# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MLA - Michals, Debra. "Ruby Bridges." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2015. Date accessed.

Chicago - Michals, Debra. "Ruby Bridges." National Women's History Museum." 2015. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ruby-bridges.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Trailblazer Ruby Bridges was only six when she advanced the cause of civil rights in November 1960 when she became the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the South. Learn more about her on womenshistory.org.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ruby Bridges (born September 8, 1954, Tylertown, Mississippi, U.S.) American activist who became a symbol of the civil rights movement and who was, at age six, the youngest of a group of African American students to integrate schools in the American South.

Bridges was the eldest of eight children, born into poverty in the state of Mississippi. When she was four years old, her family moved to New Orleans. Two years later a test was given to the city's African American schoolchildren to determine which students could enter all-white schools. Bridges passed the test and was selected for enrollment at the city's William Frantz Elementary School. Her father was initially opposed to her attending an all-white school, but Bridges's mother convinced him to let Bridges enroll.

Of the six African American students designated to integrate the school, Bridges was the only one to enroll. On November 14, 1960, her first day, she was escorted to school by four federal marshals. Bridges spent the entire day in the principal's office as irate parents marched into the school to remove their children. On Bridges's second day, Barbara Henry, a young teacher from Boston, began to teach her. The two worked together in an otherwise vacant classroom for an entire year. Every day as the marshals escorted Bridges to school, they urged her to keep her eyes forward so that-though she could hear the insults and threats of the angry crowd- she would not have to see the racist remarks scrawled across signs or the livid faces of the protesters. Bridges's main confidants during this period were her teacher and Robert Coles, a renowned child psychologist who studied the reaction of young children toward extreme stress or crisis. Toward the end of the year, the crowds began to thin, and by the following year the school had enrolled several more Black students.

Bridges's bravery inspired the Norman Rockwell painting The Problem We All Live With (1963), which depicts the young Bridges walking to school between two sets of marshals, a racial epithet marking the wall behind them. Her story was also recounted in Coles's children's book The Story of Ruby Bridges (1995), which has his conversations with her as its foundation. In 1993 she began working as a parent liaison at Frantz, which had by that time become an all-Black school. Bridges also spoke about her youthful experiences to a variety of groups around the country. Her memoir, Through My Eyes, was released in 1999, the same year that she established the Ruby Bridges Foundation, which used educational initiatives to promote tolerance and unity among schoolchildren. In 2009 she published the children's book Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ruby Bridges | Biography, Books, Accomplishments, & Facts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Ruby Bridges, American activist who became a symbol of the civil rights movement and who was, at age six, the youngest of a group of African American students to integrate schools in the American South. Learn more about Bridges's life and accomplishments in this article.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges on activism in the modern era

# data[].attributes.body
This amazing biography on Harriet Hubman is good for people learning about them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MLA - Michals, Debra. "Harriet Tubman." National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2015. Date accessed.

Chicago - Michals, Debra. "Harriet Tubman." National Women's History Museum. 2015. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-tubman.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Known as the "Moses of her people," Harriet Tubman was enslaved, escaped, and helped others gain their freedom as a "conductor" of the Underground Railroad. Discover more about her on womenshistory.org.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Now that everyone caught their breath after the longest Women's College World Series on record, it's time to sit back and celebrate the best and brightest of the 2021 season. We'll hand out a slew of D1Softball awards in the coming days, leading up to the reveal of the first D1Softball Nine - the most exclusive club in college softball.

