Robert Reed Church was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi back in 1839 to Charles and Emmeline. His mother died when he was 12, so his father a Steamboat Captain took on along on adventures along the rivers leading to New Orleans. During this time, he worked as a steward and mess hall. He saved up enough money to buy a bar in Memphis which eventually he traded for a saloon and billiard room. By 1878-79 he had acquired considerable wealth, he moved his family outside of the city. Seizing on the opportunity he acquired commercial building, residential housing and bars as well as undeveloped land. In 1906, Robert and two other partners established the Solvent Savings Bank serving as founding president. He served as an adviser to the Republican presidents in the 1920’s. What you may not kno... 06/19/2019

Sarah Childress was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee back in 1803 to Joel and Elizabeth. She was well educated attending the Moravians’ Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She met James at the home of Samuel P. Black, he was 19 she was 12. They were married in 1824.The marriage lasted for 25 years they had no children as James was sterile due to an earlier surgery. In 1849, the family moved to Nashville, Tennessee where three months later James died of cholera. After James died she lived in their home until her passing some 42 years later. She never remarried and as it was during those days she always wore black. What you may not know about Sarah Childress Polk is that her husband was James Polk, the 11th President of the United States. They were the only presidential couple ... 06/18/2019

Toussaint Charbonneau was born in Boucherville, Quebec back in 1767. For a time, he worked as a fur trapper with the North West Company. While living with the Hidatsa people he purchased a Shoshone girl. In 1804, he was hired by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for their expedition While on the journey his performance was a mix, Meriwether Lewis call him “a man of not peculiar merit”. He did however, make several contributions to the success of the expedition. He also served as a cook by making a sausage made for bison meat. He and his family stayed with the expedition until August of 1806. For his service he was paid $500.33, a horse and a lodge. In 1809, he moved his family to St. Louis where he left them in the care of William Clark, never to see them again. From 1811-1838 he worke... 06/10/2019

Richard Alva was born in Gibbon, Nebraska back in 1936 to Alva and Erabel. Both of his parents were teachers. When he was three the family moved to Lincoln. His mother died when he was 10. He completed his education at Lincoln High School. He worked as a caddie at the Lincoln Country Club before leaving for college.While attending Yale University in his senior year he changed his major from English to drama. After graduation, you could find him working as a copyboy at Time Magazine. He read about Jack Paar where he (Paar) was having difficulty in finding opening monologues. He wrote some jokes, put them in a Time envelope and went to the RCA Building, running into Paar he handed him the envelope. Within a few weeks he was hired as a talent coordinator.Needless to say, that set him on a ... 06/03/2019

Benjamin Hallowell was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts back in 1761, however there are no records to confirm his birth. Both of his parents were Loyalists, as such they fled to Halifax, Nova Scotia at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. In July of 1776, the family moved to England.He was educated in England joining the Royal Navy as a lieutenant in 1781. His naval career spanned the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the select group of officers referred by Lord Nelson as his “Band of Brothers”. What you may not know about Benjamin Hallowell Carew is that in 1798 he engaged with French flagship L’Orient playing a major role in the ships destruction. Taking parts of the ship and the mainmast he ordered a cof... 05/26/2019

John William Cann Jr., was born in Louisville, Kentucky back in 1920, to John Sr., and Ida Mae. His parents owned a movie theatre, so he grew up watching a lot of movies. When he was in high school the family moved to Southern California. He majored in drama and literature at Fullerton College.During WWII, he served as a fighter pilot, when he was discharged he had moved up the ranks to captain. He also served as a producer-director of the Armed Forces Radio Service. He estimated he played more than 7,500 roles during his radio career. While his main focus was radio he also was successful with movie and TV shows. He was the voice for the animated Rocky and Bullwinkle series from 1959-1964. In 1960, he directed episodes of The Rifleman Bat Masterson, Route 66 and others to name a few. He... 05/23/2019

Allan Brian was born in Hinsdale, Illinois back in 1931. When he was 13 he read an article in Life Magazine that would put him on a path that would change his life. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in 1953. He continued his education at Harvard Law School only to quit after one year. He was hired by Sylvania’s Applied Research Laboratory in Waltham. Massachusetts as a system analyst, he also worked as a tour guide for the Statue of Liberty. His invention has been published in several different languages in other nations by various publishers. Later on, he worked as a mail carrier.What you may not know about Allan Brian Calhamer is that he invented the board game Diplomacy. He invented two other board games that never caught hold. He died in 2013, he was 81.Y... 05/14/2019

