2015

It’s New Year’s Eve! Do you remember ringing in the New Year with host Dick Clark? Today we remember the American Bandstand host who helped transform rock & roll into a cultural force. For 40 years, Clark hosted the annual special New Year’s Rockin’ Eve from Time Square in New York City. Millions of viewers wached each year as the lovable host helped countdown the ball drop as the previous year came to an end and the new year… Read the full story

As the new year approaches, we take a look back at some of the great things we accomplished in 2015. Many of our amazing feats could not have been done without the collaborative efforts of our amazing users and volunteer Curators, who work everyday on making Geni’s World Family Tree the largest and most accurate single family tree in the world. The year got off to an exciting start as we headed to Salt Lake City,… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Mary Tyler Moore! Today the actress turns 79. The oldest of three siblings, Mary Tyler Moore was born on December 29, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York to Marjorie Hackett and George Tyler Moore. Her paternal great grandfather was Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Tighman Moore, a commander in the Confederate States Army. In 1861, Moore had offered his home in Winchester, Virginia to serve as the headquarters for Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. Today, the home… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Dame Maggie Smith! Today the legendary British actress turns 81. She was born Margaret Nathalie Smith on December 28, 1934 in Essex, England. Since making her stage debut at the age of 17, Smith has had an extensive and acclaimed career on film, stage and television. She won her first Academy Award in 1969 for her starring role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie opposite Michael Caine. She was introduced to a new generation of fans… Read the full story

Can you believe it’s been nearly 40 years since George Lucas first introduced Star Wars to the world? First released on May 25, 1977, few would have expected the film to become a worldwide phenomenon. Today, it would be hard to find someone who has not heard of the movies. This week, the iconic film franchise returns to the big screen to the great anticipation and delight of young and older generations with the latest installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Taking the helm from… Read the full story

Today marks Brad Pitt’s 52nd birthday! William Bradley Pitt was born on December 18, 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma to Jane Etta Hillhouse and William Alvin Pitt. He grew up in Springfield, Missouri and majored in journalism at the University of Missouri. However, just weeks before graduating, Pitt packed up all of his belongings and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. He worked odd jobs around the city as he struggled to… Read the full story

Have you found your connection to royalty? On this day in 1485, Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII, was born in Alcalá de Henares near Madrid, Spain. The youngest daughter of Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella, Catharine was initially married to Henry’s older brother, Prince Albert. However, when the heir to the English throne died of an illness in 1502, Catherine found herself a widow. Shortly after Henry VIII… Read the full story

The holidays are fast approaching and many may still be scrambling to find last minute gifts for relatives and friends. Here are some gift ideas for the genealogist or family historian in your family: 1. DNA Test Give the gift of a genealogy DNA test to members of your family or friends. A DNA test is the perfect gift for relatives who may have hit a brick wall or simply want to know more about their origins…. Read the full story

December 12, 2015 marks Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday. Known for his smooth voice and charm, Sinatra is remembered as one of the most popular and influential artists of the 20th century. Frank Sinatra, 1947 / Library of Congress In honor of the centennial of his birth, here are 10 interesting facts about Ol’ Blue Eyes: 1. His birth left him with lifelong scars. Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 in an upstairs tenement… Read the full story

Two hundred years ago today, pioneering mathematician Ada Lovelace was born in London, England. Augusta Ada Byron was born on December 10, 1815. She was the only legitimate child of the famous poet Lord George Gordon Byron, who left his wife and child shortly after Ada was born. Ada showed an apt for mathematics at an early age. Despite being outside the norm for women at the time, her mother encouraged her education in science and math,… Read the full story

The year 2015 saw an unusual naming trend emerge. According to the parenting website BabyCenter.com, millennial parents have started to name their babies after Instagram filters. While it’s common for parents to draw inspiration from popular culture, many may still find it surprising to hear that the popular photo sharing app’s filters are the source of inspiration. Image: National Media Museum / Flickr If you’re a frequent user of Instagram, you may immediately recognize these unusual names…. Read the full story

On this day 250 years ago, inventor Eli Whitney was born in Westborough, Massachusetts. Whitney was the eldest child of Eli Whitney, Sr., a prosperous farmer, and Elizabeth Fay. During the American Revolutionary War, Whitney had his own profitable nail manufacturing operation in his father’s workshop. After graduating from Yale, Whitney made his way to the South. It was there that he revolutionized the cotton industry with his invention of the cotton gin. His new machine quickly… Read the full story

Congratulations to new parents Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan! The couple recently announced the birth of their daughter, Max, on Zuckerberg’s Facebook page. Maxima Chan Zuckerberg was born last week and was a healthy seven pounds, eight ounces. In a moving letter to their daughter, the happy parents expressed the joy they share for her arrival and their hopes for her future to live in a better world than today. To help make their desire a reality,… Read the full story

