2024

On this day in 1782, Martin Van Buren, the 8th President of the United States, was born in Kinderhook, New York. Did you know that he was the first President to be born a U.S. citizen? All previous presidents were born in the British colonies before the American Revolution and were therefore British subjects. Image: Martin Van Buren / Library of Congress Van Buren was the son of Dutch parents, and although the Van Buren family had been in America… Read the full story

Happy birthday to The Dude! Today actor Jeff Bridges celebrates his 75th birthday. Image: Jeff Bridges / Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 3.0) Bridges was born on December 4, 1949 in Los Angeles, California to actors Lloyd and Dorothy Bridges. Born into a Hollywood family, the Academy Award winning actor made his big screen debut as a baby in the 1951 film, The Company She Keeps. Growing up, he and his older brother, Beau, made occasional appearances on their… Read the full story

On this day in 1857, author Joseph Conrad was born in Berdychiv, in what is now Ukraine. Conrad is often regarded as one of the greatest novelists in the English language, but did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties. Image: Joseph Conrad / New York Public Library Born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, Conrad was the only child of Apollo Korzeniowski and Ewelina Bobrawska. His father was a poet, playwright, and clandestine political activist. At the… Read the full story

On this day in 1859, French Neo-Impressionist artist Georges Seurat was born. Known for devising his own painting technique called pointillism, Seurat is remembered as one of the most iconic artists of the late 19th-century. Image: Georges Seurat / Wikimedia Commons Seurat was born on December 2, 1859 in Paris, France to Antoine Chrysostome Seurat and Ernstine Faivre. His father was a former legal official who had become wealthy from speculating property. He received his… Read the full story

On November 29, 1832, American author Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Image: Louisa May Alcott / Library of Congress Raised by transcendentalist parents, the Little Women author grew up among many of the well-known intellectuals of the day such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. When the family fell on hard times, Alcott was forced to work various jobs at an early age, such as a teacher, domestic servant, and writer, to help support… Read the full story

Today we remember Bruce Lee, who was born on this day in 1940. Image: Bruce Lee / Wikimedia Commons Born on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, California, Lee grew up in Hong Kong before moving back to the United Staes at the age of 18. His father was one of the leading Cantonese opera and film actors of the time. Like his father, Lee had a knack for performing and appeared in several films… Read the full story

Do you remember the Peanuts gang? On this day in 1922, Peanuts creator Charles Schulz was born. Considered one of the most influential cartoonists in history, Schulz’s beloved comic ran from 1950-2000 with nearly 18,000 strips published. Image: Charles Schulz / Library of Congress Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Carl Schulz, a barber, and Dena Halverson. His father had German heritage, while his mother was from a large Norwegian family. As a child, he was nicknamed… Read the full story

Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio was born on this day 110 years ago. Image: Joe DiMaggio / Library of Congress Joseph Paul DiMaggio was born on November 25, 1914 in Martinez, California. He was the eighth of nine children born to Sicilian immigrants Giuseppe DiMaggio and Rosalia Mercurio. His father had come from a long line of fisherman and had hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps. However, Joe’s talent in baseball set his path… Read the full story

On this day in 1898, aviator Wiley Post was born. Image: Wiley Post / San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive, Flickr Post was born on a farm near Grand Saline, Texas to William Francis Post and Mae Laine Quinlan. At the age of five, Post’s family moved to Oklahoma. From young age, Post was enamored with aviation. In 1913, Post saw a Curtis-Wright “pusher” plane take flight for the first time and immediately enrolled… Read the full story

What’s your favorite Goldie Hawn movie? Today the actress celebrates her 79th birthday. Image: Goldie Hawn / photo by Alan Light, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) Goldie Jeanne Hawn was born on November 21, 1945 in Washington, D.C. She was named after her maternal great aunt, Goldie Hochhauser. Starting at the age of three, Hawn took ballet and tap dance lessons. She began her career as a professional dancer before getting her big break on the popular variety show, Laugh-In…. Read the full story

On this day in 1889, astronomer Edwin Hubble was born in Marshfield, Missouri. Regarded as one of the most important astronomers in history, Hubble was the first to discover the existence of other galaxies in the universe beyond the Milky Way. Image: Edwin Hubble / The Huntington Library, Wikimedia Commons Hubble was born to Virginia Lee James and John Powell Hubble on November 20, 1889. Growing up, he was known for his athletic abilities and participated… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Jodie Foster! Today the actress turns 62. Image: Jodie Foster / Franz Richter, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 1.0) Foster was born Alicia Christian Foster on November 19, 1962 in Los Angeles, California. She was the youngest child born to Lucius Fisher Foster III and Evelyn Almond. Through her father’s branch of the family, Foster is a direct descendant of Mayflower passenger John Alden, who is her 9th great grandfather. Foster got her start… Read the full story