Hamilton Perkins was born in Skiddy, Kansas back in 1874 to Perkins and Ella. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Kansas graduating with a PhD in 1903. After graduation, he became an assistant professor of chemistry.In 1917, he was appointed consulting chemist to the U.S. Bureau of Mines. In 1936, he developed a new method for the accurate measurement of gaseous densities. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society. He died in Lawrence, Kansas in 1943, he was 69.What you may not know about Hamilton Perkins Cady is that in 1907 along with David McFarland, discovered that helium could be extracted from natural gas. In 1933, he developed a process for usin... 05/12/2019

Sonya Butt was born in Eastchurch, Kent, England back in 1924. She was only 15 when WWII started, but as soon as she turned the legal age back then which was 17.5 years old she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force serving in the Administrative Branch. Women were banned from the front-line service, but that all changed when the SOE began recruiting females for agents. She joined the SOE (Special Operations Executive) group at age 19 in 1943. She underwent the usual training which I understand was brutal even for the men. In 1944, she as parachuted into France as a courier under the codename of “Blanche”, just nine days before the D-Day invasion. Shortly after the war she married Guy and moved to Canada without signing off from the SOE. What you may not know about Sonya Butt d’Artois, i... 05/08/2019

George Washington Bush was born in Pennsylvania back in 1779.  He was educated in Philadelphia working for a merchant named Stevenson for most of his life.  He fought under Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans.  He later worked as a fur trapper and then working for the Hudson Bay Company.In 1830, he moved to Missouri where he married Isabella.  Fourteen years later in 1844, he left Missouri heading west on the Oregon Trail.  Due to his experience as a fur trapper he was indispensable guide to the party.  His wife Isabella was also indispensable due to her training as a nurse. They settled in the southernmost tip of Puget Sounds in now what is Tumwater, Washington, it was there that he built the area’s first gristmill and sawmill in 1845.  When the Washington Te... 05/05/2019

William Bullock was born in Greenville, New York back in 1813, orphaned at an early age he was raised by his brother. He worked as a machinist and iron-founder. He acquired a lot of knowledge about mechanics. By the time he was 21, he was running his own machinery shop in Savannah, Georgia. His first invention was a shingle-cutting machine, but was unable to market it.He returned to New York where he invented a machine for a cotton and hay press, a seed planter and a lathe cutting machine. He also invented a grain drill which won him a prize from the Franklin Institute in 1849. Shortly thereafter he began working as an editor for The Banner of the Union Newspaper. One last invention in 1843 he invented the web rotary press, the press allowed for continuous large rolls of paper to be aut... 05/01/2019

Rebecca Ann Bryan was born in Winchester, Virginia back in 1739 to Joseph and Hester. When she was ten, the family moved to the Yadkin River Valley in North Carolina. In 1756, she married Daniel. The union produced six sons and four daughters.When she was in her early forties, considered an old woman at the time she adopted six other children of her brother. Without any formal education, she was reported to be an experienced community midwife, the family doctor, leather tanner, sharpshooter and linen-maker. When she was 40 in 1780 she gave birth to another son Nathan. After a brief illness she died in 1813, she was 74. What you may not know about Rebecca Ann (Bryan) Boone is that she married Daniel Boone the famous frontiersman. The WWII Liberty Ship SS Rebecca Boone was named in her ho... 04/29/2019

Robert R. Bruno Jr., was born in Los Angeles, California back in 1945 to Robert Sr., and Delores. His parents divorced when he was an infant, so he spent part of the year and in the United States and part of it in Mexico. He attended Dominican College in Racine, Wisconsin and did his graduate at the University of Notre Dame. It was while he was at Dominican College that he met and married Patricia.After graduation, he taught at Texas Tech University at the School of Architecture. While at Texas Tech he constructed the Steel House in 1973. It was 2,200 sw. ft. of steel using numerous pieces of scrap steel. It is still standing known as the Steel House at Ransom Canyon. He died in Lubbock, Texas in 2008 he was 63.What you may not know of Robert is that in 1982, he designed and created one... 04/23/2019

