September 2023

Remember reading Don Quixote? Author Miguel de Cervantes is believed to have been born on this day in 1547. Image: Miguel de Cervantes / Wikimedia Commons Although not many details are known about the early years of his life, Cervantes was known to have lived an adventurous one. He enlisted in the Spanish Navy and fought in the Battle of Lepanto, where he was injured after taking three gun shots, two to the chest and one to his… Read the full story

On this day in 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. The accidental find would become one of the most important discoveries in the history of science. Image: Alexander Fleming / Navy Medicine, Flickr Commons Before leaving for a vacation with his family, Fleming left out a stack of unwashed petri dishes containing cultures of bacteria in the sink. On September 28, 1928, Fleming returned to his lab and noticed something unusual. Mold had grown in a petri dish and the staph bacteria… Read the full story

On this day in 1722, American Founding Father Samuel Adams was born in Boston in the British colony of Massachusetts. Image: Samuel Adams / Library of Congress Adams was one of twelve children born to Samuel Adams, Sr. and Mary Fifield and was one of three to live beyond the age of three. After leaving college at Harvard, Adams became a brewer and launched a newspaper before devoting his work to politics. An important political… Read the full story

Today we remember singer and actress Olivia Newton-John on what would have been her 75th birthday. Image: Olivia Newton-John / Nationaal Archief, CC0 Newton-John was born on September 26, 1948 in Cambridge, England to Brinley “Bryn” Newton-John and Irene Helene Born. During World War II, her father was an MI-5 officer assigned to the Enigma codebreaking unit at Bletchley Park. Her maternal grandfather was Max Born, a German Nobel Prize-winning physicist. When she was five… Read the full story

Remember reading The Sound of the Fury? Today we remember author William Faulkner, who was born on this day in 1897. Image: William Faulkner / Library of Congress The author was the first of four sons born to Murry Cuthbert Falkner and Maud Butler. Born in Albany, Mississippi, Faulkner’s experiences growing up in the South greatly influenced his writings. He was named after his great-grandfather, William Clark Falkner, and grew up hearing stories about the “Old Colonel,” who was a successful… Read the full story

English physicist Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791 in Newington, Surrey. Considered one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, Faraday’s groundbreaking discoveries in electromagnetism was crucial to understanding how electricity can be used in technology. Faraday was the son of James Faraday, a blacksmith, and Margaret Hastwell, a former servant. His father was often ill and was incapable of maintaining steady work. As a result, the family lived in poverty and often had… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Bill Murray! Today the legendary comedian turns 73. Image: Bill Murray / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Murray was born on September 21, 1950 in Evanston, Illinois to Lucille Collins, a mailroom clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray, II, a lumbar salesman. One of nine children, Murray was a bit of a troublemaker growing up. He got his start in comedy after joining his older brother at Chicago’s Second City, an… Read the full story

On this day 145 years ago, author Upton Sinclair was born. A prolific writer, Sinclair wrote over 100 books and other works across various genres throughout his life. His is perhaps best remembered for his famous novel, The Jungle, which exposed the horrific conditions of the meatpacking industry. Image: Upton Sinclair / Library of Congress Sinclair was born on September 20, 1878 in Baltimore, Maryland. Although he grew up in poverty, he often spent time with his maternal… Read the full story

Do you remember watching Batman on TV? On this day in 1928, actor Adam West was born. Image: Adam West / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Although he was known professionally as “Adam West,” he was actually born William West Anderson on September 19, 1928 in Walla Walla, Washington. His father, Otto West Anderson, worked as a farmer, and his mother, Audrey Volenne Speer, was an opera singer and concert pianist. After serving in the… Read the full story

Do you have Swedish roots? On this day in 1905, Swedish actress Greta Garbo was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Image: Greta Garbo / Library of Congress She was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson to Anna Lovisa Karlsson and Karl Alfred Gustafsson. She grew up in poverty and daydreamed about becoming an actor from an early age. At 13, she dropped out of school to care for her sick father, who died in 1920. After getting her… Read the full story

