Tag Archives: Historic Figures

Wangari Maathai Biography

Read this biography of Wangari Maathi, a Kenyan environmentalist and human rights activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

Tracing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Minnesota Roots

Read about the city that influenced Fitzgerald and his work.

Who Was John Wilkes Booth Before He Became Lincoln’s Assassin?

Before John Wilkes Booth shot and killed Abraham Lincoln, he was a talented and popular actor. This article takes a look at his life prior to his assassination of the president.

Women Explorers

This is a great visual timeline of famous women explorers who made their mark in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Economy in The 1950s

After World War II the Fifties brought about a change in the standards of living for Americans. How did advertising contribute to consumerism?

College move-in day: What would Henry David Thoreau say?

Columnist Danny Heitman compares the relative luxuries of his daughter’s LSU college dorm room to what famed author Henry David Thoreau experienced at Harvard in the 1830s.

Elie Wiesel Taught the World How to Confront Atrocities

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, passed away on July 2, 2016. Read to learn more about the impact of his life’s work.

Is Abraham Lincoln the Most Unifying President in U.S. History?

After an election, a president must work to bring together the opposing sides. See the results of a poll concerning who Americans think has succeeded at that task.

Marie Curie

Read about how the famed scientist Marie Curie made her own path to greatness.

Why President? How The U.S. Named Its Leader

This radio piece covers the disagreement the Senate and House of Representatives had in 1789 about how to refer to the United States’ newly-elected leader.

Compromise of 1877

The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction, handing control of the last Republican-held southern states back to the Democrats. Read about what led to the compromise and its effects.

Remarks by the First Lady at City College of New York Commencement

Read this transcript of First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2016 commencement speech in which she advised students to celebrate the diverse backgrounds of the students at City College of New York and of the citizens of the United States.

Why Russians flock to Jack London’s California ranch 100 years after his death

Read why Russians connect with one of America’s most respected writer’s work.

Rare Walt Whitman letter, written for a dying soldier, found in National Archives

During the Civil War, poet Walt Whitman made a habit of visiting sick and wounded soldiers in hospitals. Read to find out how a volunteer at the National Archives recently discovered a letter written by the poet on behalf of a dying Union soldier.

Researchers say Anne Frank perished earlier than thought

In 2015, researchers at the Anne Frank House took a close look at the end of Anne’s life at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. This article explains how they discovered that Anne died at least a month earlier than the date that had previously been determined.

How to Beat Writer’s Block

All writers suffer “writer’s block” at some time. Two psychologists have developed an intervention to get writers back to telling their tales.

Pioneering Social Reformer Jacob Riis Revealed “How The Other Half Lives” in America

Read how journalist Jacob Riis exposed the living conditions of lower-class people in New York City in the late 1800s. View the slide show to examine his photography.

Modern History Sourcebook: Harriet Robinson: Lowell Mill Girls

Read this first-person account by a woman who worked in the Lowell, Massachusetts, textile mill in the 1830s and 1840s. She describes the role women played in society at the time and recounts one of the first strikes in U.S. history.