Pitcher of the Year: Montana Fouts, Alabama

A little more than a month into the 2021 season, it wasn't entirely[...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Now that everyone caught their breath after the longest Women's College World Series on record, it's time to sit back and celebrate the best and brightest of the 2021 season. We'll hand out a slew of D1Softball awards in the coming days, leading up to the reveal of the first D1Softball Nine - the most exclusive club in college softball.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.getepic.com/app/read/75460

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The official website of the Anne Frank House, with the most complete and up-to-date information about Anne Frank, her diary, and the Secret Annex. Visit our museum and read more about our educational activities across the world.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.getepic.com/app/read/75454

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Instantly access Sacagawea Part 1 plus over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Explore Harriet Tubman's childhood, life, cause, and work in a way that facilitates further exploration of America’s history

AGES

AR LEVEL

READ TIME

LEXILE© MEASURE

5-7

3.5

15-30 mins

NC760L

PAGES

LANGUAGE

PUBLISHER

ISBN

22

English

Gareth Stevens provided by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc

9781538209264

Similar Books

Popular on Epic

WHAT IS EPIC

The Leading Digital Reading Platform for Kids

Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world’s best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Instantly access Harriet Tubman plus over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.getepic.com/app/read/75455

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.
Selected bibliography
Adams, Russell, Great Negroes Past and Present, pp. 106-107. Chicago, Afro-Am Publishing Co., 1963.

Bennett, Lerone, Jr., What Manner of Man: A Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Chicago, Johnson, 1964.

I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King in Text and Pictures. New York, Time Life Books, 1968.

King, Martin Luther, Jr., The Measure of a Man. Philadelphia. The Christian Education Press, 1959. Two devotional addresses.

King, Martin Luther, Jr., Strength to Love. New York, Harper & Row, 1963. Sixteen sermons and one essay entitled "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence."

King, Martin Luther, Jr., Stride toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. New York, Harper, 1958.

King, Martin Luther, Jr., The Trumpet of Conscience. New York, Harper & Row, 1968.

King, Martin Luther, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? New York, Harper & Row, 1967.

King, Martin Luther, Jr., Why We Can't Wait. New York, Harper & Row, 1963.

"Man of the Year", Time, 83 (January 3, 1964) 13-16; 25-27.

"Martin Luther King, Jr.", in Current Biography Yearbook 1965, ed. by Charles Moritz, pp. 220-223. New York, H.W. Wilson.

Reddick, Lawrence D., Crusader without Violence: A Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York, Harper, 1959.

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished inNobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

* Note from Nobelprize.org: This biography uses the word "Negro". Even though this word today is considered inappropriate, the biography is published in its original version in view of keeping it as a historical document.

To cite this section
MLA style: Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Sun. 3 Dec 2023. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/>

Back to top

See them all presented here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Nobel Peace Prize 1964 was awarded to Martin Luther King Jr. "for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Harriet Tubman, née Araminta Ross, (born c. 1820, Dorchester county, Maryland, U.S.-died March 10, 1913, Auburn, New York), American bondwoman who escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War. She led dozens of enslaved people to freedom in the North along the route of the Underground Railroad-an elaborate secret network of safe houses organized for that purpose.

Born into slavery, Araminta Ross later adopted her mother's first name, Harriet. At about age five she was first hired out to work, initially serving as a nursemaid and later as a field hand, a cook, and a woodcutter. When she was about 12 years old she reportedly refused to help an overseer punish another enslaved person, and she suffered a severe head injury when he threw an iron weight that accidentally struck her; she subsequently suffered seizures throughout her life. About 1844 she married John Tubman, a free Black man.

In 1849, on the strength of rumours that she was about to be sold, Tubman fled to Philadelphia, leaving behind her husband (who refused to leave), parents, and siblings. In December 1850 she made her way to Baltimore, Maryland, whence she led her sister and two children to freedom. That journey was the first of some 13 increasingly dangerous forays into Maryland in which, over the next decade, she conducted about 70 fugitive enslaved people along the Underground Railroad to Canada.(Owing to exaggerated figures in Sara Bradford's 1868 biography of Tubman, it was long held that Tubman had made about 19 journeys into Maryland and guided upward of 300 people out of enslavement.) Tubman displayed extraordinary courage, persistence, and iron discipline, which she enforced upon her charges. If anyone decided to turn back-thereby endangering the mission-she reportedly threatened them with a gun and said, "You'll be free or die." She also was inventive, devising various strategies to better ensure success. One such example was escaping on Saturday nights, since it would not appear in newspapers until Monday. The railroad's most famous conductor, Tubman became known as the "Moses of her people." It has been said that she never lost a fugitive she was leading to freedom.

