was now a rich man.?Hershey Chocolate Company?Even though Milton was now a huge success, he had a new idea that he thought would be even bigger...chocolate! He sold his caramel business for $1 million and put all his efforts into making chocolate. He wanted to make a huge chocolate factory where he could mass produce chocolate so it would be both delicious and affordable for the average person. He got the idea of building a factory in the country, but where would the workers live??Hershey Pennsylvania?Milton decided to not only build a large factory in the country, but to also build a town. People thought he was crazy! Milton, however, didn't care. He went ahead with his plan and built the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. It had lots of houses, a post office, churches, and schools. The chocolate company was a huge success. Soon Hershey's chocolates were the most famous chocolates in the world.?Why was Hershey successful??Milton Hershey was more than just a candy maker and a dreamer, he was a good businessman and learned from his earlier mistakes. When he first started making chocolate, he made one simple product: the milk chocolate candy bar. Because he made so many, he could sell them at a low price. This allowed everyone to afford chocolate. Milton also hired good people, advertised his chocolates, and invested in other aspects of chocolate making like the production of sugar.?Later Life and Death?Milton and his wife, Kitty, were not able to have children. He used his millions to invest in a school for orphaned boys called the Hershey Industrial School. He died at the age of 88 on October 13, 1945.?Interesting Facts about Milton HersheyWhen Milton was a boy he once heard the cannons from the fighting during the?Battle of Gettysburg?from his home.The two major streets in Hershey, Pennsylvania are Cocoa Avenue and Chocolate Avenue.During?World War II, Hershey made special ration bars for the troops called Field Ration D bars. His factories were making 24 million of these bars a week by the end of the war.Milton and his wife Kitty were booked to travel on the Titanic (a famous ship that sunk), but fortunately cancelled their trip at the last minute.There are lots of things to do at Hershey, Pennsylvania today including the Hersheypark Amusement park and Hershey's Chocolate World.BiographySteve JobsOccupation:?Entrepreneur and inventorBorn:?February 24, 1955 in San Francisco, CaliforniaDied:?October 5, 2011 in Palo Alto, CaliforniaBest known for:?Co-founding Apple ComputersBiography:?Where did Steve Jobs grow up??Steve Paul Jobs was born in San Francisco,?California?on February 24, 1955. His birth parents gave him up for adoption and he was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs. Paul was a machinist and Clara an accountant. When Steve was five, the family moved to Mountain View, California where Steve went to school and grew up.?One of Steve's favorite hobbies growing up was working with?electronics?in his garage with his dad. They would take apart electronics like radios and then put them back together. Steve was a smart student, but got bored with school. He often played pranks on others, getting into trouble. When he was thirteen, Jobs met eighteen-year-old Steve Wozniak. Wozniak was also into electronics and the two boys became friends.?Early Life?After graduating from high school, Jobs attended Reed College in Oregon. However, he found the classes boring and soon dropped out, taking a job with video game maker Atari. Jobs became more and more interested in philosophy. He quit his job and took a trip to?India?to find "enlightenment." He spent seven months traveling around India and studying the religion of Zen Buddhism. Upon his return to California, he went back to work for Atari.?Apple Computer?Jobs began hanging out with Steve Wozniak again and the two of them were very interested in computers. Wozniak wanted his own personal computer and, being the electronics genius he was, he invented his own computer. Jobs was impressed. He said they should start their own company selling the computer and Wozniak agreed. In 1976, they formed the company Apple Computer and called their first computer the Apple I. They began making the computers in Jobs' garage. Jobs was just 21 years old at the time.?Wozniak then started working on the next version called the Apple II. Jobs could tell that this was going to be a great product. He sold the idea to some investors convincing them to?invest?in the company. The Apple II was a great success. The company quickly grew and went public just four years after it started in 1980.?Out of Apple?The next two personal computers from Apple, the Apple III and the Lisa, were not very successful. Jobs put all his efforts into the development of the Macintosh. The Macintosh was introduced with much fanfare during the Super Bowl. It was a huge success.?However, Apple was coming under increasing pressure from the PC designed by IBM. The PC was an open concept which could be cloned and made by multiple companies. The PC was much cheaper than the Macintosh and Apple sales began to decline. Jobs took the blame and resigned from Apple in 1985.?Next Computer?Always wanting to create that next great product, Jobs started a new company called NeXT Computer. The first products from NeXT were high-end personal computers. They were technically great, but too expensive for the average person and NeXT began to lose money. Jobs then turned NeXT into a software company and it began to have some success.?Pixar Movies?In 1986, Jobs purchased a graphics company for $10 million. He changed the name of the company to Pixar. At first the company sold 3D graphics software, but in 1991 they received a contract from Disney to create a full length film. Their first film was?Toy Story?which was a huge success. Pixar went on to make films such as?Finding Nemo,?Monsters, Inc.,?Cars,?WALL-E, and?Up. Jobs actually made more money with Pixar than he did during his first stint with Apple.?Back to Apple?In 1997, Apple ended up purchasing NeXT from Jobs. He then returned to the company as the CEO. Apple was struggling at the time and needed some new ideas. With Jobs at the helm, Apple began to branch out into new products. They introduced the iPod music player and iTunes music software. Both were a huge success and gave Apple a new image of being on the cutting edge of consumer electronics. In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone which changed the way phones were used and took the mobile phone market by storm. Jobs became a celebrity and was considered by many to be one of the great innovators of the 2000s.?Death?Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011 from pancreatic cancer. He had fought?cancer?for several years since first being diagnosed in 2003.?Interesting Facts about Steve JobsJobs got the name for Apple Computers after spending some time at an apple orchard.The movie?Brave?from Disney Pixar was dedicated to Steve Jobs.Ashton Kutcher played the lead role in the 2013 film?Jobs.He had four children including three sons and a daughter.In 2013, Apple sold more than 350,000 iPhones a day.Fortune magazine named him as the "greatest entrepreneur of our time."BiographyHarriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher Stowe?by Francis HollOccupation:?AuthorBorn:?June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, ConnecticutDied:?July 1, 1896 in Hartford, ConnecticutBest known for:?Writing the book?Uncle Tom's Cabin?about slaveryBiography:?Where did Harriet Beecher Stowe grow up??Harriet was born on June 14, 1811 in Litchfield,?Connecticut. She grew up in a big family with five brothers and three sisters. Her mother died from tuberculosis when Harriet was just five years old. Her father, Lyman, was a minister who wanted all of his sons to be ministers as well.?Harriet loved to read as a child. One of her favorite books was?The Arabian Nights. She went to school at the Hartford Female Seminary where her older sister Catharine worked. Eventually, Harriet began to teach at the school as well.?Moving to Ohio and Getting Married?In 1832 Harriet and her family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where her father became president of the Lane Theological Seminary. Harriet got another job teaching and began to write professionally.?Harriet became close friends with Eliza and Calvin Stowe. Eliza became one of her closest friends, but soon became sick and died. After Eliza's death, Harriet and Calvin fell in love and married in 1836. They eventually had seven children together including four boys and three girls.?Learning About Slavery?Growing up in Connecticut, Harriet had little contact or knowledge with the reality of?slavery?in the Southern part of the United States. However, Cincinnati, Ohio was just across the river from Kentucky where slavery was legal. Harriet began to see firsthand how poorly slaves were treated. The more she learned, the more horrified she became.?Uncle Tom's Cabin?In 1851, Harriet began writing a story about slavery. She wanted to help people in the North to understand better the realities of slavery. Initially, a new portion of the story came out each week in a newspaper called the?National Era. The story became very popular and the installments were published as an entire book called?Uncle Tom's Cabin?in 1852.?The Story?Uncle Tom's Cabin?told the story about a kind slave named Tom. Tom is sold a few times between masters until he ends up being owned by plantation owner Simon Legree. Simon Legree is an evil man who likes to beat his slaves. Tom's kindness toward his fellow slaves only makes Simon angrier. When two women slaves escape, Simon tries to force Tom to tell him where they went. Tom refuses and is eventually beaten to death by Simon.?Reaction?The book became a national best seller. It was not only popular in the United States, but also around the world. People in the North who had not really thought about slavery before, began to understand just how horrible it was. Many people joined the abolitionist movement as a result of reading the book. They wanted slavery outlawed throughout the United States.?The Civil War?Although there were many issues and causes to the Civil War, there is no doubt that?Uncle Tom's Cabin?educated people on the horrors of slavery and had an impact in helping Abraham Lincoln get elected. It was certainly one of the causes that led to the Civil War.?Interesting Facts About Harriet Beecher StoweHarriet met?President Abraham Lincoln?in 1862. Upon meeting her, Lincoln remarked "so this is the little lady who made this big war."When writing?Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet did her own research visiting a plantation with slaves. She also met with former slaves and had them verify that the events in her story were accurate and realistic.After people in the South said that the story was inaccurate, Harriet wrote a book called?A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin?where she documented the real events that occurred on which her story was based.The term "Uncle Tom" has become a epithet meaning someone who "sells out" against their own people in order to help themselves. The Uncle Tom in the book is not like this at all. He is a hero in many ways. However, the story of Uncle Tom got twisted in plays and movies until the name "Uncle Tom" became an insult.Mother TeresaMother Teresa?by UnknownOccupation:?Catholic NunBorn:?August 26, 1910 in Uskub,?Ottoman EmpireDied:?September 5, 1997 in Calcutta, IndiaBest known for:?Fighting for the rights of the sick and helplessBiography:?Mother Teresa was a humanitarian. This means she did things to help out other people. Her entire life was fully devoted to helping the poor, the sick, the needy, and the helpless.?Where did Mother Teresa grow up??Mother Teresa was born in Uskub, Ottoman Empire on August 26, 1910. This city is now called Skopje and is the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Her birth name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. Her father died when she was eight and she was raised by her mother.?Agnes grew up in the Roman Catholic Church and decided to devote her life to God at an early age. When she turned 18, Agnes joined the Sisters of Loreto to become a missionary to India. Before she could go to India, she had to learn English. She spent a year in Ireland learning to speak English at the Loreto Abby.?A year later, Agnes began her missionary work in Darjeeling, India. She learned the local language, Bengali, and taught at the local school. In 1931, she took her vows as a nun and chose the name Teresa. She taught for many years in India becoming the headmistress at a school in eastern Calcutta.?What did Mother Teresa do??When she was 36 years old, Mother Teresa felt the call from God to help the poor of India. She received some basic medical training and then set out to help the sick and needy. This