Did you visit the circus growing up? On this day in 1936, John Ringling, co-founder of the Ringling Brothers Circus, died at the age of 70. He was born Johan Nicholas Rüngeling on May 31, 1866 in McGregor, Iowa to German immigrants, Marie Salomé Juliar and August Rüngeling. In 1884, John and his brothers formed the Ringling Brothers Circus and traveled across the country with their show. Soon, they became a major competitor to the powerful Barnum & Bailey… Read the full story

Sixty years ago, Rosa Parks became one of the defining symbols of the American Civil Rights movement when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This simple act of defiance sparked a wave of non-violent protest for equal rights. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was riding home from a long day at work on a segregated bus. She had been working as a seamstress at a Montgomery department… Read the full story

Have you read the works of author Mark Twain? Lauded as the “greatest American humorist of his age,” Twain’s works have continued to live on long after his death. His novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, are still considered to be some of the greatest works of American literature. Mark Twain / Library of Congress In honor of Twain’s birthday, here are some interesting facts about the great American author: 1…. Read the full story

Remember reading Anne of Green Gables? Today we celebrate author L.M. Montgomery on the 141st birthday. Lucy Maud Montgomery was born on November 30, 1874 in Clifton, Prince Edward Island, a small province on the east coast of Canada. After her mother died of tuberculosis when Montgomery was just 21 months old, her father sent her to live with her maternal grandparents. A prolific writer, she had over 100 stories published between 1897 to 1907. In… Read the full story

Happy Thanksgiving! Today we highlight the woman who helped establish Thanksgiving as an official holiday in the U.S., Sarah Josepha Hale. She was born Sarah Josepha Buell on October 24, 1788 in Newport, New Hampshire to Captain Gordon Buell and Martha Whittlesay Buell. Homeschooled by her parents, Sarah went on to become a successful writer and poet. Most people are probably best familiar with her most popular work, the classic children’s nursery rhyme, “Mary Had… Read the full story

Today we remember John F. Kennedy, Jr., who was born on this day in 1960. The second child of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, John Jr. was born just two weeks after his father was elected the 35th President of the United States, thus becoming the first child ever born to a president-elect. Just days before his third birthday, his father was assassinated while traveling in a motorcade. His funeral was held three days later… Read the full story

Today we remember Grace Darling, the English lighthouse keeper who helped rescue survivors of the Forfarshire shipwreck, on the anniversary of her 200th birthday. Grace Horsley Darling was born on November 24, 1815 in her grandfather’s cottage in Northumberland, England. She was the seventh of nine children born to William and Thomasin Darling. The Darlings lived at the lighthouse on Longstone Island, one of the Farne Islands, where her father operated the lighthouse. In the early hours of September 7,… Read the full story

With the holidays fast approaching, you may want to consider decorating your house with a chart of your family tree. They also make great gifts for your entire family! You can create your own custom, high-quality version of your family tree for downloading or printing. Follow the steps below to create your very own family tree chart at home. 1. While viewing the Flash version of the tree, click on the printer icon at the bottom right… Read the full story

On this day in 1910, author Leo Tolstoy passed away in Astapovo, Russia at the age of 82. Tolstoy was born at his family estate at Yasnaya Poyana, southwest of Tula, Russia. He came from a well-known family of old Russian nobility. His father, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, was a veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812. As a child, he experienced much loss. After his mother and father passed away, he and his siblings were sent… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Meg Ryan! Today the actress turns 54. She was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra on November 19, 1961 in Fairfield, Connecticut. A semester before finishing college, Ryan dropped out to pursue a career as an actress. She chose the stage name “Ryan,” using her maternal grandmother’s maiden name. After landing the lead role in the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally…, Ryan became an international star. The box office hit would mark the first of… Read the full story

Soccer superstar David Beckham has been named this year’s sexiest man alive by People magazine. At the age of 40, Beckham receives the honor on its 30th anniversary. The title has become a staple of the popular magazine and now, Beckham joins the ranks alongside Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Johnny Depp. Beckham was born May 2, 1975 in London, England to David Edward Alan “Ted” Beckham and Sandra West. The middle child between two sisters, the… Read the full story

Boy, has fashion changed in the last 100 years! In a video created by Mode.com, you can see 100 years of women’s fashion fly by in just two and a half minutes. Knowing how fashions have change over time is valuable when you are trying to date an old family photograph. From the flapper look of the Roaring Twenties to the grunge style of the 90s, the video demonstrates the typical style of each decade in the last century…. Read the full story