Rewards were offered by slaveholders for Tubman's capture, while Abolitionists celebrated her courage. John Brown, who consulted her about his own plans to organize an antislavery raid of a federal armoury in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now in West Virginia), referred to her as "General" Tubman. About 1858 she bought a small farm near Auburn, New York, where she placed her aged parents (she had brought them out of Maryland in June 1857) and herself lived thereafter. From 1862 to 1865 she served as a scout, as well as nurse and laundress, for Union forces in South Carolina during the Civil War. For the Second Carolina Volunteers, under the command of Col. James Montgomery, Tubman spied on Confederate territory. When she returned with information about the locations of warehouses and ammunition, Montgomery's troops were able to make carefully planned attacks. For her wartime service Tubman was paid so little that she had to support herself by selling homemade baked goods.

After the Civil War Tubman settled in Auburn and began taking in orphans and the elderly, a practice that eventuated in the Harriet Tubman Home for Indigent Aged Negroes. The home later attracted the support of former abolitionist comrades and the citizens of Auburn, and it continued in existence for some years after her death. Tubman also became involved in various other causes, including women's suffrage. In the late 1860s and again in the late '90s she applied for a federal pension for her work during the Civil War. Some 30 years after her service a private bill providing for $20 monthly was passed by Congress.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Harriet Tubman | Biography, Facts, & Underground Railroad

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Harriet Tubman, American bondwoman who escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War. She led dozens of enslaved people to freedom in the North along the route of the Underground Railroad. Learn more about Tubman's life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
softball east carter height alabama high school twitter sports illustrated video alabama homecoming queen sports

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Steve Irwin - The Crocodile Hunter - Australia Zoo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Steve Irwin - The Crocodile Hunter! Learn more about Steve, his passion for wildlife and Australia Zoo, along with his earlier years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
how did milton hershey die - Google Search

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Though Betty White was a charming actor with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, her lifelong love of animals was no act.

In the introduction to her 2011 book " Betty & Friends," she wrote that both her mother and father "were genuine animal nuts, and I am eternally grateful that they have passed much of that passion on to me."

Fueled by that passion, White helped countless animals in myriad ways throughout her life.

As a child, she helped care for pets her parents took in when their former owners could no longer care for them, particularly with the hardships of the Great Depression. Naturally curious, she also loved learning about animals from around the world on visits to zoos.

That love only seems to have deepened over the years. She created the 1970s TV series "The Pet Set" (re-released in 2021 as " Betty White's Pet Set") and began each episode by introducing a pet - then their celebrity owner.

Guests included Mary Tyler Moore, Della Reese, Burt Reynolds and Carol Burnett, as well as animal trainer Ralph Helfer, who introduced leopards, elephants and other endangered species who'd been "affection trained" - rather than whipped or otherwise punished. (One clip showed White lovingly brushing a 500-pound lion's mane in between kisses.)

She's also personally supported numerous animal-related nonprofits throughout her prolific career, from donations and volunteering to fundraising and recording public service announcements.

So, in honor of White's 100th birthday, animal advocates of all stripes are singing her praises and wishing her well.

"In addition to her legendary status as an actress, comedian, and producer, Betty White has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to helping animals in need, including dedicated support for local shelters and animal welfare endeavors, fiercely promoting and protecting animal interests in her entertainment projects, and personally adopting many rescued animals," Matt Bershadker, ASPCA president and CEO, told TODAY in an email.

Because of her ongoing interest in wildlife conservation and education, White served on the board of trustees at the nonprofit Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association ( GLAZA) since 1974, but was involved as a volunteer since the Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens opened in 1966.