wasn't an easy task in 1948 India. She had very little support and, while trying to feed and help the poorest of the poor, she herself was constantly hungry and even had to beg for food.?Missionaries of Charity?In 1950, Mother Teresa formed a group within the Catholic Church called the Missionaries of Charity. She described the purpose of the Missionaries of Charity as an organization that would take care of "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone".?Wow! Mother Teresa had some lofty goals. If you consider that she herself was starving only a few years earlier, she accomplished some amazing things. When she first started the Missionaries of Charity there were only 13 members. Today, the group has over 4,000 members who care for people all over the world.?It wasn't an easy task to build such an organization and to keep the focus on the poorest people. She worked almost up until her death on September 5, 1997.?Fun facts about Mother TeresaMother Teresa has been beatified by the Catholic Church. This is a step on the way to becoming a Saint. She is now called Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.She never saw her mother or sister again after leaving home to become a missionary.Albania's international airport is named after her, the Aeroporti Nene Tereza.She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Rather than have the traditional Nobel honor banquet, she asked that the money for the banquet be donated to the poor of India.She once traveled through a war zone to rescue 37 children from the front lines.She received numerous awards for all her charity work including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from?President Ronald Reagan.It takes around 9 years of service to become a full member of the Missionaries of Charity.Native AmericansChief JosephOccupation:?Chief of the Nez Perce tribeBorn:?March 3, 1840 in the Wallowa Valley, OregonDied:?September 21, 1904 at the Colville Indian Reservation, WashingtonBest known for:?Leading the Nez Perce in the Nez Perce WarBiography:?Chief Joseph?by William H. JacksonEarly Life?Chief Joseph was born a member of the Nez Perce tribe of Wallowa Valley, Oregon in 1840. His Nez Perce name was Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt which means Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain. Young Joseph was the son of Joseph the Elder, the local chief. He grew up close friends with his brother Ollokot. He learned how to ride horses, hunt, and fish at a young age.?Joseph the Elder?When Joseph was just a young boy, settlers from the United States began to move into the land of the Nez Perce. In 1855, his father came to an agreement with the governor of Washington as to which land would remain Nez Perce land. There was peace between the Nez Perce and the settlers for several years.?Gold Rush?In the early 1860s, gold was discovered on the Nez Perce land. The U.S. government wanted the land and demanded that the Nez Perce agree to new deal. In 1863, they told the Nez Perce to move out of the Wallowa Valley and into Idaho. Chief Joseph the Elder refused. He felt the governor had lied to him when he made the first agreement.?Becoming Chief?In 1871, Joseph the Elder died and Young Joseph became chief. Before his father died, Joseph promised his father that he would not sell the land of the Wallowa Valley. Joseph did everything he could to keep the peace with the settlers. However, in 1877 one of the other Nez Perce bands got into a fight and killed several white settlers. He knew the peace had come to an end.?Nez Perce War?Chief Joseph knew his small tribe of 800 people and 200 warriors were no match for the United States army. In order to save his people he began a retreat. He hoped to make it to Canada where he would meet up with the Sioux tribe of Sitting Bull.??Flight of the Nez Perce?by Unknown?(click picture for larger view)The retreat of Chief Joseph is called the Nez Perce War. It is often considered one of the most masterful retreats in military history. With just 200 warriors, Chief Joseph managed to take his people 1,400 miles while fighting fourteen battles against the much larger and better equipped U.S. army. However, eventually he ran out of food, blankets, and many of his warriors had been killed. He was nearly to the Canadian border when he was forced to surrender on October 5, 1877.?Chief Joseph's Speech?Chief Joseph is famous for the speech he gave when he surrendered:?"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are---perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever".?Rights Activist?After surrendering, the Nez Perce were forced to go to a reservation in Oklahoma. Eventually they were allowed to move back to Idaho in 1885, but this was still far away from their home in Wallowa Valley.?Chief Joseph spent the rest of his life fighting peacefully for the rights of his people. He met with?President Rutherford B. Hayes?and?President Theodore Roosevelt?to state his case. He hoped that one day the freedom of the United States would also apply to Native Americans and his people.?Interesting Facts about Chief JosephThe band of Nez Perce that he grew up with was the Wallowa band.For his military genius during the retreat, he earned the nickname the "Red Napoleon."His doctor said he died from a broken heart.You can read about Chief Joseph in the book?Thunder Rolling in the Mountains?by author Scott O'Dell.The Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbian River in Washington is the second largest hydropower producing dam in the United States.He once said that "All men were made by the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers."SacagaweaOccupation:?Explorer, interpreter, and guideBorn:?1788 in the Lemhi River Valley, IdahoDied:?December 20, 1812 in Fort Lisa North Dakota (maybe)Best known for:?Acting as guide and interpreter for Lewis and ClarkBiography:?Sacagawea was a Shoshone woman who assisted explorers?Lewis and Clark?as an interpreter and guide on their exploration of the west.??Lewis and Clark Expedition?by Charles Marion RussellWhere did Sacagawea grow up?Sacagawea grew up near the Rocky Mountains in land that is today in the state of?Idaho. She was part of the Shoshone tribe where her dad was the chief. Her tribe lived in teepees and moved around during the year to gather food and hunt bison.?One day, when she was around eleven years old, Sacagawea's tribe was attacked by another tribe called the Hidatsa. She was captured and taken as a slave. They took her all the way back to where they lived in the middle of what is today North Dakota.?Life as a SlaveLife with the Hidatsa was different than with the Shoshone. The Hidatsa didn't move around as much and grew crops such as squash, corn, and beans. Sacagawea worked in the fields for the Hidatsa.?While she was still just a young teenager, the Hidatsa sold Sacagawea to a French-Canadian trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau. She soon became pregnant with her first child.?Meeting Lewis and Clark?In 1804, an expedition led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived near to where Sacagawea lived. They had been sent by?President Thomas Jefferson?to explore the?Louisiana Purchase?and the lands to the west. They built a fort there called Fort Mandan and stayed for the winter.?Lewis and Clark were looking for guides to help them through the land to the west. They hired Charbonneau and asked him to bring Sacagawea along so she could help interpret when they reached the Shoshone.?Starting OutIn April of 1805 the expedition headed out. Sacagawea had given birth to a son that winter named Jean Baptiste. She brought him along, carrying him in a cradleboard tied to her back. He was only two months old.?Early on Sacagawea was able to help out with the expedition. She showed the men how to collect edible roots and other plants along the way. She also helped to save some important supplies and documents when her boat was capsized in the river. The men were impressed with her quick action and named the river after her.?Back at the Shoshone?Late that summer, the expedition reached the land of the Shoshone. Lewis and Clark met with the local chief to trade for horses. They brought in Sacagawea to interpret for them. Much to her surprise, the chief was Sacagawea's brother. She was so happy to be home and see her brother again. Sacagawea's brother agreed to trade for horses. He even provided them with a guide who helped them through the Rocky Mountains.?Sacagawea continued on the journey. It wasn't easy. They were often cold and hungry and she had to carry and feed a baby. Having Sacagawea on the trip also helped to keep the peace with the?Native Americans. When they saw a woman and child with the group, they knew it wasn't a war party.?The Pacific Ocean?The expedition finally reached the Pacific Ocean in November of 1805. They were amazed at the sight of the ocean. Sacagawea was especially amazed at the size of the remains of a beached whale they saw on the ocean shore. They stayed near the ocean for the winter before beginning the journey home.?Return Home?It took Sacagawea and the expedition most of the next spring and summer to return home. Not much is known of her life after this. Some historians think that she died just a few years later of a fever on December 20, 1812. Others say that she returned home to the Shoshone and lived for another seventy years and died on April 9, 1884.?Interesting Facts about SacagaweaCaptain Clark nicknamed Sacagawea "Janey" and her son Jean Baptiste "Pomp" or "Pompy".She gave up her beaded belt so that Lewis and Clark could trade for a fur coat for President Jefferson.A few years after the expedition, she gave birth to a daughter named Lizette.Other spellings of her name include Sacajawea and Sakakawea.BiographyNellie Bly?Nellie Bly?by H. J. MyersOccupation:?JournalistBorn:?May 5, 1864 in Cochran's Mills, PennsylvaniaDied:?January 27, 1922 in New York, New YorkBest known for:?Traveling around the world in 72 days and investigative reporting on a mental institution.Biography:?Where did Nellie Bly grow up??Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born in Cochran's Mills, Pennsylvania on May 5, 1864. She was a smart girl who enjoyed playing with her older brothers. She often wore pink dresses, which earned her the nickname "Pinky." When she was six years old her father died and the family came on hard times. She worked odd jobs to try and help the family, but jobs were hard to come by for women at the time. She wanted to teach, but had to drop out of school after one term when she ran out of money.?Becoming a Journalist?When Elizabeth was 16, she read an article in the Pittsburgh newspaper that portrayed women as weak and worthless. It made her angry. She wrote a scathing letter to the editor of the paper to let him know how she felt. The editor was so impressed with her writing and passion that he offered her a job! She took the pen name "Nellie Bly" and began writing articles for the paper.?The Insane Asylum?In 1887, Nellie moved to New York City and got a job with the?New York World. She was going to go undercover at a women's insane asylum to report on the conditions. Once she was inside, she would be on her own for 10 days. Nellie knew it would be scary and dangerous, but she took the job anyway.?Pretending to be Crazy?In order to get into the asylum, Nellie had to pretend to be insane. Nellie checked into a boardinghouse and began acting paranoid. Soon, doctors examined her. She claimed to have amnesia and they decided she was demented. They sent her to the asylum.?What was it like inside the asylum??The conditions that Nellie encountered in the asylum were horrible. The patients were fed rotten food and dirty water. They were subjected to ice cold baths and were abused by the nurses. The hospital itself was dirty and filled with rats. Patients were forced to sit on benches for hours where they were not allowed to talk, or read, or do anything.?A Famous Reporter?Once Nellie was released from the asylum she wrote about her experiences. She became famous for her bravery and reporting. She also helped to expose the poor treatment of the asylum patients and to improve their conditions. Nellie went on to write more investigative articles about the unfair treatment of women in the late 1800s.??Nellie Bly Ready to Travel?by H. J. MyersAround the World?In 1888, Nellie had a new idea for an article. She would race around the world in record time. Her goal was to beat the time of the fictional character Phileas Fogg from the story?Around the World in Eighty Days?by Jules Verne.?Setting the Record?Nellie's record trip began at 9:40 a.m. on November 14, 1889 when she boarded the ship the?Augusta Victoria?in Hoboken, New Jersey. Her first stop was England. She then traveled to France, through the Suez Canal, to Yemen, Ceylon, Singapore, Japan, and San Francisco. Sometimes she worried when delays or bad weather slowed her down.?When Nellie arrived in San Francisco, she was two days behind schedule. It didn't help that there was a huge snowstorm raging across the northern part of the country. By now, Nellie's trip had become famous across the country. The?New York World?chartered a special train for her across the southern part of the country. As she traveled across the country, people met her train and cheered her on. She finally arrived in New Jersey at 3:51 p.m. on January 25, 1890. She had made the famous trip in a record 72 days!?Later Life?Nellie continued to fight for the rights of women throughout her life. She married Robert Seaman in 1895. When Robert died she took over his business, Iron Clad Manufacturing. Later, Nellie returned to reporting. She was the first woman to cover the Eastern Front during World War I.?Death?Nellie Bly died from pneumonia on January 22, 1922 in New York City.?Interesting Facts about Nellie BlyThe name "Nellie Bly" comes from a song called "Nelly Bly" by Stephen Foster.Before entering the insane asylum, Nellie spent six months in Mexico writing about the Mexican people. She upset the government with one of her articles and had to flee the country.A competing paper sent their own reporter to try and beat Nellie in her race around the world. The other reporter, Elizabeth Bisland, went the opposite way around the world, but arrived four days later.She received patents for several inventions including a stacking garbage can and an innovative milk can.Oprah WinfreyOccupation:?Talk Show Host, ActressBorn:?January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, MississippiBest known for:?The Oprah Winfrey Show?Oprah Winfrey?Source: US federal governmentBiography:?Where was Oprah Winfrey born??Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29, 1954. Oprah's mother named her after a character in the Bible named "Orpah" from the Book of Ruth. However, her name was misspelled "Oprah" on the birth certificate and she has been called Oprah ever since.?A Hard Life Growing Up?When Oprah was still young, her mother moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to find a job. Oprah stayed in Mississippi and lived with her grandmother, Hattie Mae. Life with Hattie Mae was interesting. Young Oprah lived on a farm without running water. She had lots of difficult chores including getting water from the well each day and carrying it up to the house. She also learned to read and write by the age of three, mostly from studying the Bible.?When Oprah turned six, she moved to Wisconsin to live with her mom. She moved around a lot growing up. Sometimes she lived with her mother in Wisconsin and sometimes she lived with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. Oprah's mother was very poor and life in Wisconsin was hard. However, Oprah was a bright student, she loved to read, and did well in school. She graduated from East Nashville High School as an honors student in 1971.?A Young Speaker?From the time Oprah was a small child growing up with her grandmother, she was a gifted speaker. She often spoke at church, at women's groups, and at school. When she was in high school she won a speech contest and earned a full scholarship to college. She used the scholarship to attend Tennessee State University.?Getting on the Radio?In 1971, Oprah was encouraged to enter the Miss Teen Fire Prevention pageant by a local radio disc jockey. Much to her surprise, she won first place. In the interview, Oprah said that her goal was to become a broadcast journalist. After the pageant she was offered a job as a news reader on the local radio. She loved the job and knew then that her future was going to be in radio and TV.?A Nashville News Anchor?While still attending college, Oprah got a call from the CBS news station in Nashville. They wanted her to be their news anchor. She couldn't believe it. At first she thought she should turn the job down and concentrate on school, but then she realized what a great opportunity it was. She took the job and became the first female African-American news anchor in Nashville history. She was only nineteen at the time.?Becoming a TV Talk Show Host?In 1976, Oprah moved to a TV station in Baltimore, Maryland. At first she worked as a news anchor, but things weren't working out very well. She was moved to a TV talk show called?People are Talking. The first day on the job, Oprah knew she had found her calling. She said it was "like breathing." Soon her show became very popular. She was then recruited to host a morning TV show in Chicago called?A.M. Chicago. When she arrived in Chicago, the show was in last place in the ratings. The first place show was the popular?Phil Donahue Show. However, in just a few months,?A.M. Chicago?had taken over first place. A few years later, in 1986, the show was renamed?The Oprah Winfrey Show?and was shown all over the country.?Fame?With the launch of?The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah became one of the most famous people in the country. Over 10 million people watched her show every day. Oprah also made a lot of money. Her show made $125 million the first year and Oprah's income was $30 million. She had come a long way from her grandma's farm without running water.?Acting?Even though Oprah's talk show was a huge success, she had always wanted to work as an actress in the movies. She got her first major role in the movie?The Color Purple?in 1985. It turned out that Oprah had a real talent for acting. She did such a great job that she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Over the years, Oprah has acted in other films such as?The Women of Brewster Place?(1989),?Beloved?(1998),?The Princess and the Frog?(2009), and?The Butler?(2013).?Other Activities?Besides her national talk show and acting, Oprah is famous for other activities. She co-founded the cable TV media company Oxygen Media and started a magazine called?O: The Oprah Magazine. She even founded her own TV network called the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) in 2009. Oprah also started a charity called the Angel Network.?Interesting Facts about Oprah WinfreyOprah was crowned Miss Black Tennessee in 1972. She stopped doing beauty pageants when her career took off.She started her own production company called Harpo Productions. "Harpo" is Oprah spelled backwards.As of 2013, her estimated net worth was $2.8 billion.The Oprah Winfrey Show?aired for 25 years. Its final episode was on May 24, 2011.She was named the most influential woman of her generation by?Life?magazine.She has a fear of chewing gum that she has had since she was a little girl.Sam WaltonOccupation:?EntrepreneurBorn:?March 29, 1918 in Kingfisher, OklahomaDied:?April 5, 1992 in Little Rock, ArkansasBest known for:?Founder of Walmart?Sam Walton?Photo by UnknownBiography:?Where did Sam Walton grow up??Sam Walton was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on March 29, 1918. His father, Tom, was a farmer, but went to work in the farm?mortgage?business when the Great Depression hit. While Sam was still young, the family moved to Missouri. Sam grew up in Missouri with his younger brother James.From the time he was a young boy, Sam was a hard worker. He had little choice during the Great Depression. The only way to survive was hard work. Sam worked all sorts of jobs including a paper route. In addition to working, Sam did well in school, was a member of the Boy Scouts, and enjoyed sports. He was a star athlete on the high school football team and was the first boy in Shelbina, Missouri to become an Eagle Scout.?College and Early Career?After high school, Sam attended the University of Missouri. At college Sam continued to work hard and stay busy. He worked part time jobs to help pay for school. He was also a member of the ROTC and was voted president of his senior class. He graduated in 1940 with a degree in economics.?Sam's first job out of school was with retailer J.C. Penny. He worked there as a manager for a year and half before he joined the army in 1942 during?World War II. During his time at J.C. Penny, Sam learned a lot about the retail business. A lot of the ideas and values that he would use to establish his own retail business he learned on this job.?First Retail Store?While he was still in the army, Walton married Helen Robson in 1943. After the war, Sam and Helen moved to Newport,?Arkansas?where Walton bought a Ben Franklin five-and-dime franchise and opened his first retail store. Working hard to bring in customers, Sam turned the store into a success. However, he only had a five year lease and, at the end of the lease, the owner of the building took control of his business. Walton had learned his lesson.?Despite this major setback, Walton wasn't one to give up. Part of his success was learning from mistakes. He opened another store in Bentonville called Walton's. This time he purchased the building. Walton repeated his success and soon the store was making money. Walton began to open new stores in other small towns. He incentivized his managers by offering them a profit from the store. They worked hard, but they knew they would be rewarded. In order to keep an eye on his stores, Walton bought a plane and learned how to fly. He would fly around regularly checking on his stores.?Opening the First Walmart?Walton had the dream of opening a large discount store. These stores would be located in rural areas away from competition like K-Mart. Part of his idea was that the profits on the items would be small in order to offer the customer a good price. However, he expected to make this up with huge volumes. He had a tough time selling the idea to investors at first, but he eventually got a loan and opened his first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962.?Growing the Company?The store was a great success and Walton continued to open more stores. He opened his second store in 1964 and his third in 1966. By 1968, there were 24 Walmart stores and growing. Over the years, the chain grew and grew. It had 125 stores in 1975 and 882 stores in 1985. As of the writing of this article (2014), there are over 11,000 Walmart stores worldwide.?As the chain continued to grow, Walton continued to make improvements to the business. He focused his efforts on making the business efficient. He strategically located stores around giant regional warehouses. He moved products using his own trucks. By making the business run efficiently, he could keep expenses down. He also combined the volume from all his stores to buy large quantities of goods. This helped him to get better prices from his suppliers.?Richest Man in America?The huge growth of the Walmart retail store chain made Sam Walton a very rich man. Forbes magazine ranked him as the richest man in America in 1985.?Death?Sam Walton died of cancer on April 5, 1992 in Little Rock, Arkansas. His son Rob took over the business.?Interesting Facts about Sam WaltonHe was voted the "Most Versatile Boy" in his senior year of high school.Despite being the "richest man in America", Sam drove a red Ford pickup.He had four children including three boys (Rob, John, and Jim) and one daughter (Alice).His favorite pastime was hunting.Walmart had $466.1 billion in sales in the fiscal year that ended in January 2013.Around 35 million people shop at Walmart every day. They have over 2 million employees.BiographyMartha StewartOccupation:?EntrepreneurBorn:?August 3, 1941 in Jersey City, New JerseyBest known for:?The television show?Martha Stewart LivingBiography:?Where did Martha Stewart grow up??Martha Kostyra was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on August 3, 1941 (she became Martha Stewart when she was married to Andy Stewart in 1961). Martha's dad was a pharmaceutical salesman and her mother was a homemaker and a teacher. Martha was the second of six children. Martha's parents were both of?Polish?descent and the Polish heritage and culture was important to the family.?When Martha was three years old her family moved to the town of Nutley, New Jersey. It was in Nutley that Martha grew up. Her parents were fairly strict and required their children to do plenty of chores and help around the house. Martha learned how to cook and sew from her mother. She also learned about gardening by helping her father out in the yard. Once a year Martha would spend a few weeks with her grandparents. Her grandmother taught her how to preserve foods and make jams and jellies.?When Martha was in high school, she made extra money babysitting and organizing children's parties. She was a bright student and attended Barnard College in New York City. She helped to pay for her schooling through modeling jobs. In 1962, she graduated Barnard with degrees in History and Architectural History.?Early Career?Before graduating from college, Martha married Andy Stewart. After college she and Andy traveled and Martha continued to model. Martha had her only child, a daughter named Alexis, in 1965. In 1967, Martha wanted to go to work. She got a job as a stockbroker in New York City. She worked as a stockbroker for six years.?In 1971, Martha and Andy purchased a farm home they called Turkey Hill in Westport, Connecticut. After quitting her job, Martha spent her time completely restoring the old farmhouse. She also studied how to cook and became an excellent gourmet chef. One day Martha decided to put her cooking skills to the test by opening up her own catering business. She cooked food and hosted large dinner parties and quickly became a success.?Books?At one of the dinner parties Martha was catering she met a book publisher who was impressed with her cooking skills. She soon developed and published a cookbook called?Entertaining. It was a success. She followed up her first book with more cooking and party books including?Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts,?The Wedding Planner,?Martha Stewart's Quick Menus, and?Martha Stewart's Christmas. She also became famous by being featured in magazines and on TV shows like?The Oprah Winfrey Show.?Magazines and TV?Through her books and television appearances, Martha had become famous. In the 1990s, she began to expand her business. She started a magazine called?Martha Stewart Living, a popular newspaper column, and her own television show. The name "Martha Stewart" became a brand that made millions of dollars. In 1997, she formed a company called Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She was president and CEO. She took the company public in 1999, selling shares in the company. At one point her estimated wealth was nearly $1 billion. She also had her own brand of products at stores like Home Depot, K-Mart, Macy's, and Sears. She also worked with home builders to design Martha Stewart inspired homes.?Insider Trading?In 2002, Martha got in trouble for insider trading on the stock market. This means she used information not available to the public to make money on the stock market. She was convicted in 2004 and was sentenced to five months in jail. This was a major blow to her career and her public image.?Later Career?Despite the setback, Martha didn't stop working. After getting out of jail she continued to work on her brand and business. She even starred in her own version of the reality show?The Apprentice. She started a new show on PBS in 2012 called?Martha Stewart's Cooking School.?Interesting Facts about Martha StewartWhile in high school she babysat the kids of New York Yankees members Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra.She had become a member of the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange just four months prior to the outbreak of her insider trading scandal.She doesn't like bananas, but loves hot dogs.Her net worth actually increased significantly while she was in jail.She likes rap music, especially Eminem.She is an early riser, getting up at 5 a.m. most days to go for a hike.BiographyStephen HawkingOccupation:?Scientist and astrophysicistBorn:?January 8, 1942Best known for:?Hawking radiation and the book?A Brief History of TimeBiography:?Early Life?Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England on January 8, 1942. He grew up in a highly educated family. Both of his parents had attended Oxford University and his father, Frank, was a medical researcher.?Stephen enjoyed math and science in school where he earned the nickname "Einstein." He wanted to study math at university but Oxford didn't have a math degree at the time so he chose physics and chemistry instead. Stephen found college coursework to be very easy. He enjoyed being a member of the school's boat club as well as classical music. After graduation, he went to Cambridge to study for his PhD.?Diagnosed with ALS?While Hawking was working on his PhD at Cambridge University, he began to have health issues. His speech became slurred and he became very clumsy, often dropping items or falling for no reason. After going through a series of tests, doctors discovered that Hawking had a disease called ALS (also called Lou Gehrig's disease). At the time, the doctors said he only had a few years to live.??Hawking meeting President Obama by Pete SouzaOvercoming ALS?Although Hawking was initially depressed over his diagnosis, he decided that there were things he wanted to accomplish with his life. He began to study and work harder than ever before. He wanted to earn his PhD before he died. Around the same time, he met and fell in love with a girl named Jane Wilde. Between his work and Jane, Hawking had a reason to live.?Despite the initial grim diagnosis from his doctors, Hawking has lived a full and productive life with the help of science and modern medicine. Although he is confined to a wheelchair and cannot talk, he can communicate using a touch pad computer and a voice synthesizer.?Black Holes and Hawking Radiation?Stephen spent much of his academic work researching black holes and?space-time?theories. He wrote many important papers on the subject and became a noted expert on relativity and black holes. Perhaps his most famous theory was one that demonstrated that black holes emit some?radiation. Prior to this it was thought that black holes could not get smaller because nothing could escape their enormous gravity. This radiation from black holes has become known as Hawking Radiation.?You can go here to learn more about?black holes.?A Brief History of Time?Stephen also enjoyed writing books. In 1988 he published?A Brief History in Time. This book covered modern subjects on cosmology such as the big bang and black holes in terms that could be understood by the average reader. The book became very popular selling millions of copies and remaining on the London Sunday Times best-seller list for four years. He has since written many more books including?A Briefer History in Time,?On the Shoulders of Giants, and?The Universe in a Nutshell.??Hawking during a zero gravity test flight?Photo by Jim CampbellInteresting Facts about Stephen HawkingHe was born on the 300th anniversary of the death of the famous scientist?Galileo.He has been married twice and has three children.Stephen has been on several TV shows including?The Simpsons?and the?Big Bang Theory.The book?A Brief History of Time?only has one equation, Einstein's famous E = mc2.Hawking has co-written several children's books with his daughter Lucy including?George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt?and?George and the Big Bang.He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.He hopes to travel to space one day and has trained with NASA on their zero gravity aircraft.BiographyJohannes GutenbergJohannes GutenbergOccupation:?InventorBorn:?c. 1398 in Mainz, GermanyDied:?February 3, 1468 in Mainz, GermanyBest known for:?Introduced movable type and the printing press to EuropeBiography:?Johannes Gutenberg introduced the concept of movable type and the printing press to Europe. While this may not sound like a big deal at first, the printing press is often considered as the most important invention in modern times. Think about how important information is today. Without books and computers you wouldn't be able to learn, to pass on information, or to share scientific discoveries.?Prior to Gutenberg introducing the printing press, making a book was a laborious process in Europe. It wasn't that hard to write a letter to one person by hand, but to create thousands of books for many people to read was nearly impossible. Without the printing press we wouldn't have had the Scientific Revolution or the?Renaissance. Our world would be very different.?Where did Johannes Gutenberg grow up??Johannes was born in Mainz, Germany around the year 1398. He was the son of a Goldsmith. Not a whole lot more is known about his childhood. It appears he moved a few times around Germany, but that's about all is known for sure.?Printing Press in 1568?by Jost AmmanWhat did Gutenberg invent??Gutenberg took some existing technologies and some of his own inventions to come up with the printing press in the year 1450. One key idea he came up with was moveable type. Rather than use wooden blocks to press ink onto paper, Gutenberg used moveable metal pieces to quickly create pages.?Gutenberg introduced innovations all the way through the printing process enabling pages to be printed much more rapidly. His presses could print 1000's of pages per day versus only 40-50 pages with the old method. This was a dramatic improvement and allowed books to be acquired by the middle class for the first time in the history of Europe. Knowledge and education spread throughout the continent like never before. The invention of the printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe and soon thousands of books were being printed on printing presses.?Gutenberg Bible Page?by Johannes GutenbergWhat books were first printed by the Gutenberg press??It's thought that the first printed item from the press was a German poem. Other prints included Latin Grammars and indulgences for the Catholic Church. Gutenberg's real fame came from producing the Gutenberg Bible. It was the first time a Bible was mass produced and available for anyone outside of the church. Bibles were rare and could take up to a year for a priest to transcribe. Gutenberg printed around 200 Bibles in a relatively short time.?Fun Facts about Gutenberg?In 1462 he was exiled from Mainz. However, things turned around for him and in 1465 he was given a fancy title, a yearly salary, and more as a reward for his invention.The original Bible sold for 30 florins. This was a lot of money back then for a commoner, but much, much cheaper than a hand written version.There are around 21 complete Gutenberg Bibles existing still today. One of these Bibles is likely worth around $30 million.Biographies for KidsJane GoodallOccupation:?AnthropologistBorn:?April 3, 1934 in London, EnglandBest known for:?Studying chimpanzees in the wildBiography:?Early Life?Jane Goodall was born on April 3, 1934 in London, England. Her father was a businessman and her mother an author. Growing up, Jane loved animals. She dreamt of someday going to?Africa in order to see some of her favorite animals in the wild. She particularly liked chimpanzees. One of her favorite toys as a child was a toy chimpanzee which she loved to play with.?Going to Africa?Jane spent her late teens and early twenties saving money to go to Africa. She worked various jobs including as a secretary and a waitress. When she was twenty-three Jane finally had enough money to visit a friend who lived on a farm in?Kenya.?Jane fell in love with Africa and decided to stay. She met British archaeologist Louis Leakey who offered her a job studying chimpanzees. Jane was so excited. She moved to the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania and began to observe the Chimpanzees.?Studying Chimpanzees?When Jane began studying chimpanzees in 1960 she had no formal training or education. This may have actually helped her as she had her own unique way of observing and recording the chimp's actions and behaviors. Jane spent the next forty years of her life studying chimpanzees. She discovered many new and interesting things about the animals.?Naming the Animals?When Goodall first began studying chimpanzees she gave each chimp she observed a name. The standard scientific way of studying animals at the time was to assign each animal a number, but Jane was different. She gave the chimps unique names that reflected their appearance or personalities. For example, she named the chimpanzee which first approached her David Greybeard because he had a grey chin. Other names included Gigi, Mr. McGregor, Goliath, Flo, and Frodo.?Discoveries and Accomplishments?Jane learned a lot about chimpanzees and made some important discoveries:Tools - Jane observed a chimp using a piece of grass as a tool. The chimp would put the grass into a termite hole in order to catch termites to eat. She also saw chimps remove leaves from twigs in order to make a tool. This is first time that animals had been observed using and making tools. Prior to this it was thought that only humans used and made tools.Meat eaters - Jane also discovered that chimpanzees hunted for meat. They would actually hunt as packs, trap animals, and then kill them for food. Previously scientists thought that chimps only ate plants.Personalities - Jane observed many different personalities in the chimpanzee community. Some were kind, quiet, and generous while others were bullies and aggressive. She saw the chimps express emotions such as sadness, anger, and joy.Over time, Jane's relationship grew closer and closer to the chimpanzees. For a period of nearly two years she became member of a chimpanzee troop, living with the chimps as part of their day to day lives. She was eventually kicked out when Frodo, a male chimp who didn't like Jane, became the leader of the