On this day in 1923, astronaut Alan Shepard was born in East Derry, New Hampshire. Shepard made history when he became the first American to travel into space. Image: Alan Shepard / NASA In 1951, he was one of 110 military test pilots invited by NASA to volunteer for the first U.S. manned space flight program. After a series of grueling physical and psychological tests, Shepard was selected to be one of the original seven… Read the full story

Today we remember actor Ed Asner on what would have been his 95th birthday. Image: Ed Asner / Department of Defense, William D. Moss, Wikimedia Commons Asner was born on November 15, 1929 in Kansas, City, Nebraska. He was one of five children born to Morris David Asner and Elizabeth Seliger and was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family. After serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, Asner moved to New York to pursue a career… Read the full story

Happy birthday to King Charles III! Today the King of the United Kingdom turns 76. Image: King Charles III / Arnaud Bouissou, COP Paris, Wikimedia Commons CC0 Charles was born on November 14, 1948 in Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI. The first child and eldest son of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and a then Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh (later Queen Elizabeth II), Charles became heir apparent when… Read the full story

Does music run in your family tree? For many legendary musicians, a love for music and talent is a family affair, passed down from one generation to the next. From classical composers to contemporary rock stars, some of history’s most iconic musicians belong to families with rich musical roots. Below we’ll explore a few these fascinating lineages in Geni’s World Family Tree and see how musical talent has shaped entire generations. The Bach Family German… Read the full story

Remember reading Treasure Island? On this day in 1850, author Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. A literary celebrity in his lifetime, today Stevenson is one of the most translated authors in the world. Image: Robert Louis Stevenson / State Library of New South Wales Stevenson was the child of Margaret Balfour and Thomas Stevenson, a leading lighthouse engineer and meteorologist. Lighthouse engineering was a family profession. In addition to his father, two of… Read the full story

Today we remember film icon Grace Kelly on what would have been her 95th birthday. Image: Grace Kelly / Library of Congress 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,… Read the full story

In honor of Veterans Day, today we highlight General George S. Patton who was born on this day in 1885. A hero of World War II, Patton was instrumental to the liberation of Germany from the Nazis. Image: General George Patton / Library of Congress George Smith Patton, Jr. was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California. His family had an extensive military background, dating as far back as the American Revolution and the Civil… Read the full story

Image: Bram Stoker / Wikimedia Commons Were you frightened by the story of Dracula as a child? On this day in 1847, author Bram Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland. Stoker was the third of seven children and was bedridden with an unknown illness until the age of seven. In 1897, Stoker published his most famous work, the Gothic horror novel Dracula. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form. To… Read the full story

On this day in 1867, renowned physicist Marie Curie was born in Warsaw, Poland. Thanks to her pioneering research on radioactivity, Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win twice in different fields, Physics and Chemistry. Image: Marie Curie / Library of Congress Curie was the fifth and youngest child born to Bronisława Boguska and Władyslaw Sklodowski, both teachers. Her paternal grandfather was also a well known teacher… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Sally Field! Today the actress turns 78. Image: Sally Field / Wikimedia Commons She was born on November 6, 1946 in Pasadena, California to Richard Dryden Field, an Army officer, and Margaret Field, an actress. After her parents divorced, Field’s mother married stuntman Jock Mahoney. With family already in show business, it was natural for Field to follow suit. She landed her first role as the boy-crazed surfer girl in the sitcom Gidget…. Read the full story

Today we remember legendary star Vivien Leigh, who was born on this day in 1913. Image: Vivien Leigh / Wikimedia Commons Leigh was born Vivian Mary Hartley on November 5, 1913 in Darjeeling, British India. At the age of 19, she married her first husband, Herbert Leigh Holman, and took her husband’s middle name for her stage name, Vivien Leigh. She changed the spelling of her first name because she felt spelling her name with an “e” was… Read the full story

Geni will be performing scheduled site maintenance starting at 5:00pm PST on November 5, 2024 and lasting approximately 20 minutes. During this time, the Geni website will be unavailable. We’ll do our best to complete the maintenance quickly and return to normal service as soon as possible. Many thanks for your patience. The Geni Team

Today we remember iconic music producer Quincy Jones, who passed away at the age of 91. Image: Quincy Jones / Gorup de Besanez, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) Jones was born on March 14, 1933 to Sara Frances Wells and Quincy Delight Jones in Chicago, Illinois. When he was young, his mother suffered from mental illness and was hospitalized in an institution. He found music at a young age and at 14, met a 16-year-old… Read the full story

On this day in 1871, American author Stephen Crane was born in Newark, New Jersey. He is best known for his highly acclaimed novel The Red Badge of Courage, where Crane authentically depicted the realities of battle during the American Civil War and the psychological turmoil of the novel’s protagonist, a Union soldier who grapples with his own cowardice after he flees from the battlefield. Image: Stephen Crane / Wikimedia Commons Crane was the fourteenth child born… Read the full story