The zoo is renowned for offering quality habitats and enrichment to animals, and White is a big reason for that, according to Tom Jacobson, president of GLAZA.

"The chimpanzee habitat - Jane Goodall advised us in the construction of that - and the gorilla habitat are really the result of her advocating for those animals and helping us get the money to build those," he told TODAY. "And she also had a really important voice with the creation of our elephant habitat and the expansion of that. As a result, in 2013, the Los Angeles chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers made her an honorary zookeeper."

White, who was also the 2009 Recipient of the Jane Goodall Institute Global Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement, was gracious to fans when she visited the L.A. Zoo, and conscientious about making sure her presence didn't stress the animals or inconvenience the keepers, he noted.

She once arrived with the trunk of her car filled with empty toilet paper tubes she'd been saving, since she knew the zoo needed them to stuff with food for enrichment games for the animals.

Whenever White came for a zoo tour with a docent, she requested two special stops: to see Elka, an orangutan named for her character on "Hot in Cleveland" (thanks to a gift in her honor by TV Land), and the Australia section, where there's a plaque dedicated to her late husband, Allen Ludden.

"She always makes sure the plaque looks good, dusts it off if it needs it," Jacobson said. "Then she'll stay and speak a few words to Allen. That just grabs my heart that she does that. She does it every time she comes."

White had also been extremely active with Morris Animal Foundation, a nonprofit that invests in science to advance animal health. She served for 50 years as a Trustee, Trustee Emeritus and President Emeritus, and personally sponsored more than 30 health studies that improved health for dogs, cats, horses and wildlife, according to Tiffany Grunert, president and CEO of Morris Animal Foundation.

In 2010, the organization created the Betty White Wildlife Rapid Response Fund with a gift from Betty following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, an ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The fund supported studies on the spill's impact on bottlenose dolphins.

"Betty was a pioneer in recognizing the need for this type of emergency funding for animal health," Grunert told TODAY in an email.

The fund, now called the Betty White Wildlife Fund, continues to fund research and address wildlife disasters, she added. For instance, in 2020, the fund provided $1 million to support the rescue, rehabilitation and release of animals after the devastating wildfires in Australia.

"Betty White has been an unparalleled force in making the world a better place for all animals, committing her life to improving their health and well-being," she said.

White also helped make the world a better place for people assisted by animals and was a strong supporter of guide dogs. She co-authored two books about guide dogs with her friend Tom Sullivan, who lost his sight as an infant. When Sullivan's retired guide dog, Dinah, felt depressed by the arrival of his new dog, White adopted Dinah and they shared "over five glorious years together," Sullivan wrote in the author's note to " Together."

In 2005, the "Golden Girls" star also adopted a "career change" dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind, an international guide dog school with campuses in California and Oregon. Pontiac, a golden retriever, didn't quite have the focus to be a guide dog because he wanted to greet every person he saw on the street. But that friendliness was a perfect match as a pet for Betty White.

"Golden retrievers are really extroverts - they love people. They just can't get enough of saying hello to folks. And Betty is like that: she genuinely loves people," Christine Benninger, CEO and president of Guide Dogs for the Blind, told TODAY. "She's the human version of the golden retriever."

Betty supported Guide Dogs for the Blind long before adopting Pontiac; she made "very generous gifts" each year since 1986, attended events, written personal notes for direct mail campaigns, and recorded two public service announcements, according to Benninger.

"I have the utmost respect for her. She's one of the few people I've met in this world who truly comes from a place of love in all things that she does," she said.

Across the country in New Jersey, Betty was a friend to The Seeing Eye, the oldest guide dog school in America. One unusual form of support was offering a very popular bidding item for the group's annual fundraising auction: dinner with White herself.

"All of us at The Seeing Eye mourn the passing of our friend, Betty White," the organization told TODAY.com in a statement. "Betty was not just a supporter of The Seeing Eye, but an advocate for the right of people who use guide dogs to have equal access to restaurants, hotels, and transportation. She loved our dogs and they loved her."

