July 2024

Did your ancestors fight in the American Civil War? On this day in 1816, Union general George H. Thomas was born. Image: George H. Thomas / Library of Congress Thomas was born on July 31, 1816 in Newsom’s Depot, Virginia to John Thomas and Elizabeth Rochelle. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Thomas chose to stay with the U.S. Army despite his Virginian heritage. His decision to remain loyal to the Union caused… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Arnold Schwarzenegger! Today the star turns 77. 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

Today we remember Vincent van Gogh, who died on July 29, 1890. Although he is widely considered to be one of the most influential painters of the 20th century, van Gogh was virtually unknown during his lifetime. Image: Vincent van Gogh / Wikimedia Commons Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands to Theodorus van Gogh, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, and Anna Cornelia Carbentus. The eldest of… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Mick Jagger! Today the Rolling Stones singer turns 81. Image: Mick Jagger / Nationaal Archief, CC0 Michael Philip Jagger was born on July 26, 1943 in Dartford, Kent. His father, Basil Fanshawe Jagger, and his grandfather, David Ernest Jagger, were both teachers. His mother, Eva Ensley Mary Scutts, was a hairdresser. From a young age, Jagger loved to sing. He was classmates with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who shared Jagger’s love of the… Read the full story

On this day in 1806, abolitionist Maria Weston Chapman was born. Image: Maria Weston Chapman / Wikimedia Commons Chapman was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts to Captain Warren Richard Weston and Anne Bates. Although her family was not wealthy, they were well connected. She spent several years of her childhood living in England, where she received a good education thanks to her uncle, Joshua Bates, who was a prosperous London banker. In 1928, she became principal… Read the full story

On this day in 1783, Venezuelan military leader and politician Simón Bolívar was born. Called “The Liberator,” Bolívar was instrumental in Latin America’s successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. Image: Simón Bolívar / Library of Congress Bolívar was born into a wealthy family in a house in Caracas, Captaincy General of Venezuela on July 24, 1783. Before the age of ten, Bolivar had lost both of his parents. His father died when he was three… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Daniel Radcliffe! Today the Harry Potter star turns 35. Image: Daniel Radcliffe / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Born in London, England, Radcliffe got his start at the age of 10 in the BBC television film David Copperfield. It was this performance that caught the eye of director Chris Columbus, who was searching for a young unknown actor to cast as the lead in the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s beloved Harry Potter book series. At… 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

French painter Edgar Degas was born on July 19, 1834 in Paris, France. Image: Edgar Degas / Wikimedia Commons He was born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas and was the eldest child of Augustin De Gas, a banker, and Marie-Celestine Musson, an American from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her father, Germain Musson, had fled his home in Haiti in 1804 and made a small fortune in Louisiana cotton. As an adult, he changed the spelling of his surname to… Read the full story

Today we remember inspirational figure Nelson Mandela on what would have been his 106 birthday. Image: Nelson Mandela / Library of Congress Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, South Africa. He was given the name Rolihlahla, a Xhosa term meaning “troublemaker.” In his 20s, Mandela became actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. He spent 27 years of his life in prison after he was… Read the full story

Today we remember actor Donald Sutherland on what would have been his 89th birthday. Image: Donald Sutherland / Frantogian, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) Sutherland was born on July 17, 1935 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada to Dorothy Isobel McNichol and Frederick McLea Sutherland. As a young teen, Sutherland worked as a news correspondent for a local radio station. He studied engineering and drama at Victoria University before leaving for England to study drama… Read the full story

Do you have Norwegian ancestry? On this day in 1872, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was born in Borge, Østfold, Norway. Image: Roald Amundsen / National Library of Norway, Flickr Amundsen was born into a family of shipowners and captains and had a lifelong desire for polar exploration. One of the key figures of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, Amundsen was the first explorer to reach the South Pole. He gained invaluable knowledge for his journey… Read the full story

Happy birthday to musician Linda Ronstadt! Today the Grammy winner turns 78. Image: Linda Ronstadt / Nationaal Archief, CC0 Ronstadt was born on July 15, 1946 in Tucson, Arizona to Ruth Copeman and Gilbert Ronstadt, who came from a pioneering Arizona ranching family. Her paternal grandfather, Federico José Maria Ronstadt, was a successful local businessman and wagon maker. In 1991, the city of Tucson dedicated its central transit terminal to him for his early contribution… Read the full story

On this day in 1817, American essayist and poet Henry David Thoreau was born. Image: Henry David Thoreau / Library of Congress He was born David Henry Thoreau on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts to John Thoreau, a pencil maker, and Cynthia Dunbar. He was named after his recently deceased paternal uncle. It was not until after finishing school that he began to call himself “Henry David.” It was after college that he was… Read the full story

Do you remember reading Charlotte’s Web? On this day in 1899, author E.B. White was born in Mount Vernon, New York. Image: E.B. White / White Literary LLC, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) The youngest child of Samuel Tilly White and Jessie Hart White, Elwyn Brooks White was the couple’s sixth child. He hated the name “Elwyn” and spent most of his life going by the nickname “Andy.” His older brother, Stanley Hart White, was a professor… Read the full story

Today we celebrate the 168th 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 68. Image: Tom Hanks / U.S. Department of State, public domain Thomas Jeffery Hanks was born on July 9, 1956 in Concord, California. In 1960, his parents divorced and Hanks, along with his two oldest siblings, went to live with their father. His youngest brother stayed with their mother. Hanks got his big break when he was cast as the lead in the television sitcom Bosom Buddies…. Read the full story

Happy birthday to actor Kevin Bacon! Today the star turns 66. 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

Do you enjoy the circus? On this day in 1810, showman P.T. Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut. Image: P.T. Barnum / Library of Congress A successful promoter, Barnum made a name for himself promoting weird and odd curiosities. He founded the famous “Barnum & Bailey Circus” and toured the country with his band of performers. He was one of the first to move his circus by train. Named the “Greatest Show on Earth,” the Barnum &… Read the full story

On this day in 1883, author Franz Kafka was born in Prague in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Image: Franz Kafka / Wikimedia Commons The eldest of six children, Kafka grew up in a middle-class, German-speaking, Jewish family. His two younger brothers died in infancy, leaving him as the only son in the family. Though Kafka died several years before World War II, his three sisters would go on to perish during the Holocaust. Kafka showed an interest in writing at an early… 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, 1897 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 63rd 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