Remember watching Home Alone? Today the modern Christmas classic turns 25! The film starred a young Macaulay Culkin as a young kid who is mistakenly left behind when his family goes on their Christmas vacation. He is then forced to fend off a couple of burglars in clever and amusing ways. The film was first released in theaters on November 16, 1990 and remained the No. 1 film at the box office for 12 straight weeks. It would… Read the full story

Does your family have any superstitions? Did your ancestors? Often times, superstitions are passed down through multiple generations in a family. Today is Friday the 13th, which many believe to be a day of bad luck. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia. The superstition that every Friday the 13th is bad luck dates back many years, with some believing it arose during the Middle Ages. Here’s a look at 13 old superstitions on this Friday the 13th: 1…. Read the full story

Happy birthday, Whoopi Goldberg! Today The View co-host turns 60. She was born Caryn Elaine Johnson on November 13, 1955 in Manhattan, New York. Ever the comedian, she chose the stage name Whoopi after a whoopee cushion due to her self-admitted gassiness. The name Goldberg is attributed to her family history. Whoopi got her big break when she was cast in the Steven Spielberg film, The Color Purple. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including a Best Actress nod… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Grace Kelly! Today we celebrate what would have been the Princess’ 86th birthday. She was born on November 12, 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was the third of four children. Her father, John B. Kelly, Sr., was a three-time Olympic gold medalist in sculling and served in the U.S. Army during World War I. After his time in the army, he started a successful brickwork contracting company, which eventually made him a millionaire. In… Read the full story

It’s Veterans Day! Today we celebrate the men and women who have served in the armed forces. Do you have military veterans in your family? Check out these famous folks who have served their country: Audie Murphy Image: Wikimedia Commons Audie Murphy was one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War II. He had always wanted to be a solider and tried to enlist shorty after the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, he was denied by the Army,… Read the full story

“Remember, remember, the fifth of November. The Gunpowder, treason and plot.” Today is Guy Fawkes Day in the UK! Many people have heard the classic nursery rhyme of the gunpowder plot, but do you know what it is about? Arrest of Guy Fawkes, cigarette card illustration / New York Public Library Celebrated each year on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day commemorates the failed plot to assassinate King James I. On that day in 1605, Guy Fawkes was discovered in the… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Laura Bush! Today the former First Lady turns 69. She was born Laura Lane Welch on November 4, 1946 in Midland, Texas. The only child of Harold Welch and Jenna Louise Hawkins Welch, Laura developed a love for reading at a young age. She worked as a second grade school teacher before earning her master’s degree in Library Science. In 1977, she met George W. Bush and they were married later that year…. Read the full story

The Great Depression had a devastating effect on the population in the United States. In an effort to document and highlight the impact of the Depression and rally support for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) hired eleven photographers to document the conditions of rural America. The powerful photographs captured the lives of impoverished farmers and families during the era and resulted in some of the most iconic images of the Great Depression. Walker Evans… Read the full story

Do you believe in the paranormal? During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, spirit photography became incredibly popular. Many came to believe that spirit photographers could capture images of a deceased loved one’s ghost or spirit within a photograph. Taken by William H. Mumler, c.1871 / Wikimedia Commons In the aftermath of the American Civil War, many people were still grieving the loss of family and friends. Seeing an opportunity for profit, spiritualists and mediums sprang… Read the full story

Remember watching Happy Days? Today star Henry Winkler turns 70! A graduate of the prestigious Yale School of Drama, the classically trained actor got his big break when he was cast as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on the classic sitcom Happy Days. Although the Fonz was originally meant to be a minor character, Winkler immediately became an audience favorite. Did you know initially he was not allowed to wear his signature leather jacket? Executives believed it would make his character appear to… Read the full story

On this day in 1618, explorer Sir Walter Raleigh was executed for treason by King James I. One of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan era and a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, Raleigh was instrumental in the English colonization of the New World. He was granted a royal patent to explore the new lands and invested in expeditions across the Atlantic to establish a colony on Roanoke Island. Today, the famed settlement is known as the… Read the full story

Do you come from a large family? In the past, it was typical to find families with three or more children. However, these days, statistics show couples who have more than two children are on the decline. Image: National Library of Ireland / Flickr Changes in culture, healthcare and technology have led to changes in what is considered the ideal family size. Starting in the 1930s, the U.S. has seen a shift from the ideal number of children… Read the full story

Today we remember legendary film actress Maureen O’Hara, who passed away this weekend. She was born Maureen FitzSimons on August 17, 1920 in Ranelagh, Ireland. Starting from a young age, O’Hara dreamed of becoming an opera singer and stage actress like her mother, but she was convinced by actor Charles Laughton to try her hand at film. Her first major movie was Alfred Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn. Her performance in that film led to her casting as the… Read the full story

