July 2020

Happy birthday to Arnold Schwarzenegger! Today the star turns 73. Image: Arnold Schwarzenegger / Library of Congress Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria to Gustave Schwarzenegger, a local police chief, and Aurelia Jadrny. His father was once a member of the Nazi party and favored his eldest son over Arnold. Struggling with a tough home life, Arnold turned to movies as an escape and dreamed of moving to the U.S. At 15, he began weight… Read the full story

On this day in 1567, James VI and I was crowned King of Scots at only 13 months old after his mother’s forced abdication. James was born in Edinburgh Castle on June 19, 1566. He was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. His mother’s unpopular reign was plagued by scandal. In February 1567, his father was murdered. A few short months later, his mother married… Read the full story

Today we remember legendary actress Olivia de Havilland, who passed away at the age of 104. With a career that spanned over five decades, de Havilland was one of the last major stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Image: Olivia de Havilland / Wikimedia Commons She was born on July 1, 1916 in Tokyo, Japan to Lillian Ruse, a stage actress, and Walter de Havilland, an English professor and attorney. Her first cousin was aviation pioneer… Read the full story

On this day in 1802, French author Alexandre Dumas was born. Image: Alexandre Dumas / Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia Commons Dumas was born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie on July 24, 1802 in Villers-Cotterêts, Picardy, France to Marie-Louise Élisabeth Labouret and Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. His father was the son of the Marquis Alexandre Antoine Davy de La Pailleterie and Marie-Césette Dumas, a Haitian slave. He served as a French general and stands as one of… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Woody Harrelson! Today the actor celebrates his 59th birthday. Image: Woody Harrelson / LBJ Library photo by Gabriel Cristóver Pérez Harrelson was born Woodrow Tracy Harrelson on July 23, 1961 in Midland, Texas. His father was a convicted contract killer and received a life sentence in 1979. Raised by a single mother, Harrelson grew up in a very religious Presbyterian household. He later attend Hanover College on a Presbyterian scholarship. In 1985,… Read the full story

“Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled Masses yearning to breathe free” – Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus” These are the iconic lines inscribed on a bronze plaque at the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The words were written by American poet Emma Lazarus in 1883 in her sonnet “The New Colossus.” Image: Emma Lazarus / Library of Congress The poem was originally written to help raise funds for the construction of the statue’s pedestal, but… Read the full story

Today we remember actor Robin Williams on what would have been his 69th birthday. Image: Robin Williams / Eva Rinaldi, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Williams was born on July 21, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois to Robert Fitzgerald Williams and Laurie McLaurin. His second great grandfather, Anselm J. McLaurin, served as a senator for Mississippi and later, the state’s 34th governor. Williams described himself as a shy child and didn’t break out of his shell… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall! Today the Duchess turns 73. She was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on July 17, 1947 at King’s College Hospital in London. She was the eldest of three children born to Bruce Shand, an officer in the British Army, and Rosalind Cubitt. Although her relationship with Prince Charles was once thought to be highly controversial, the couple was finally married in a civil ceremony in 2005 with the permission… Read the full story

Are you a fan of old fashioned Hollywood musicals? Today we remember Ginger Rogers, who was born on this day in 1911. Image: Ginger Rogers / Wikimedia Commons Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath on July 16, 1911 in Independence, Missouri. She started her career in vaudeville after a win at a Charleston dance contest earned her a spot with a traveling vaudeville act. She became most famous for her musical and dance partnership with Fred… Read the full story

On this day in 1606, Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn was born. An artist during the Dutch Golden Age, today Rembrandt is considered to be one of the greatest and most important Dutch painters in history. Image: Rembrandt van Rijn / Wikimedia Commons Rembrandt was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden, Dutch Republic, which is now the Netherlands. He was the ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn, a miller, and Neeltgen Willemsdochter… Read the full story

Today we celebrate the 164th birthday of inventor Nikola Tesla! Tesla is remembered for his groundbreaking discoveries in the production, transmission, and application of electric power. Image: Nikola Tesla / Library of Congress Tesla was born in what is now Smiljan, Croatia on July 10, 1856. He was one of five children born to Milutin Tesla, an Eastern Orthodox priest, and Đuka Mandić.  In 1884, Tesla came to the United States and began working for Thomas Edison. However, a… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Tom Hanks! Today the popular actor turns 64. Image: Tom Hanks / U.S. Department of State Thomas Jeffery Hanks was born on July 9, 1956 in Concord, California. In 1960, his parents divorced and Tom, along with his two oldest siblings, went to live with their father. His youngest brother stayed with their mother. He got his big break when he was cast as the lead in the television sitcom Bosom Buddies. Although the… Read the full story

Happy birthday to actor Kevin Bacon! Today the star turns 62. Image: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons, (CC BY-SA 2.0) Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 8, 1958, Bacon was the youngest of six children born to architect Edmund Bacon and Ruth Holmes, a teacher and social activist. From a young age he showed a gift for acting, earning a full scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts at 16. Bacon skyrocketed… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Ringo Starr! Today the legendary musician turns 80. Image: Eva Rinaldi / Wikimedia Commons, (CC BY-SA 2.0) The Beatles drummer was born Richard Starkey in Liverpool, England on July 7, 1940. He was in and out of hospitals for much of his childhood. After contracting tuberculosis in 1953, he was admitted to a sanitarium where he stayed for two years. To help stimulate his motor activity and relieve boredom, Starr was encouraged… Read the full story

Each year on July 4, the United States celebrates Independence Day in commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the document declared the freedom and independence of the 13 American colonies from the rule of the British Empire’s King George III. Have some fun this Independence Day by incorporating your passion for genealogy with your 4th of July celebrations! Thanks to Geni’s World Family Tree, you can see how… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Tom Cruise! Today the actor turns 58. Image: Tom Cruise / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Tom Cruise was born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3, 1962 in Syracuse, New York. When he was young, Cruise had considered becoming a priest, however, he left after a year in seminary school. He was encouraged to join the drama department in high school and caught the bug for acting. After making… Read the full story

On this day in 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Frederick Noonan went missing over the Pacific while attempting to make the first flight around the world along the equator. Image: Amelia Earhart / Library of Congress Earhart was born on July 24, 1987 in Atchison, Kansas to Edwin Stanton Earhart and Amelia Otis. In 1920, Earhart took a plane ride an airshow in Long Beach, California that would change her life. Although the experience… Read the full story

Today we remember Princess Diana on what would have been her 59th birthday. Image: Diana, Princess of Wales / Wikimedia Commons She was born Diana Frances Spencer in Sandringham, England to John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Frances Burk Rouche, Viscountess Althorp. Her parents would divorce when she was eight years old. She became known as Lady Diana when her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. In 1981, she married Prince Charles in a lavish… Read the full story