What’s your favorite Agatha Christie novel? On this day in 1890, the crime novelist was born in Torquay, England. Image: Agatha Christie / Nationaal Archief, CC0 She was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller to a wealthy upper-middle class family. From a young age, Christie was an avid reader with a vivid imagination. During World War I, Christie joined the war effort as a volunteer for the Voluntary Aid Detachment and worked as a nurse to tend wounded soldiers… Read the full story

On this day in 1901, William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, died eight days after he was shot by an anarchist. Immediately after his death, Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th President. Image: William McKinley / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution CC0 McKinley was born on January 29, 1843 in Niles, Ohio to William McKinley, Sr. and Nancy Allison. At the outbreak of the Civil War, McKinley joined the Union… Read the full story

“Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.” – Roald Dahl, Matilda Image: Roald Dahl / Library of Congress On this day in 1916, beloved author Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Wales to Norwegian parents, Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg. Dahl was named after famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who became the first person to reach the South Pole only a few years earlier. During World War II, Dahl served in… Read the full story

Who are the athletes in your family tree? On this day in 1913, Olympic champion Jesse Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama. He made history at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany when he went home with four gold medals and single handedly defeated Adolf Hitler’s ideas of Aryan supremacy. Image: Jesse Owens / Library of Congress James Cleveland Owens was the youngest of ten children born to Henry Cleveland Owens, a sharecropper, and Mary Emma… Read the full story

Have you read “The Gift of the Magi”? On this day in 1862, author O. Henry was born. His comedic and ironic stories, often with surprised endings, made Henry one of the most popular short story writers of his time. Image: O. Henry / Wikimedia Commons He was born William Sidney Porter on September 11, 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Before he began his career as a writer, Porter held a variety of jobs. At 15, he began… Read the full story

Genealogy is not just about compiling a list of names and dates; it’s about discovering the stories, experiences, and personalities of our ancestors. When exploring your family history on Geni, you have the opportunity to go beyond the basics and add rich context to your ancestors’ profiles. Our ancestors are more than just names on a pedigree chart or entries in dusty records. They were living, breathing individuals who navigated the triumphs and tribulations of… Read the full story

It’s Star Trek Day! On September 8, 1966, the iconic science fiction series Star Trek premiered its first episode. In honor of Star Trek Day, we’re highlighting everyone’s favorite Vulcan, Leonard Nimoy. Image: Leonard Nimoy / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Over 50 years ago, Gene Roddenberry introduced his vision of future exploration and discovery in Star Trek. Cast as the leader of the Starship Enterprise was William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard… Read the full story

Have you found your connection to the Tudors? On this day in 1533, Elizabeth I of England was born in Greenwich Palace. Image: Elizabeth I of England / Wikimedia Commons Elizabeth was the second child of Henry VIII of England and the daughter of Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. She was only 2 years old when her mother was executed by beheading. Just eleven days after her mother’s death, her father married Jane Seymour, who gave birth… Read the full story

On this day in 1860, social activist Jane Addams was born in Cedarville, Illinois. A leader in social reform, women’s suffrage and world peace, Addams was the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Image: Jane Addams / Library of Congress Addams was the youngest of eight children born to a prominent Illinois family. Her father, John Addams, was a prosperous businessman and served as a state senator. He was a founding member… Read the full story

Who are the black sheep in your family? On this day in 1847, American outlaw Jesse James was born in Kearny, Missouri. Image: Jesse James / Library of Congress Jesse Woodson James was the third of four children born to Robert James, a Baptist minister, and Zerelda Elizabeth Cole. When Jesse was 3 years old, his father abandoned his family and traveled to the gold fields of California. During the Civil War, Jesse and his older brother, Frank,… Read the full story

French monarch Louis XIV died on this day in 1715, just 4 days before his 77th birthday. Image: Louis XIV / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, CC0 When he was born on September 5, 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Louis’s parents had already been married for 23 years. His mother had experienced 4 stillbirths throughout the marriage, and so, when Louis was born, his birth was seen as a miracle and gift from God. He… Read the full story