January 2018

Happy 37th birthday to Justin Timberlake! This year will be a big one for the popular musician. In just a couple of days, his fifth studio album will be released, right before his performance at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. The former Mouseketeer was born Justin Randall Timberlake on January 31, 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee to Lynn Harless and Randall Timberlake, a Baptist minister. He grew up surrounded by music and was taught to play the… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Oprah! Today media icon Oprah Winfrey turns 64. After facing considerable hardship growing up, Winfrey has become one of the most successful and influential entrepreneur’s in the world. Although Winfrey was named “Orpah” on her birth certificate, people mispronounced it as “Oprah” so often that the name stuck. Born into poverty in rural Mississippi, she got her start working in radio and by the age of 19, Winfrey was co-anchoring the local evening news. In 1986,… Read the full story

Today Australia celebrates Australia Day! The holiday commemorates the day in 1788 when British settlers arrived on the shores of Australia for the first time. Led by Captain Arthur Phillip, the first boats arrived at Sydney Cove on January 26, 1788. On shore, Phillip raised the British flag to signal the beginning of the colony. In honor of Australia Day, we’re highlighting the genealogy projects for the First Fleet! Before the American Revolutionary War, the British, faced… Read the full story

On this day in 1891, Canadian-American neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield was born. Penfield is best remembered for his pioneering work mapping the human brain and his groundbreaking discovery to treat epilepsy. During his lifetime, Penfield was called “the greatest living Canadian.” Penfield was born on January 26, 1891 in Spokane, Washington and spent much of his youth growing up in Wisconsin. In 1934, he established the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University. It was there that Penfield began his groundbreaking… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Neil Diamond! Today the “Sweet Caroline” singer turns 77. Diamond was born on January 24, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish family. In high school, Diamond was a member of the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club alongside future music icon Barbra Streisand. The former classmates would later record the hit duet, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” in 1978. He attended New York University on a fencing scholarship intending to study medicine, but… Read the full story

Do you have Norwegian ancestry? On this day in 1813, Norwegian writer Camilla Collett was born in Kristiansand, Norway. Often referred to as the first Norwegian feminist writer, Collett was a passionate advocate of women’s rights and an influential figure in Norwegian literature. Collett was the daughter of Alette Thaulow and Nicolai Wergeland, a priest and politician. Her father was a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll, which wrote the Constitution of Norway in 1814. Her brother,… Read the full story

If you’re interested in getting started on your genealogy, but at a loss as to what you need to do first, here are some tips on what to do to begin building your family tree. 1. Keep it simple and start with what you know. The first step is the easiest – simply start with what you know. Begin with yourself and work your way back to your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. This will give you a good… Read the full story

What’s your favorite fairy tale? 390 years ago today, French author Charles Perrault was born in Paris, France. Sometimes referred to as the “father of the fairy tale,” Perrault wrote some of the most beloved and recognizable fairy tale stories in literary history. Perrault was born into a wealthy bourgeois family. He worked in the government before deciding to dedicate himself to his children. He wrote several stories, many derived from pre-existing folk tales, and published them in Tales… Read the full story

Today we highlight suffragist Alice Paul, who was born on January 11, 1885 in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. One of the leading women’s rights activist of the 20th century, Paul was a key figure in the campaign to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The eldest of four children born to William Mickle Paul I and Tacie Parry, Paul grew up in a prominent Quaker family. After traveling to England to further her education,… Read the full story

Today we remember legendary musician David Bowie on the second anniversary of his death. Bowie passed just two days after his 69th birthday after an 18-month battle with cancer. Bowie was born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947 in Brixton, South London, England. He changed his last name to “Bowie” out of fear of being confused with The Monkey’s lead singer, Davy Jones. In 1969, Bowie scored his first hit song, “Space Oddity,” which was… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge! Today the Duchess turns 36. Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born on January 9, 1982 in Reading, Berkshire, England to Michael Middleton and Carole Goldsmith. She studied art history at the University of St. Andrews, where she met Prince William in 2001. On April 29, 2011, the couple wed at Westminster Abbey in London. This year, the royal family will have many occasions to celebrate. It was announced this week that their two-year… Read the full story

What are your genealogy goals for 2018? Get the new year started on the right foot by laying out what you  hope to accomplish this year. Here are a few ideas to get you started: 1. Get your relatives to take a DNA test If you’ve already taken a DNA test for genealogy, make a plan to encourage your relatives to take a DNA test too. This is especially important for your older relatives. Connect their results to the… Read the full story

On this day in 1892, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was the son of Arthur Tolkien, a bank manager, and Mabel Suffield. After his father died of rheumatic fever in 1896, his mother took her young family to live with relatives in Birmingham, England. Tragedy struck his family yet again 8 years later when his mother died of acute diabetes. During World… Read the full story

Today is National Science Fiction Day! The day is celebrated annually on the birthday of renowned science fiction author Isaac Asimov, who was born in Petrovichi, Russia. Although the exact date of his birth is unknown, Asimov celebrated his birthday on January 2. The son of Anna Berman and Judah Asimov, Asimov came to the U.S. as a toddler. A bright child, Asimov taught himself how to read at the age of 5 and graduated from high school at the… Read the full story