Mary Babnik was born in Pueblo, Colorado back in 1907 to Frank and Mary. She left elementary school when she was 12 to help support her family as a part-time domestic for $5.00 per week. A year later she lied about her age obtaining a job at the National Broom Factory which paid her $0.75 a day, she worked there for 42 years.She was well-known for being a dancer, beginning it in her early teens, winning her first dance contest at the age of 19. During WWII, she taught GIs how to dance. She married Carl around 1944. She died in 1991 at 83.What you may not know about Mary Babnik Brown is that she donated her hair to use for military aircraft bombsights. Her hair was 34 inches long and had never been cut. She never used an iron or washed her hair with nothing by “pure soap”, combing it twi... 04/20/2019

Andrew Betts was born in Edinburgh, Scotland back in 1841 to Robert and Marion. He attended the Edinburgh High School.   After graduation, he took evening classes at Watt College winning prizes in Physics and Dynamics before moving to Manchester for two years to study Sciences.He married Anna in 1869, they had four children. He purchased a brewery in Vauxhall a suburb of London in 1863 and converted it into the Vauxhall Iron Works. He died at his home in Edinburgh in 1906 he was 65.What you may not know about Andrew Betts Brown is that he invented the first hydraulic crane and overhead travelling crane. One of his cranes is still on display at the Albert Dock in Leith. He also invented the telemotor which was a mechanism allowing removal of most of the complex gears and chain between th... 04/19/2019

Rachel Fuller was born in Springfield, Massachusetts back in 1898 to George and Annie. The family moved to Missouri until she was 14 when her parents divorced, so Rachel and her mother moved back to Springfield. She graduated from Central High School. A fried was so impressed by her determination to attend college, she paid for Rachel to go to Mount Holyoke College.In 1920, she earned the B.A. in chemistry and history. In in26, she stared working at the Division of Laboratories and Research with the New York Department of Health. She helped develop a pneumonia vaccine that is still in sue to this day. Penicillin had been discovered in 1928, but one of the side effects would lead to sore mouths and upset stomachs. Other effects were attacking the central nervous system, athlete’s foot an... 04/16/2019

Hubert Cecil Booth was born in Gloucester, England back in 1871. Educated at Gloucester College. He went on to continue his education at Central Technical College in London in 1889. He completed the three-year course in civil engineering graduating in 1892. After graduation, he worked for Maudslay Sons & Field, in Lambeth.His assignment was to design bridges and large ferris wheels for amusement parks. He also worked on the design of engines for the Royal Navy battleships. What he is famous for was his creation of a device driven by an internal combustion engine, nicknamed the “Puffing Billy”. While the device he invented was too bulky to be brought into a building, its principles of operation are essentially the same as they are today. He received his patent for the device in 1901. He ... 03/27/2019

Nora Stanton Blatch was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England back in 1883 to William and Harriot. The family moved to the United States in 1902, where Nora attended Cornell University graduating in 1905 with a degree in civil engineering. After graduation, she worked for the New York City Board of Water Supply.In 1908, she married Lee and helped manage some of the companies he had founded. That marriage only lasted a year. In 1919, she married Morgan, she worked as a real-estate developer and political activist until her death in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1971.What you may not know about Nora Stanton Barney is that she was the first woman to graduate with an engineering degree in the United States. she was also the first female member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.Until ... 03/22/2019

Thomas Edward was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin back in 1902. His mother died when he was 11 months old, so his dad left with in the care of relatives in Hibbing, Minnesota.   He finally ended up in Washburn, Wisconsin graduating from Washburn’s St. Louis Catholic School. After graduation, he left Washburn embarking on a nomadic lifestyle.By 1921, he was living in Santa Monica, California supporting himself as a lifeguard. In 1924, he moved to Hawaii, he would travel from Hawaii to the mainland for the remainder of his life. While in Hawaii he took up surfboarding. In 1936, he set a milestone that still stands. He rode his surfboard for 4,500 feet, the longest recorded surf ride in history.What you may not know about Thomas Edward “Tom” Blake is that he was the first to construct a hollo... 03/17/2019

Anna Sutherland was born in River John, Nova Scotia back in 1846 to William and Eleanor. When she was a child the family moved to De Pere, Wisconsin. By the time she was 16 you could find her working as a school teacher. She married Melville at 19, that union produced 5 offspring.After the marriage, the couple opened up a crockery and china business. She complained to her husband about all of dust etc., so he invented something that is still in use to this day. Melville died in 1889, so she took over the business. She was a charter member of the Ladies Literary Club, a life member of the Women’s City Club and several other clubs. On November 8, 1934, she died in Grand Rapids, Michigan at 87.What you may not know about Anna is that because of complaining to her husband Melville Reuben Bi... 03/11/2019