December 2021

Do you have inventors in your family tree? On this day in 1800, inventor and chemist Charles Goodyear was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Goodyear invented the process of vulcanization, which revolutionized the rubber industry. Image: Charles Goodyear / Library of Congress Goodyear was the eldest of six children born to Amasa Goodyear and Cynthia Bateman. His third great grandfather, Stephen Goodyear, was one of the founders of the colony of New Haven in 1638. After his… Read the full story

As the year comes to a close, we’re looking back at 2021 on Geni. We’re proud of the many new enhancements to Sources introduced to Geni and along the way, hit a new milestone in the World Family Tree. Although we are still in the midst of the pandemic, we are grateful that we were still able to connect with the genealogical community through virtual conferences throughout the year. Here’s a look back at our… Read the full story

Today we remember Walt Disney, who died on this day in 1966 at the age of 65. Image: Walt Disney / NASA He was born Walter Elias Disney on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois to Elias Charles Disney and Flora Call Disney. At 16, he tried to join the U.S. army during World War I, but was rejected for being underage. Undeterred, he joined the American Red Cross and worked as an ambulance driver… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Dick Van Dyke! Today the star turns 96. Image: Dick Van Dyke / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born on December 13, 1925 in West Plains, Missouri to Hazel Victoria McCord, a stenographer, and Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a salesman. During World War II, Van Dyke enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and eventually served as a radio announcer before transferring to the Special… Read the full story

On this day in 1830, American poet Emily Dickinson was born. A prolific writer, Dickinson wrote over 1800 poems, however less than a dozen were published during her lifetime. It was not until after her death that a cache of her poetry was discovered and published. Image: Emily Dickinson / Wikimedia Commons Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10, 1830 to a prominent New England family. Her paternal grandfather, Samuel Fowler Dickinson, was a founder… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Donny Osmond! Today the singer and former teen idol turns 64. Image: Donny Osmond / Nationaal Archief, CC0 Osmond was born on December 9, 1957 in Ogden, Utah and was the seventh son born to George Osmond and Olive Davis. A natural performer, Osmond began singing at a very young age alongside his older brothers as part of the musical group The Osmonds. His talent made him a standout performer and he… Read the full story

Today we remember famous Rat Pack performer Sammy Davis, Jr., who was born on this day in 1925. Image: Sammy Davis, Jr. / Nationaal Archief, Wikimedia Commons CCO Samuel George Davis, Jr. was born in Harlem, New York to Sammy Davis, Sr., an African-American entertainer, and Elvera Sanchez, a tap dancer of Afro-Cuban descent. Davis began his career in show business as a small child dancing in his father’s vaudeville act. During World War II, he… Read the full story

Do you have pioneer ancestors? On this day in 1873, author Willa Cather was born in Winchester, Virginia. Cather is perhaps best remembered for her vivid portrayal of frontier life on the Great Plains in her novels, O Pioneers! and My Ántonia. Image: Willa Cather / Library of Congress Wilella Sibert Cather was born on her maternal grandmother’s farm in the Back Creek Valley near Winchester, Virginia. Although most may think of her as a Nebraskan,… Read the full story

Do you have Dutch ancestry? On this day in 1792, William II, King of the Netherlands, was born. He was the eldest son of William I, the first King of the Netherlands, and Wilhelmine of Prussia, the daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia and William I’s first cousin. Image: William II of the Netherlands / Wikimedia Commons In 1816, he married Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia, the youngest sister of Alexander I of Russia. Following his father’s… Read the full story