Do you like to hear ghost stories? This spooky season, we’re highlighting the Ghosts of North America genealogy project on Geni. This project brings together historical figures whose spirits are said to roam some of the most notable sites across North America. Let’s take a closer look at a few of these spectral personalities who may still walk among us in the shadows. Hiram Mills Perkins Image: Lawrence Sun American, July 20, 1922 / OldNews.com… Read the full story

Remember watching Little House on the Prairie? On this day in 1936, star Michael Landon was born in Queens, New York. Image: Michael Landon / photo by Alan Light, Wikimedia Commons He was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz to Peggy O’Neill, a dancer and comedy actress, and Eli Maurice Orowitz, a theater manager and publicist. Once he started acting school, he changed his name to “Michael Landon” after finding the name in a phone book. In 1959,… Read the full story

On this day in 1735, the second President of the United States, John Adams, was born. A Founding Father, Adams served as the first Vice President to President George Washington before he was elected into office himself as the second President of the United States. Image: John Adams / Wikimedia Commons Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts to John Adams, Sr., a farmer and minister, and Susanna Boylston, an American socialite from a prominent Massachusetts family. The… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Winona Ryder! Today the actress turns 53. Image: Winona Ryder / Karon Liu, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz on October 29, 1971 in Winona, Minnesota. Her parents named her after the city she was born in and gave her the middle name “Laura” after their friend, Laura Huxley, the wife of author Aldous Huxley. Her father worked as an archivist for Timothy Leary, a psychologists who advocated… Read the full story

Today marks the 110th birthday of Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the first successful polio vaccine. Image: Jonas Salk / San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive Jonas Edward Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York City to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants. An intellectually gifted child, Salk was encouraged by his parents to pursue his education. He earned his degree in medicine from New York University, where he determined he did not want to practice… Read the full story

Remember the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”? On this day in 1788, writer Sarah Josepha Hale was born. Image: Sarah Josepha Hale / Wikimedia Commons Hale was born Sarah Josepha Buell on October 24, 1788 in Newport, New Hampshire to captain Gordon Buell and Martha Whittlesay. She was homeschooled by her mother and elder brother and later became a teacher at a local school. In 1813, she married lawyer David Hale and together they had… Read the full story

Heeere’s Johnny! Today we remember late-night host Johnny Carson on what would have been his 99th birthday. Do you remember watching the “King of Late Night”? Image: Johnny Carson / State Library and Archives of Florida Carson was born on October 23, 1925 in Corning, Iowa to Homer Lloyd Carson and Ruth Elizabeth Hook. He showed a talent for entertainment at a young age and performed public magic shows as “The Great Carsoni.” At the age… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Jeff Goldblum! Today the actor turns 72. Image: Jeff Goldblum / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) Goldblum was born on October 22, 1952 in West Homestead, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents, Shirley Jane Temeles, a radio broadcaster, and Harold Leonard Goldblum, a doctor and major in the U.S. Army during World War II. From a young age, Goldblum wanted to become an actor and at 17, went to New York City… Read the full story

Do you have Swedish connections? On this day in 1833, Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Image: Alfred Nobel / Library of Congress The fourth son of Immanuel Nobel, an inventor and engineer, and Karolina Andriette Ahlsell, Alfred was the one of eight children born to the couple. Only he and his three brothers survived past childhood. His third great grandfather, Olof Rudbeck, was a Swedish scientist and writer. Alfred… Read the full story

On this day in 1926, music legend Chuck Berry was born. A rock and roll pioneer, Berry’s sound helped to define the genre and inspire generations of future musicians. Image: Chuck Berry / Nationaal Archief, CC0 Berry was born on October 18, 1926 in Saint Louis, Missouri to Henry William Berry, a contractor and deacon, and Martha Banks, a public school principal. He grew up in the Ville, a middle-class Black community in St. Louis…. Read the full story

Hollywood legend Rita Hayworth was born on October 17, 1918 in Brooklyn, New York. One of the top stars of the 1940s, Hayworth appeared in a total of 61 films throughout her long career. Image: Rita Hayworth / Wikimedia Commons Margarita Carmen Dolores Cansino was the oldest child of two dancers. Her father, Eduardo Cansino, Sr., and her mother, Volga Hayworth, had performed with the Ziegfeld Follies. Her paternal grandfather, Antonio Cansino, was a renowned Spanish… Read the full story

Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde was born 170 years ago today. Known for his intellect and wit, Wilde was one of London’s most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Image: Oscar Wilde / Library of Congress He was born Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. His parents were successful intellectuals. His father, William Wilde, was a doctor and an accomplished author and his mother, Jane Francesca, was a poet. In… Read the full story