Here’s a story that may put your work ethic to shame. In an interview with local Buffalo news station WGRZ, New Yorker Felimina Rotundo revealed that at the age of 100, she is still keeping busy working 11 hour days, six days a week at a local laundromat. Image: WGRZ Born in 1915, Felimina was a teen during the Great Depression and remembers it well. At 15, she got her first job working at a shoe factory… Read the full story

Great Scott! Today is Back to the Future Day! The future has finally arrived as Back to the Future fans around the world celebrate the arrival of Marty McFly and Doc Brown on October 21, 2015. In the film, Back to the Future – Part II, Doc, Marty, and his girlfriend Jennifer, leave 1985 behind and travel 30 years into the future in Doc’s DeLorean time machine to help the couple’s future children. Twenty-six years later, the second installment of the Back… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Carrie Fisher! Today the star turns 59. The daughter of actors Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Fisher seemed destined to follow her parents into show business. In 1977, she skyrocketed to international fame when she was cast as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy. Despite also becoming a best-selling author and screenwriter, and taking on memorable supporting roles in films such as When Harry Met Sally…, Fisher remains most recognized for her role… Read the full story

Have you used wills as a resource in your family history research? When a person dies, they will often leave their possessions and money to their family and thereby, giving you more clues about other relatives in your family tree. Occasionally, you may come across a few odd requests made by the deceased. Here are some notable, unusual last requests: 1. Harry Houdini Image: Library of Congress In the 1920s, legendary illusionist Harry Houdini spent much… Read the full story

Remember Winnie the Pooh? On this day in 1926, author A.A. Milne published his children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh, a collection of stories following the adventures of the honey-loving teddy bear and his friends. Milne’s real life inspiration for his characters came right from his home. The character Christopher Robin was named after his son, Christopher Robin Milne, and the character Winnie the Pooh was named after his son’s teddy bear. The rest of his son’s stuffed toys were incorporated into Milne’s… Read the full story

As relatives are added to the family tree, we will often enter the usual basic information, such as names, birth and death dates and location, etc. But did you know you can enhance your relatives’ profiles even further by adding life events to their Timelines? The Timeline is a great way to visualize the events that occur throughout a person’s life. For your convenience, the Timeline is automatically populated with information that may have already been added to a profile. This includes information… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Marie Osmond! Today the the singer turns 56. Born Olive Marie Osmond on October 13, 1959 in Ogden, Utah, Marie shares her birthday with her father, George, who was born in 1917. She was the only girl out of nine children. Growing up, her brothers sang and performed on television as the Osmond Brothers. During the 1970s, she followed her brothers into show business and entered the country music scene. Her first single… Read the full story

Today is Columbus Day in the U.S. Established as a federal holiday in 1937, the day commemorates Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World in 1492. Columbus set sail from Spain across the Atlantic with his ships, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Although not the first to arrive to the American continent, Columbus’ expeditions played a significant role in Spain’s colonization of the New World. Celebration of the holiday has changed over time…. Read the full story

Today we remember music icon John Lennon on what would have been his 75th birthday. As one-fourth of the musical phenomena The Beatles, John rose to worldwide fame and went on to become a vocal anti-war activist and supporter of peace. His song “Imagine” became the best selling single of his solo career. Though he died in 1980 at the age of 40, his legacy continues to endure and inspire new generations. Image: Library of Congress In honor… Read the full story

Have you found your connection to French royalty? On this day in 1757, Charles X was born at the Palace of Versailles. Named Charles Philippe, he was made Count of Artois at birth by his grandfather, King Louis XV. As the youngest son of the Dauphin Louis and his wife, the Dauphine Marie Josèphe, Charles was never expected to inherit the throne. At the outbreak of the French Revolution, he fled France. He returned in 1814 when the… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Matt Damon! Today The Martian star turns 45. He was born Matthew Paige Damon on October 6, 1970 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Kent Damon, a stockbroker, and Nancy Paige, an early childhood education professor. At the age of ten, he met his longtime friend, Ben Affleck. Together, the childhood friends catapulted to Hollywood stardom after co-writing the screenplay for the Academy Award winning film, Good Will Hunting. The duo took home the coveted statue for Best Original Screenplay…. Read the full story

Recently, the story of a woman who became the 11th bride to wear a 120-year-old heirloom wedding dress made headlines. Now a new video created by Mode.com shows how wedding dress fashions have changed over the last 100 years. It’s amazing watching how styles have changed over the last ten decades. Perhaps the video may even help you date some old wedding pictures! Watch the video below: Do these wedding gown fashion trends resemble the wedding dresses in your… Read the full story