Health Care, Incredible Americans, Influential Women, Inspirational Women, Make America a Better Place

Fannie Farmer: Cookbook Author Who Instituted Exact Measuring

Fannie Farmer (1857-1915) became famous as an author of a highly popular cookbook that broke new ground by specifying exact measurements in its recipes. She also served as principal of a cooking school and frequently lectured on good cooking and the science of nutrition.

She accomplished all this despite having suffered a paralytic illness when only 16. Her illness left her bedridden for many months, and her recovery took several years. Even then she was left partially paralyzed, and as a result, she always walked with a limp.

(There is no connection between this Fannie Farmer and the Fanny Farmer Candy Company.) Continue reading →

James Reese Europe: Bandleader Who Popularized Jazz and Ragtime

James Reese Europe (1880-1919) was a gifted musician who achieved numerous firsts in bringing African-American musicians and music into the mainstream. As a conductor and composer, he is credited with bringing ragtime and jazz to European audiences. He enlisted in what was to become the 369th… Continue reading »

Matthew Henson, Co-Discoverer of the North Pole

Matthew Henson (1866-1955) was hired by explorer Robert Peary (1856-1920) to be his valet; Peary saw in the young man the potential to be an asset on future expeditions. Henson proved his worth as Peary’s most skilled and reliable member of many expeditions, including numerous attempts to… Continue reading »

Dorothy Dandridge, First African-American Nominated for a Best-Actress Oscar

Dorothy Dandridge (1922-1965) was a successful actress and singer. She started performing as a child in local variety shows, and then eventually made a career for herself in films. Her portrayal of the lead role in Carmen Jones brought her positive acclaim, including the honor of being … Continue reading »

Black America: An 1895 Stage Extravaganza for the North

Black America was the brainchild of Nate Salsbury (1846-1902), the man who was also behind the very successful, long-running Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. In 1894 Salsbury found Brooklyn’s Ambrose Park free for a time, since the Wild West Show had just decamped to a new city. Salsbury… Continue reading »

Marshall Major Taylor: Champion Cyclist

Marshall “Major” Taylor (1878-1932) was a champion cyclist who set numerous world records and was the first African-American cyclist to become an international sports star. At the time Taylor raced, cycling was a relatively young sport, but its popularity grew quickly. Endurance races, long distance races, and sprints… Continue reading »

Marie Van Brittan Brown: Home Security System Inventor

Marie Van Brittan Brown and her husband, Albert, created an early closed-circuit television system to be used for home monitoring. That security system was the forerunner of all advanced home security technology in use today. How Marie Van Brittan Brown Became an Inventor Marie Van Brittan (1922-1999)… Continue reading »

Gordon Parks, Extraordinary Photojournalist

Gordon Parks, best-remembered as a gifted photojournalist, was also an author, composer and film director, achieving remarkable success in each field. His journalistic platform in Life magazine permitted him to affect the world he covered—from gang life in Harlem to poverty in Brazil. Parks’ coverage of the Civil Rights… Continue reading »

Ebony Fashion Fair and Eunice Johnson

Eunice Johnson (1916-2010) and her husband, John H. Johnson (1918-2005) created a publishing empire that included the highly successful Ebony and Jet magazines. In 1958 when a friend asked her for help putting together a charity… Continue reading »

Harlem Hellfighters: Black Soldiers in World War I

During World War I the 369th Infantry from Harlem, an all-black military unit, acquired the name “Harlem Hellfighters.” They were not only fierce, but they showed great stamina, proving their value in measurable ways: They served in continuous combat for longer than any other American unit; they… Continue reading »

Ethel Payne, Ground-Breaking Black Female Journalist

Ethel Payne made a name for herself as a tireless black journalist who was willing to ask tough questions about segregation and civil rights. She did not become a journalist until she was in her thirties. She was hired by The Chicago Defender, a well-known and important… Continue reading »

Morrie Turner: Creator of Wee Pals Comic Strip

Morris “Morrie” Turner grew up dreaming of being a cartoonist, yet he knew the profession was dominated by white men. Despite that, Turner went on to create and publish the first integrated comic strip. He hoped that creating a strip featuring children of various ethnic backgrounds might… Continue reading »

Weekly Reader: An Important Part of Classrooms for Many Years

Several generations of Americans remember Weekly Reader as a source of news in the classroom. The goal of the four- to eight-page weekly paper, which was distributed via the classroom, was to bring awareness to children of what was happening in the world, so that one day they… Continue reading »

Harlem Hellfighter Hero: Henry Lincoln Johnson

The Harlem Hellfighters were a heroic bunch from the beginning, but this World War I infantry regiment had one man who stood out from all the rest: Private Henry Lincoln Johnson (1897-1929), a former railroad porter. Johnson and fellow soldier Robert Needham were on night sentry duty… Continue reading »