troop.?Later Life?Jane wrote several articles and books about her experiences with chimpanzees including?In the Shadow of Man,?The Chimpanzees of Gombe, and?40 Years at Gombe. She has spent much of her later years protecting chimpanzees and preserving the?habitats?of animals throughout the world.?Legacy?Jane won many awards for her environmental work including the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservations Prize, the Living Legacy Award, Disney's Eco Hero Award, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science.?There have been several documentaries made about Jane's work with chimpanzees including?Among the Wild Chimpanzees,?The Life and Legend of Jane Goodall, and?Jane's Journey.?Interesting Facts about Jane GoodallThere is a carving of the chimp David Greybeard on the Tree of Life at Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park. Next to it is a plaque in honor of Goodall.She established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977.Jane took a break from Africa in 1962 to attend Cambridge University where she earned a Ph.D. degree.Chimpanzees communicate through sounds, calls, touch, body language, and facial expressions.Jane was married twice and had a son named Hugo.BiographyThomas EdisonThomas Edisonby Louis BachrachOccupation:?Businessman and InventorBorn:?February 11, 1847 in Milan, OhioDied:?October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New JerseyBest known for:?Inventing many useful items including the phonograph and a practical light bulbBiography:?Thomas Edison may be the greatest inventor in history. He has over 1000 patents in his name. Many of his inventions still have a major effect on our lives today. He was also a business entrepreneur. Many of his inventions were group efforts in his large invention laboratory where he had many people working for him to help develop, build, and test his inventions. He also started many companies including General Electric, which is one of the biggest corporations in the world today.?Where did Edison grow up??Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. His family soon moved to Port Huron, Michigan where he spent most of his childhood. Surprisingly, he did not do well in school and ended up being home schooled by his mother. Thomas was an enterprising young man, selling vegetables, candy and newspapers on trains. One day he saved a child from a runaway train. The child's father repaid Edison by training him as a telegraph operator. As a telegraph operator, Thomas became interested in communications, which would be the focus of many of his inventions.?Edison and Phonographby Levin C. HandyWhat was Menlo Park??Menlo Park,?New Jersey?is where Thomas Edison built his research labs. This was the first business or institution with the sole purpose of inventing. They would do research and science and then apply it to practical applications that could be manufactured and built on a large scale. There were a lot of employees working for Edison at Menlo Park. These workers were inventors, too, and did a lot of work on Edison's ideas to help turn them into inventions.Light Bulb Patent Applicationby Thomas EdisonWhat are Thomas Edison's most famous inventions??Thomas Edison has the patents and credits for many inventions. Three of his most famous include:?The Phonograph?- This was the first major invention by Edison and made him famous. It was the first machine that was able to record and playback sound.?Light Bulb?- Although he did not invent the first electric light, Edison made the first practical electric light bulb that could be manufactured and used in the home. He also invented other items that were needed to make the light bulb practical for use in homes including safety fuses and on/off switches for light sockets.?The Motion Picture?- Edison did a lot of work in creating the motion picture camera and helping move forward the progress of practical movies.?Fun Facts About Thomas EdisonHis middle name was Alva and his family called him Al.His first two kids had the nicknames Dot and Dash.He set up his first lab in his parent's basement at the age of 10.He was partially deaf.His first invention was an electric vote recorder.His 1093 patents are the most on record.He said the words to "Mary had a little lamb" as the first recorded voice on the phonograph.Albert EinsteinOccupation:?Scientist and InventorBorn:?March 14,1879 Ulm, in GermanyDied:?18 April 1955 in Princeton, New JerseyBest known for:?Theory of Relativity and E=mc2Biography:?Albert Einstein was a scientist in the early 1900s. He came up with some of the most important discoveries and theories in all of science. Some people consider him to be one of the smartest people of the 20th century. His face and name are often used as the picture or description of the consummate scientist. Read here to learn more about Albert Einstein; what he was like and what discoveries and inventions he made.??Albert Einstein?by Ferdinand SchmutzerWhere did Einstein grow up??Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. He spent most of his childhood in Munich, Germany. His father had an electronics company and Albert learned a lot about science and electronics from his dad. He really liked math and wanted to pursue math and science in school. He didn't finish school in Germany, but ended up his schooling in Switzerland. Einstein would later move back to Bern, Germany and work in the patent office.?Was Albert Einstein a US citizen??Albert immigrated to the United States in 1933. He was fleeing from the Nazis in?Germany?who didn't like Jewish people. If he had stayed in Germany he would not have been able to hold a teaching position at the University as a Jewish person. At one point the Nazis had a bounty on his head. In 1940 Einstein became a US citizen.?E=mc? and Einstein's Theory of Relativity?Albert Einstein had many discoveries as a scientist, but is most known for his?Theory of Relativity. This theory changed much in the way scientists look at the world and set the foundation for many modern inventions, including the nuclear bomb and nuclear energy. One equation from the theory is E=mc2. In this formula, "c" is the speed of light and is a constant. It is assumed to be the fastest speed possible in the universe. This formula explains how energy (E) is related to mass (m). The Theory of Relativity explained a lot of how time and distance may change due to the "relative" or different speed of the object and the observer.?What other discoveries is Albert Einstein noted for??Albert Einstein laid much of the foundation for modern physics. Some other of his discoveries include:?Photons?- In 1905 Einstein came up with the concept that light is made up of particles called?photons. Most scientists of his day didn't agree, but later experiments showed this to be the case. This became an important discovery for many branches of science and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.?Bose-Einstein Condensate?- Together with another scientist, Satyendra Bose, Einstien discovered another state of matter. Sort of like liquid or gas or solid states. Today this discovery is used in cool stuff like lasers and superconductors.?Albert Einstein?Photo by UnknownEinstein wrote many papers which included theories and models that would help define and move forward our understanding of the world and particularly quantum physics. Some of his work included subjects from a model for a wormhole to the Einstein refrigerator.?The Atomic Bomb?Albert Einstein did not work directly on inventing the?Atomic bomb, but his name is closely associated with the bomb. This is because his scientific work and discoveries were key in the bomb's development, specifically his work on energy and mass and his famous equation: E=mc2.?Fun Facts about Albert EinsteinAlbert experienced speech problems as a child. His parents were worried that he wasn't very smart!He failed his first try on his entrance exam for college (this gives us all hope!).He was offered the presidency of?Israel.He auctioned off a hand written version of his Theory of Relativity in 1940 for 6 million dollars in order to help with the war effort.Albert had a sister named Maja.Marie Curie?Marie Curie?Occupation:?ScientistBorn:?November 7, 1867 in Warsaw, PolandDied:?July 4, 1934 in Passy, Haute-Savoie, FranceBest known for:?Her work in radioactivityBiography:?Where did Marie Curie grow up??Marie Curie grew up in Warsaw,?Poland?where she was born on November 7, 1867. Her birth name was Maria Sklodowska, but her family called her Manya. Her parents were both teachers. Her dad taught math and physics and her mom was headmistress at a girl's school. Marie was the youngest of five children.?Growing up the child of two teachers, Marie was taught to read and write early. She was a very bright child and did well in school. She had a sharp memory and worked hard on her studies.?Tough Times in Poland?As Marie grew older her family came upon tough times. Poland was under the control of Russia at the time. People were not even allowed to read or write anything in the Polish language. Her father lost his job because he was in favor of Polish rule. Then, when Marie was ten, her oldest sister Zofia became sick and died from the disease typhus. Two years later her mother died from tuberculosis. This was a difficult time for the young Marie.?After graduating from high school, Marie wanted to attend a university, but this wasn't something that young women did in Poland in the 1800s. The university was for men. However, there was a famous university in Paris, France called the Sorbonne that women could attend. Marie did not have the money to go there, but agreed to work to help pay for her sister Bronislawa to go to school in France, if she would help Marie after she graduated.?School in France?It took six years, but, after Bronislawa graduated and became a doctor, Marie moved to France and entered the Sorbonne. During the six years Marie had read a lot of books on math and physics. She knew she wanted to become a?scientist.?Marie arrived in France in 1891. In order to fit in, she changed her name from Manya to Marie. Marie lived the life of a poor college student, but she loved every minute of it. She was learning so much. After three years she earned her degree in Physics.?In 1894 Marie met Pierre Curie. Like Marie, he was a scientist and the two of them fell in love. They married a year later and soon had their first child, a daughter named Irene.?Scientific Discoveries?Marie became fascinated by rays that were recently discovered by scientists Wilhelm Roentgen and Henri Becquerel. Roentgen discovered X-rays and Becquerel had found rays given off by an element called?uranium. Marie began to do experiments.??Marie and Pierre Curie in the lab?Photo by UnknownOne day Marie was examining a material called pitchblende. She expected there to be a few rays from the uranium in pitchblende, but instead Marie found a lot of rays. She soon realized that there must be a new, undiscovered element in pitchblende.?New Elements?Marie and her husband spent many hours in the science lab investigating pitchblende and the new?element. They eventually figured out that there were two new elements in pitchblende. They had discovered two new elements for the?periodic table!?Marie named one of the elements polonium after her homeland Poland. She named the other?radium, because it gave off such strong rays. The Curies came up with the term "radioactivity" to describe elements that emitted strong rays.?Nobel Prizes?In 1903, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Marie and Pierre Curie as well as Henri Becquerel for their work in radiation. Marie became the first woman to be awarded the prize.?In 1911 Marie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the two elements, polonium and radium. She was the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes. Marie became very famous. Scientists came from around the world to study radioactivity with Marie. Soon doctors found that radiology could help with curing cancer.?World War I?When World War I started Marie learned that doctors could use X-rays to help determine what was wrong with an injured soldier. However, there weren't enough X-ray machines for every hospital to have one. She came up with the idea that the X-ray machines could move from hospital to hospital in a truck. Marie even helped to train people to run the machines. The trucks became known as petites Curies, meaning "little Curies" and are thought to have helped over 1 million soldiers during the war.?Death?Marie died on July 4, 1934. She died from overexposure to radiation, both from her experiments and from her work with X-ray machines. Today there are lots of safety measures to keep scientists from getting overexposed to the rays.?Facts about Marie CurieMarie became the Professor of Physics at the Sorbonne after her husband died. She was the first woman to hold this