On this day in 1943, Penny Marshall was born. After gaining fame as Laverne in the hit television show Laverne & Shirley, Marshall would go on to direct several box office hits on the big screen. Image: Penny Marshall / Wikimedia Commons Marshall was born on October 15, 1943 in New York City, New York to Anthony “Tony” Masciarelli, later known as Anthony W. Marshall, and Marjorie Irene Ward. Her father worked as a director… Read the full story

On this day in 1890, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, was born. Image: Dwight D. Eisenhower / Library of Congress Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas to David Jacob Eisenhower and Ida Elizabeth Stover. The third of seven sons, Eisenhower grew up in Abilene, Kansas and formed a great fondness for the outdoors. An excellent athlete, Eisenhower excelled at sports in high school and received an… Read the full story

On this day in 1884, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City, New York. Image: Eleanor Roosevelt / Library of Congress Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the eldest daughter born to American socialites Elliot Bullock Roosevelt, Sr. and Anna Rebecca Hall. The niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, Roosevelt was sadly an orphan by the age of 10. In 1892, her mother and her younger brother died from diphtheria. On August 14, 1894, her father,… Read the full story

Do you have an ear for music? Perhaps it’s in your genes! In 1813, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in Le Roncole, Italy. A dominant figure of the Italian opera scene, Verdi is remembered as one of the most renowned opera composers in history. Image: Giuseppe Verdi / Bergen Public Library Norway, Flickr He was born Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi to Carlo Giuseppe Verdi, an innkeeper, and Luigia Uttini, a spinner, in a small Italian… Read the full story

It’s Leif Erikson Day! The 11th-century Norse explorer is believed to have led the first Europeans to North America, 500 years before Christopher Columbus set sail to the New World. Image: Wikimedia Commons Leif Erikson was the son of Erik the Red and Thjodhild Jorundsdottir and was likely born in Iceland around 970. He grew up in Greenland, where his father had established the first Norse settlements. Around 1000, Erikson sailed to Norway where he was converted to Christianity by King… Read the full story

Happy 75th birthday to actress Sigourney Weaver! Image: Sigourney Weaver / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) She was born Susan Alexandra Weaver on October 8, 1949 in Manhattan, New York. The only child of actress Elizabeth Inglis and former NBC president Sylvester “Pat” Weaver, Weaver chose to follow her parents into the entertainment industry. At the age of 14, she began going by the name “Sigourney” after a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. In the early… Read the full story

Are you a fan of the spooky tales written by Edgar Allan Poe? 175 years ago today, the famous poet and writer died in Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 40. Image: Edgar Allan Poe / U.S. National Archives Born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809, Poe was orphaned as a young child. He was taken in by John Allan, a successful merchant, and his wife. Considered the inventor of detective fiction, Poe is… Read the full story

On this day in 1822, Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States, was born. He was born in Delaware, Ohio to Sophia Richard and Rutherford Hayes, Jr., who died a few weeks before his birth. His great-grandfather, Ezekiel Hayes, was a militia captain during the American Revolutionary War. Image: Rutherford B. Hayes / Library of Congress Hayes was a staunch abolitionist and during the Civil War, served in the Union Army. While still serving… Read the full story

On this day in 1960, the classic sitcom The Andy Griffith Show premiered for the first time on television. The show starred Andy Griffith as a widower and sheriff of the small town of Mayberry and introduced the world to a 6-year-old Ron Howard as his young son, Opie. Image: Andy Griffith / Wikimedia Commons Rounding out the cast was actor Don Knotts, who played bumbling deputy Barney Fife, and Francis Bavier as the lovable Aunt Bee. Knotts would… Read the full story

On this day in 1452, Richard III of England was born. With his death at the age of 32, Richard III became the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty. Image: Richard III of England / Wikimedia Commons Richard was the fourth son born to Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. After the death of his brother, Edward IV, in 1483, Edward’s twelve-year old son, Edward V, succeeded him and Richard was named Lord Protector of the Realm. However, after Richard succeeded in declaring his brother’s marriage… Read the full story

Today former President Jimmy Carter celebrates his 100th birthday. Carter served as the 39th President of the United States and is the oldest living former President. Image: Jimmy Carter / Photo by Lauren Gerson, LBJ Presidential Library Carter was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia to James Earl Carter, Sr., a farmer and businessman, and Bessie Lillian Gordy, a registered nurse. After graduating from the United States Navel Academy at Annapolis, Carter married… Read the full story

Today we remember author Truman Capote, who was born September 30, 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Image: Truman Capote / Library of Congress As a child, he was sent to live with relatives in Monroeville, Alabama where he befriended future Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Harper Lee. The pair would continue to remain best friends throughout their lives. Considered one of the most recognizable authors of the 20th century, many of Capote’s works have been adapted for film and television, including… Read the full story