Abraham Lincoln’s Patent: The Only President-Inventor

To read this patent application today is to be transported to a time before the name, Abraham Lincoln, carried such import—before he was the President who led our country through a war that literally could have torn the country in two. The application begins: “Be it known that… Continue reading »

President Taft’s Weight: Keeping the Pounds Off

President William Howard Taft (1857-1930), who served as president from 1909-1913, was a big man. At about 6 feet tall, his weight fluctuated from 255 to over 350 pounds, and he was constantly fighting to keep the pounds off. Taft’s career of choice was in the judiciary,… Continue reading »

Jay Silverheels, Played Tonto in The Lone Ranger

Jay Silverheels (1912-1980) is best-remembered for his role as Tonto in The Lone Ranger, an ABC television program that ran for 221 episodes (1949-1957). Silverheels was a full-blooded Mohawk Indian born on the Six Nations Indian Reservation in Ontario, Canada. His birth name was Harold Smith, and he was… Continue reading »

“Kilroy Was Here”-A Story from World War II

The words, “Kilroy was here,” alongside a drawing of a long-nosed, bald fellow peering over a fence still pop up occasionally on walls and buildings today. But the original legend of Kilroy dates to World War II and a man named James J. Kilroy (1902-1962), who… Continue reading »

The Story of Cigar Store Indians

In the 19th century many people could not read, so store owners placed carvings of various symbols in front of their shops so passersby knew what was sold inside. A carving of a wooden Indian indicated a tobacco store; a red, white and blue striped pole… Continue reading »

Mary Lincoln’s Shopping Habits in Perspective

Mary Lincoln’s shopping habits and most other aspects of her life made news once Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) won the presidential election of 1860. Though Lincoln would not take office until March of 1861, Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) found herself under constant scrutiny for where she went, what she… Continue reading »

American Inventors: The Stories of Men and Women Who Devise Answers to Vexing Problems

Inventions are the ultimate result of successful problem-solving. But how on earth did people come up with the first ideas for luxuries (and now necessities) as disposable diapers, the dishwasher, the cell phone, and blue jeans? Recently I have been asked to speak on this topic to… Continue reading »

Hispanic Heritage Month: Five Stand-Outs to Remember

America Comes Alive has profiled several Latino leaders during the past few weeks as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. Today I would like to point out a few of the impressive people we’ve highlighted: Adelina Otero-Warren (1881-1965) was active in the suffrage movement in New Mexico. She became… Continue reading »

The Rosenwald Schools: Schools for African-Americans in the Rural South

The Rosenwald Schools were built in the early 20th century as a solution to the scarcity of schools for African-Americans in the rural South at that time. The school-building program was the idea of educator Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) who approached Julius Rosenwald, (1862-1932), the president of… Continue reading »

Ellen Ochoa: First Latina Astronaut, Inventor and Now Director of “Mission Control”

Ellen Ochoa (1958- ) is a veteran astronaut who was chosen for four space flights and has almost one thousand flight hours to her credit. She was the first Latina to be chosen as an astronaut, and she is now director… Continue reading »

Carlos Finlay: Cuban Physician Who Solved the Mystery of Yellow Fever And Made the Panama Canal Possible

The cause of yellow fever was identified by Dr. Carlos Finlay (1833-1915), a Cuban physician who was instrumental in reducing the incidence of yellow fever in tropical climates throughout the world. In the United States, this was important in the southern states where the weather was often… Continue reading »

Pedro Guerrero (1917-2012): The Only Photographer Trusted by Frank Lloyd Wright

Art school dropout who became Frank Lloyd Wright’s exclusive photographer Pedro Guerrero was born in Casa Grande, Arizona on September 5, 1917. His family had been in Arizona for several generations before the territory achieved statehood. His great-grandfather had settled in a little town known as Florence in… Continue reading »

Adelina Otero-Warren (1881-1965), Suffragist

One of first female government officials in New Mexico First New Mexican woman and the first Latina to run for national office Suffragist Born into a well-to-do family that traced its heritage to eleventh-century Spain, Adelina “Nina” Maria Isabel Emilia Otero was born in 1881 in Las Lunas, New Mexico. Otero-Warren was… Continue reading »

Traveling West in 1854: The Story of an 11-Year-Old Girl and Her Family

We often read stories of families traveling west by wagon train. However, recently I was introduced to a reminiscence of a woman’s childhood journey to California from Ohio via the Isthmus of Panama. The family opted for the route that took the least time, traveling from Ohio to… Continue reading »

George Washington’s Teeth: A President in Pain

George Washington’s teeth were bad, and he lost many of them while still young. This fact about our first president is generally well-known as much has been written about his dentures. The story of his teeth reveals a great deal about the state of dentistry during his lifetime,… Continue reading »

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Part of the inspiration for this site comes from a remark made by Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams (1860-1935):

"People do not want to hear about simple things. They want to hear about great things—simply told."