position.Marie became good friends with fellow scientist Albert Einstein.Her first daughter, Irene, won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work with aluminum and radiation.Marie had a second daughter named Eve. Eve wrote a biography of her mother's life.The Curie Institute in Paris, founded by Marie in 1921, is still a major?cancer?research facility.George Washington CarverGeorge Washington Carver?by Arthur RothsteinOccupation:?Scientist and educatorBorn:?January 1864 in Diamond Grove, MissouriDied:?January 5, 1943 in Tuskegee, AlabamaBest known for:?Discovering many ways to use the peanutBiography:?Where did George grow up??George was born in 1864 on a small farm in Diamond Grove, Missouri. His mother Mary was a slave owned by Moses and Susan Carver. One night slave raiders came and stole George and Mary from the Carvers. Moses Carver went searching for them, but only found George left by the side of the road.?George was raised by the Carvers. Slavery had been abolished by the?13th amendment?and the Carvers had no children of their own. They took care of George and his brother James like their own children teaching them to read and write.?Growing up George liked to learn about things. He was especially interested in animals and plants. He also liked to read the Bible.?Going to School?George wanted to go to school and learn more. However, there weren't any schools for black children close enough to home for him to attend. George ended up traveling around the midwest in order to go to school. He eventually graduated from high school in Minneapolis, Kansas.?George enjoyed science and art. He initially thought he may want to be an artist. He took some art classes at Simpson College in Iowa where he really enjoyed drawing plants. A teacher of his suggested he combine his love for science, art, and plants and study to become a botanist. A botanist is a scientist that studies plants.?George enrolled in Iowa State to study botany. He was the first African-American student at Iowa State. After earning a bachelor's degree in science, he continued on and earned his master's degree as well. George became known as an expert in botany from the research he conducted at the school.?Professor Carver?After getting his masters, George began to teach as a professor at Iowa State. He was the first African-American professor at the college. However, in 1896 George was contacted by?Booker T. Washington. Booker had opened an all-black college in Tuskegee,?Alabama. He wanted George to come teach at his school. George agreed and moved to Tuskegee to head up the agricultural department. He would teach there for the rest of his life.?Crop Rotation?One of the main crops in the south was cotton. However, growing cotton year after year can remove nutrients from the soil. Eventually, the cotton crop will grow weak. Carver taught his students to use crop rotation. One year they would grow cotton, followed by other crops such as sweet potatoes and soybeans. By rotating the crops the soil stayed enriched.?Carver's research and education into crop rotation helped the farmers of the south be more successful. It also helped to diversify the products that they produced.?The Peanut?Another problem for farmers was the boll weevil. This insect would eat cotton and destroy their crops. Carver discovered that boll weevils don't like peanuts. However, farmers weren't so sure that they could make a good living off of peanuts. Carver began to come up with products that could be made from peanuts. He introduced hundreds of new peanut products including cooking oil, dyes for clothing, plastics, fuel for cars, and peanut butter.?George working in his labSource: USDAIn addition to his work with peanuts, Carver invented products that could be made from other important crops such as the soybean and sweet potato. By making these crops more profitable, farmers could rotate their crops and get more production from their land.?An Expert on Agriculture?Carver became known around the world as an expert on agriculture. He advised?President Theodore Roosevelt?and the U.S. Congress on matters of agriculture. He even worked with Indian leader?Mahatma Gandhi?to help with growing crops in India.?Legacy?George Washington Carver was known throughout the south as the "farmer's best friend". His work on crop rotation and innovative products helped many farmers to survive and make a good living. His interest was in science and helping others, not in getting rich. He didn't even patent most of his work because he considered his ideas as gifts from God. He thought they should be free to others.?George died on January 5, 1943 after falling down the stairs at his home. Later, congress would name January 5th as George Washington Carver Day in his honor.?George working at the Tuskegee InstituteSource: Library of CongressInteresting Facts about George Washington CarverGrowing up George had been known as Carver's George. When he started school he went by George Carver. He later added the W in the middle telling his friends it stood for Washington.People in the south at the time called peanuts "goobers".Carver would sometimes take his classes out to the farms and teach farmers directly what they could do to improve their crops.His nickname later in life was the "Wizard of Tuskegee".He wrote up a pamphlet called "Help for Hard Times" that instructed farmers on what they could do to improve their crops.It takes over 500 peanuts to make one 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.BiographyPresident Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincolnby Alexander GardnerAbraham Lincoln was the?16th President?of the United States.?Served as President:?1861-1865?Vice President:?Hannibal Hamlin, Andrew JohnsonParty:?Republican?Age at inauguration:?52?Born:?February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Hardin County, Kentucky?Died:?April 15, 1865. Lincoln died the morning after being shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C?Married:?Mary Todd Lincoln?Children:?Robert, Edward, William, ThomasNickname:?Honest Abe?Biography:?What is Abraham Lincoln most known for??Lincoln is most famous for leading the country during the?American Civil War. His leadership in the North helped the country to remain strong and defeat the South keeping the country united. He also pushed for the freedom of all slaves throughout the nation.?Growing Up?Abraham Lincoln came from humble beginnings. He was born in a single-room?log cabin?in Hardin County, Kentucky. His parents were Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. His father lost everything when Abraham was young and they had to move to Perry County, Indiana where they struggled to get by. When he was just nine years old, his mother died and his sister Sarah took care of him until his father remarried.?Abraham had very little formal education, but had a strong interest in books and learning. Most of what he learned was self-educated and from books he borrowed. His family later moved to Illinois where Lincoln would set out on his own.?As a young man, Lincoln worked a variety of jobs including shopkeeper, surveyor, and postmaster. For a time, he even split firewood with an axe for a living. He soon moved into politics and won a seat in the Illinois Legislature when he was 25.?Abraham Lincoln standing outside tentwith Allan Pinkerton and General McClernand?Before He Became President?Lincoln served on the Illinois State Legislature for several terms. During that time he studied the law and began to work as a lawyer. He ran for the U.S. Congress in 1845. He won the election and served as a congressman for one term. After serving as congressman he continued to work as a lawyer. Later, Lincoln ran for the U.S. Senate, he did not win but he did gain national recognition for his arguments against?slavery?during the debates.?In 1860, Lincoln ran for President of the United States. He was a member of the fairly new Republican party which strongly opposed allowing any of the southern states to secede (leave the country). The republicans were also against slavery. They said they would allow for slavery to continue in the southern states, but that it would not be allowed to spread to new U.S. states or territories.?Abraham Lincoln Presidency?Lincoln won the 1860 election and was inaugurated as president in March of 1861. The southern states did not want Lincoln to be president. They did not agree with his policies. Before he was officially in office, they began to secede (leave the country). The first state to leave was South Carolina, but soon six more states followed and together they formed a new country called the?Confederacy. This all happened after Lincoln won the election, but before he took the oath of office.?The Civil War?The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 at?Fort Sumter?in South Carolina just a month after Lincoln took office. Lincoln was determined to maintain the "Union" of the states. He called for an army from the northern states to defeat the south. What followed was a bloody war that lasted four years and cost the lives of 600,000 Americans. Lincoln faced all sorts of opposition during the war, but managed to hold the country together.?The Emancipation Proclamation?On January 1, 1863 Lincoln issued the?Emancipation Proclamation. This was an order that freed the slaves in the Confederate States. Although not all the slaves were immediately set free, it paved the way for the 13th Amendment which would free all slaves in the United States a few years later.?Gettysburg Address?Today, Lincoln is often remembered for a short speech he gave at Gettysburg on November 1, 1863. It's called the Gettysburg Address. It was only a few minutes long, but is considered one of the great speeches in American history.?Abraham Lincoln Assassinatedat the Ford Theatreby Currier & IvesThe Civil War Ends?The Civil War finally ended on April 9, 1865 when?General Robert E. Lee surrendered?at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Lincoln wanted the country to heal, forgive, and rebuild. He wanted to be generous to the southern states in helping them during the reconstruction. Unfortunately, he would not live to see the country rebuild.?How did he die??President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at the Ford Theatre in Washington D.C. He died the next day on April 15, 1865.?Licoln's top hatThe Smithsonian MuseumPhoto by DuckstersFun Facts about Abraham LincolnHonest Abe was the tallest president at 6 feet 4 inches tall.He set up a national banking system while he was president. He also established the Department of Agriculture.He was known as a gifted storyteller and liked to tell jokes.On the day he was shot, Lincoln told his bodyguard that he had dreamt he would be assassinated.He was the first president who had a full beard.He often stored things like letters and documents in his tall stove-piped hat.BiographyMalala YousafzaiOccupation:?Human Rights ActivistBorn:?July 12, 1997 in Mingora, PakistanBest known for:?Fighting for the rights of women to receive an education in PakistanBiography:?Where did Malala Yousafzai grow up??Malala Yousafzai was born in the Swat Valley region of?Pakistan?on July 12, 1997. She grew up in the city of Mingora with her two younger brothers. Her family practiced the religion of? HYPERLINK "" Islamand was part of an ethnic group known as the Pashtuns.??Malala Yousafzai?from the White HouseHer Father's Schools?Malala's early childhood was one of happiness and peace. Her father was a teacher who ran several schools. Many Pakistani girls did not attend school, but this was not the case with Malala. Her father ran a school for girls where Malala attended.?Malala loved learning and going to school. She dreamt of one day becoming a teacher, a doctor, or a politician. She was a bright girl. She learned three different languages including Pashto, English, and Urdu. Her father always encouraged her to learn more and taught her that she could accomplish anything.?The Taliban Take Control?Around the time Malala was ten years old, the Taliban began to take over the region where she lived. The Taliban were strict Muslims who demanded that all people follow Islamic Sharia law. They said that women were to stay at home. If a woman left her home, she was to wear a burqa (a garment that covers the body, head, and face) and must be accompanied by a male relative.?Girls Schools are Shut Down?As the Taliban gained more control, they began to enforce new laws. Women would not be allowed to vote or have jobs. There would be no dancing, television, movies, or music. Eventually, the Taliban demanded that the girls schools be shut down. Girls schools that were not shut down were burned or destroyed.?Writing a Blog?About this time, Malala's father was approached by the BBC to get a female student to write about her life under Taliban rule. Despite being worried about the safety of his family, Malala's father agreed to let Malala write a blog for the BBC. The blog was called?Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl. Malala wrote under the pen name "Gul Makai", a heroine from a Pashtun folktale.?Malala soon became famous for writing her blog. She also began to speak in public about the treatment of the Taliban. War broke out in the Swat region as the Pakistani government began to fight back against the Taliban. Eventually, the government took back control of the area and Malala was able to return to school.?Getting Shot?The Taliban were not happy with Malala. Even though the fighting had ended and the schools were open again, there were still Taliban throughout the city. Malala was told to stop speaking out and received numerous death threats.?One day after school, on October 9, 2012, Malala was taking the bus home. Suddenly, a man with a gun boarded the bus. He asked "Who is Malala?" and said he would kill them all if they didn't tell him. Then he shot Malala.?Recovery?The bullet struck Malala in the head and she was very sick. She woke up a week later in a hospital in England. The doctors weren't sure if she would live or have brain damage, but Malala had survived. She still had to have a number of surgeries, but was attending school again six months later.?Continuing to Work?Getting shot didn't stop Malala. On her sixteenth birthday Malala gave a speech to the United Nations. In the speech she spoke about wanting all girls to get an education. She didn't want revenge or violence on the Taliban (even the man who shot her), she just wanted peace and opportunity for all.?Malala's fame and impact has continued to grow. She has received a number of awards including being the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. She also wrote a best-selling book called?I Am Malala?Interesting Facts about Malala YousafzaiShe was named after a famous Afghani poet and warrior named Malalai of Maiwand.Malala was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She was in? HYPERLINK "" chemistryclass when she found out.Kailash Satyarthi shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Malala. He fought against child labor and slavery in India.The United Nations named July 12th as "World Malala Day."She once said "When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."BiographySojourner TruthOccupation:?Abolitionist and authorBorn:?c. 1797 in Swartekill, New YorkDied:?November 26, 1883 in Battle Creek, MichiganBest known for:?Former slave who became an abolitionist and women's rights activistBiography:?Where did Sojourner Truth grow up??Sojourner Truth was born around 1797 on a farm in Swartekill, New York. Her birth name was Isabella Baumfree and she was born a?slave. She had at least 10 brothers and sisters, but she didn't get to know all of them. Slave owners would sell children just like property. One day she would be playing with a brother or sister in the yard, the next day they would be gone.?Life as a Slave?When Sojourner turned nine, it was her turn to be sold. She was sold to a farmer named John Neely. Sojourner had grown up in a Dutch settlement and only knew how to speak Dutch. John Neely was an Englishman. He was not happy that Sojourner could not speak English. He beat her often because she could not follow orders.?Sojourner was smart, however, and soon learned English just by listening to others talk. Life as a slave was very hard. She had to work constantly and was sold several times. Her fourth and final owner was John Dumont. He was somewhat nicer to her and she remained with Dumont for many years.?Marriage and Children?When Sojourner became a woman she fell in love with a slave named Robert from a nearby farm. However, Dumont would not let her marry Robert. He ordered her to marry one of his own slaves named Thomas. This way her children would belong to Dumont.?Sojourner had five children, but one died shortly after birth. She constantly worried that one of her children would be taken away from her and sold.?Escape?Around 1825, Dumont told Sojourner that he was going to free her in a year because she was such a good worker. She was so happy. However, the reality is that Dumont had little option as all slaves in New York would be legally free by 1827.?When the year was up, Dumont changed his mind. He said that Sojourner had to work for another year. She was so angry she decided to escape. After she had finished up her work, she walked off the farm and went to stay with some nearby neighbors, the Van Wageners, who thought that slavery was evil. When Dumont found out, he confronted the Van Wageners who agreed to purchase Sojourner for $20 and then set her free.?Saving Her Son?Although Sojourner was free, her children were not. Soon she found out that her worst nightmare had come true. Her son Peter had been sold to a slave owner in Alabama. At that time in New York it was illegal to sell a slave across state lines. Sojourner decided to go to court. She won the court case and Peter was returned to New York. People were amazed at her courage. It was very rare at that time for either a slave or a woman to take a white man to court. Sojourner not only went to court, she won! Her example was a triumph of hope for many people.Abolitionist?Sojourner began to work with abolitionists to bring slavery to an end throughout all of the United States. She also believed in women's rights and basic civil rights of all people. Sojourner traveled the country telling people what it was like to be a slave. She was an excellent speaker and when she told her story and explained how slaves were treated, people were moved.?Ain't I a Woman?Perhaps Sojourner's most famous speech was given at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851. She spoke of slavery, but also of women's rights. Later, the speech was called "Ain't I a Woman", however, most historians agree that it is unlikely that Sojourner used this southern phrase in her speech.?Legacy?Sojourner was an important leader in the fight to end slavery. Her stories and speeches helped people to understand how immoral slavery was and that it must be stopped. She was in the very first group of women inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.?Interesting Facts about Sojourner TruthShe changed her name from Isabella Baumfree to Sojourner Truth in 1843.She once met with President Abraham Lincoln and told him the story of her life as a slave.BiographyThurgood MarshallOccupation:?Lawyer and Supreme Court JusticeBorn:?July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MarylandDied:?January 24, 1993 in Bethesda, MarylandBest known for:?Becoming the first African-American Supreme Court JusticeBiography:?Where did Thurgood Marshall grow up??Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore,?Maryland?on July 2, 1908. His father, William, worked as a steward at an all-white country club. His mother, Norma, was a kindergarten teacher. His grandfather was a slave who gained his freedom by escaping from the South during the Civil War.?Going to School?Marshall was a good student in school, but often got into trouble for misbehaving. He loved to argue and became a star of the debate team. Marshall's dad enjoyed going to court and listening to law cases. This caused Marshall to want to become a lawyer, even though his parents had hoped he would follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a dentist.?Marshall attended college at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. While at college he enjoyed being on the debate team and joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He also fell in love with Vivien Burey and was married in 1929. After graduating from Lincoln, Marshall wanted to attend the University of Maryland. However, their law school would not admit him because he was African-American. Instead, Marshall went to law school at Howard University where he finished first in his class, graduating in 1933.?Working as a Lawyer?After graduating and passing the bar exam, Marshall opened a small law practice in Baltimore. One of his first big cases was against the University of Maryland. Marshall remembered how they would not admit him because of his race. In 1935, he heard of another student, Donald Murray, who was turned away just like Marshall was. Marshall took the University of Maryland to court and won the case. Now they would have to let African-Americans attend the school. This was just the start of Marshall's fight against segregation.?NAACP?Marshall began to be known for both his skill as a lawyer and his passion for civil rights. He became the chief counsel (main lawyer) for the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Over the next several years, Marshall traveled the country defending African-Americans who were often wrongly accused. He also fought against segregation and the Jim Crow laws of the South. He eventually earned the nickname "Mr. Civil Rights".?Brown v. Board of Education?Marshall's most famous case came in 1954. It was called Brown v. Board of Education. In this case Marshall argued that schools should not be segregated. At that time there were separate schools for black children and white children. It was illegal in many states for black children to attend the same schools as white children. The argument that many states used was one called "separate but equal". Marshall argued that separate schools could not be equal. In a?landmark decision?for the Civil Rights Movement, Marshall won the case showing that segregation in schools was unconstitutional.?Becoming a Judge?In 1961, Marshall was appointed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals by President John F. Kennedy. He served there until 1965 when he became the United States Solicitor General. As Solicitor General he represented the federal government before the?Supreme Court.?Supreme Court Justice?President Lyndon Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall for the Supreme Court in 1966. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 30, 1967 and became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. While serving on the Supreme Court, Marshall championed the rights of the individual. He served on the court for 24 years. He retired in 1991 and was replaced by another African-American judge, Clarence Thomas.?Legacy?Thurgood Marshall died of heart failure on January 24, 1993. He left a legacy of using the law and the Constitution to fight for the rights of all people. He broke down racial barriers, including achieving one of the highest positions in the government as a member of the Supreme Court.?Interesting Facts about Thurgood MarshallMarshall had to memorize the U.S. Constitution in high school as punishment for misbehaving in class.His birth first name was Thoroughgood, but as a child Marshall got tired of having to write out such a long name. He shortened his name to Thurgood in the second grade.While working as a lawyer he argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court and won 29 of them.There was a one-man play about the life of Thurgood Marshall called?Thurgood?which appeared on Broadway starring Laurence Fishburne in 2008.BiographyHelen KellerBiographyOccupation:?ActivistBorn:?June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, AlabamaDied:?June 1, 1968 in Arcan Ridge, Easton, ConnecticutBest known for:?Accomplishing much despite being both deaf and blind.Biography:?Where did Helen Keller grow up??Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She was a happy healthy baby. Her father, Arthur, worked for a newspaper while her mother, Kate, took care of the home and baby Helen. She grew up on her family's large farm called Ivy Green. She enjoyed the animals including the horses, dogs, and chickens.?Helen Keller?by UnknownIllness?When Helen was around one and a half years old she became very sick. She had a high fever and a bad headache for several days. Although Helen survived, her parents soon realized that she had lost both her sight and her hearing.?Frustration?Helen tried to communicate with the people around her. She had special motions she would use to indicate that she wanted her mom or her dad. However, she would also get frustrated. She realized that she was different and it was extremely difficult to let others know what she needed. She would sometimes throw tantrums, kicking and hitting other people in anger.?Annie Sullivan?Soon Helen's parents realized that she needed some special help. They contacted the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston. The director suggested a former student named Annie Sullivan. Annie had been blind, but had her eyesight restored by surgery. Perhaps her unique experience would allow her to help Helen. Annie came to work with Helen on March 3, 1887 and would be her helper and companion for the next 50 years.?Learning Words?Annie began to teach Helen words. She would press the letters of words in to Helen's hand. For example, she would put a doll in one of Helen's hands and then press the letters of the word D-O-L-L into the other hand. She taught Helen a number of words. Helen would repeat the words into Annie's hand.??Helen Keller with Anne Sullivan in July 1888?from the New England Historic Genealogical SocietyHowever, Helen still didn't understand that the hand signs had meaning. Then one day Annie put Helen's hand into water coming from a pump. Then she spelled out water into Helen's other hand. Something clicked. Helen finally understood what Annie was doing. An entire new world opened up for Helen. She learned a number of new words that day. In many ways it was one of the happiest days of her life.?Learning to Read?Next Annie taught Helen how to read. Helen must have been very bright and Annie an amazing teacher, because soon Helen could read entire books in Braille. Braille is a special reading system where the letters are made out of little bumps on a page.?Imagine trying to learn how to read if you couldn't see or hear. It's truly amazing what Helen and Annie were able to accomplish. At the age of ten Helen could read and use a typewriter. Now she wanted to learn how to talk.?Learning to Talk?Helen Keller learned how to talk from Sarah Fuller. Sarah was a teacher for the deaf. By resting her hand on Sarah's lips, Helen learned how to feel sound vibrations and how the lips moved to make sounds. She started off learning a few letters and sounds. Then she advanced to words and, finally, sentences. Helen was so happy that she could say words.?School?At sixteen years old Helen attended Radcliffe College for women in Massachusetts. Annie attended school with her and helped to sign the lectures into Helen's hand. Helen graduated from Radcliffe in 1904 with honors.?Writing?During college Helen began to write about her experiences being deaf and blind. She first wrote a number of articles for a magazine called the?Ladies' Home Journal. These articles were later published together in a book called?The Story of My Life. A few years later, in 1908, she published another book called?The World I Live In.?Working for Others?As Helen grew older she wanted to help other people like herself. She wanted to inspire them and give them hope. She joined the American Foundation for the Blind and traveled the country giving speeches and raising money for the foundation. Later, during?World War II, she visited with wounded army soldiers encouraging them not to give up. Helen spent much of her life working to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities, especially the deaf and the blind.?Interesting Facts about Helen KellerAnnie Sullivan was often called the "Miracle Worker" for the way she was able to help Helen.Helen became very famous. She met with every President of the United States from?Grover Cleveland?to?Lyndon Johnson. That's a lot of presidents!Helen starred in a movie about herself called?Deliverance. Critics liked the movie, but not a lot of people went to see it.She loved dogs. They were a great source of joy to her.Helen became friends with famous people such as the inventor of the telephone?Alexander Graham Bell?and the author?Mark Twain.She wrote a book titled?Teacher?about Annie Sullivan's life.Two films about Helen Keller won Academy Awards. One was a documentary called?The Unconquered?(1954) and the other was a drama called?The Miracle Worker?(1962) starring Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke.Cesar ChavezCesar Chavez Day?Occupation:?Civil rights leaderBorn:?March 31, 1927 in Yuma, ArizonaDied:?April 23, 1993 in San Luis, ArizonaBest known for:?Founded the National Farm Workers AssociationBiography:?Where did Cesar Chavez grow up??Cesar Chavez grew up on a farm in Yuma, Arizona with his two brothers and two sisters. His family owned a farm and a local grocery store. Cesar had a happy time growing up with family and relatives around him. His best friend was his brother Richard. His family lived in an adobe home built by his grandfather.?The Great Depression?When Cesar was around eleven years old, hard times from the?Great Depression?caused his father to lose the farm. The family didn't know what to do. They packed up all they owned and moved to?California?to find work.?Migrant Worker?Cesar's family became migrant workers. They moved from farm to farm in California looking for work. All the family members had to work, even Cesar. He worked in all sorts of different fields from grapes to beets. The days were long and the work was very hard. Despite working so hard, the family barely had enough to eat.?Moving so often, Cesar didn't go to school much any more. In just a few short years he had attended thirty-five different schools. The teachers were tough on him. One time when he didn't speak English, a teacher made him wear a sign that read "I am a clown. I speak Spanish". After graduating from the eighth grade, Cesar stopped going to school.?Poor Treatment?The working conditions at the fields for Cesar and his family were horrible. The farmers seldom treated them like people. They had to work long hours with no breaks, there weren't any bathrooms for them, and they didn't have clean water to drink. Anyone who complained was fired.?Latino Civil Rights?When Cesar was nineteen he joined the navy, but he left after two years and returned home to marry his sweetheart Helen Fabela in 1948. He worked in the fields for the next few years until he got a job at the Community Service Organization (CSO). At the CSO Cesar worked for the?civil rights?of Latinos. He worked for the CSO for ten years helping register voters and work for equal rights.?Starting a Union?Cesar read a lot and was influenced by a number of other leaders including?Mohandas Gandhiand?Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?He wanted to help the migrant field workers of California and he thought he could do it in a peaceful manner.?In 1962, Cesar quit his job in the CSO to start a union of migrant farm workers. He formed the National Farm Workers Association. There were only a few members at first, and they were mostly family members.?Growing the Union?Cesar went back to working in the fields where he could recruit workers to his union. It was a tough sell. People didn't believe that the union could work. They had tried it before. They were scared they would lose their jobs or even get beat up for joining. Cesar continued to work at it. Slowly but surely the union started to get more members. Cesar called the movement for better working conditions "La Causa", or The Cause.?Grape Workers March?One of Cesar's first major actions was to strike against grape farmers. A strike is when workers refuse to work. The strike started in Delano, California. Cesar and sixty-seven workers decided to march to Sacramento, the state capital. It took them several weeks to march the 340 miles. On the way there people joined them. The crowd grew larger and larger until thousands of workers arrived in Sacramento to protest. In the end, the grape growers agreed to many of the worker's conditions and signed a contract with the union.?Continued Work?Cesar and the union continued to work for the cause of the worker. Over the next several decades the union would grow and continue to fight for the rights and working conditions of the migrant farmer.?Fasting?In order to bring attention to his cause Cesar fasted. This is when you don't eat. One time he fasted for 36 days. Many celebrities also fasted with him.?Cesar died in his sleep on April 23, 1993. Over 50,000 people attended his funeral service.?Interesting Facts about Cesar ChavezHis middle name was Estrada.Cesar was a vegetarian.After moving to California, his family lived in a poor barrio (town) called Sal Si Puedes which means "escape if you can".He and his wife Helen had eight children.Cesar turned down a good job from President Kennedy to be a leader in the Peace Corps in order keep working on his union.His motto was "Si Se Puede", meaning "Yes, it can be done".He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom after his deathBiographyRuby BridgesOccupation:?Civil Rights ActivistBorn:?September 8, 1954 in Tylertown, MississippiBest known for:?First African-American student to attend an all-white elementary school in the SouthBiography:?Where did Ruby Bridges grow up??Ruby Bridges grew up on a small farm in Tylertown, Mississippi. Her parents were sharecroppers, meaning they farmed the land, but didn't own it. When Ruby was four years old, her family moved to New Orleans. In New Orleans, Ruby lived in a small apartment where she shared a bedroom with her sister and two younger brothers. Her father worked at a gas station and her mother worked night jobs to help make ends meet. Ruby had fun playing with her friends in New Orleans. They played softball, jumped rope, and climbed trees.?US Marshals with Young Ruby Bridges on School Steps?by UnknownAttending School?Ruby went to kindergarten at an all black school. The schools in New Orleans at that time were segregated. This meant that black students went to different schools than white students. Ruby's school was a long walk from her home, but she didn't mind. She liked her teacher Mrs. King and enjoyed kindergarten.?Chosen for Integration?One day, Ruby was asked to take a test. She didn't know this at the time, but the test was supposed to determine which black students would be allowed to attend a white school. Ruby was a very bright girl and aced the test. After that, her parents were told that she could attend the local white school and begin the integration of black students with white students.?At first her father didn't want her to go to the white school. He was afraid that it would be dangerous. There were a lot of white people who were angry and didn't want Ruby at their school. Her mother, however, thought it would be good opportunity. Ruby would get a better education and would help pave the way for future children. Eventually, her mother convinced her father.?First Day at a White School?Ruby began the first grade at her old school. Some people were still trying to stop her from going to the all-white school. However, on November 14, 1960, Ruby attended her first day at the all-white William Frantz School near her home. It was only five blocks away.?When Ruby arrived at the school there were lots of people protesting and threatening Ruby and her family. Ruby didn't fully understand what was going on, but she knew her parents were scared. Some white men in suits arrived (Federal Marshals) that morning. They drove Ruby to school and surrounded her on the way in.?The first day of school was strange for Ruby. All she did was sit in the principal's office with her mom. She saw the parents of white kids come in throughout the day. They were taking their kids out of the school.?The Only Child in Class?Ruby was the only black child to attend William Frantz School. Even though the school was integrated, the classrooms were not. She was in a classroom all by herself. She had a white teacher named Mrs. Henry. The rest of the year it was just Ruby and Mrs. Henry. Ruby liked Mrs. Henry. She was nice and they became good friends.?Were there other students at the school??The school was mostly empty. Ruby was the only black student, but there were only a few white students as well. Many white parents took their kids out of the school because they were scared of the protesters. The ones who left their kids at school were often attacked and threatened by people who were against integration.?What about the other kids who took the test??Out of all the kids who took the test, six passed. Two of the kids decided not to integrate, but three other young girls did. They attended a different white school in New Orleans.?Was everyone against her??Although the protesters were mean and violent, not everyone was against integration. Many people of all races supported Ruby and her family. They sent her gifts, notes of encouragement, and even money to help her parents pay the bills. People in her neighborhood supported the family by helping to babysit and even guarding the car as it drove to school.?After the First Grade?After the first grade, things became more normal for Ruby. She walked to school without the Federal Marshals and attended a full classroom that had both white and black students. She missed Mrs. Henry, but eventually got used to her new classroom and teacher. Ruby attended integrated schools all the way through high school.?Interesting Facts about Ruby BridgesAfter graduating from high school, Ruby worked as a travel agent for fifteen years.She married Malcolm Hall and had four sons.In 2014, a statue of Ruby was unveiled outside the William Frantz School.Ruby was later reunited as an adult with her former teacher Mrs. Henry.She was awarded the Presidential Citizen's Medal in 2001 by President Bill Clinton. ................
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