Because of Betty White's affinity for guide dogs and their handlers, for several years she presented the award to the winner of the Guide Dog category in the American Humane Hero Dog Awards. American Humane, established in 1877, works to ensure the safety, welfare and well-being of animals with a variety of initiatives, including the " No Animals Were Harmed " program to protect animal actors in movies, TV shows and commercials.

"She's been involved with American Humane for over 70 years - that's nearly half of our 145-year existence," Robin Ganzert, CEO and president of American Humane, told TODAY. "That makes her the longest living supporter of American Humane in our history."

White served in various capacities, such as a volunteer, donor and member of the board of directors. She twice chaired the nonprofit's Be Kind to Animals Week, which teaches children around the country how to have compassion and live a life of empathy for all living creatures, Ganzert said.

In 2012, American Humane honored Betty White with the National Humanitarian Medal and the Legacy Award.

"We honored Betty with our highest award for what we termed her outstanding, unparalleled contribution over the course of her remarkable life, and in spreading understanding, empathy, kindness and humane treatment for all living creatures," Ganzert said. "That is, in a nutshell, what utterly defines the incredible Betty White."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
One of Betty White's greatest legacies is helping animals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Though Betty White was a charming actor with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, her lifelong love of animals was no act. In the introduction to her 2011 book " Betty & Friends," she wrote that both her mother and father "were genuine animal nuts, and I am eternally grateful that they have passed much of that passion on to me."

# data[].attributes.body
WOW

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
No. 8 Kentucky Batters No. 3 Alabama to Avoid Series Sweep

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After stymying No. 8 Kentucky's stacked lineup for back-to-back wins earlier this weekend, No. 3 Alabama softball was unable to hold off the Wildcats again on Sunday to secure a weekend sweep. Kentucky battered Alabama starting pitcher Montana Fouts, tagging her for six hits and five earned runs over 2⅓ innings to beat the Crimson Tide ##-## inside Rhoads Stadium.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Betty White holds a Fennec fox at the Wildlife Learning Center in 2018 in Sylmar, Calif. (Kiersten Mikelas)

LOS ANGELES - When the Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar, Calif., outside Los Angeles, received two baby porcupines, it immediately named the female after one of its most ardent patrons: Betty White. "Then we said, 'Betty, we thought you might enjoy naming the male,' " says the center's owner and director, David Riherd.

White chose Allen, after her late husband, Allen Ludden, who famously hosted the game show "Password" and who died in 1981 at 63 of stomach cancer. Every time White, who died on Dec. 31 at 99, would visit, which was usually two or three times a year - or when the center would bring animals to her - she'd spend time with Betty and Allen, feeding the docile animals carrots and carefully petting them along the grain of their quills. They'd been rescued as part of a program the center participates in to save the species from extinction. The center also takes in injured animals and exotic (and often illegal) pets who've been abandoned by or confiscated from their owners.

Betty and Allen have now been happily together for 10 years, and Betty has given birth many times. Betty the human never remarried and never had children, but she'd often delight in hearing that her porcupine namesake had another baby - and met many of them.

Jan. 17 marks what would have been her 100th birthday. The Wildlife Learning Center is just one of many animal shelters around the country that will be benefiting from what fans have dubbed "The Betty White Challenge." White was an avowed animal lover, an advocate for guide dogs, a long-standing board member for the L.A. Zoo, and a recipient of American Humane's highest honor, the National Humanitarian Medal and the Legacy Award. So to honor her on her birthday, people across the Internet are calling for others to pick a local shelter or rescue and donate at least $5. Many have said they'll volunteer at a shelter as well. All over Instagram, one can find photos of brand new white kittens and puppies who've been named - what else? - "Betty White."

Riherd says they'd already received donations marked "in memory of Betty White," on the night she died. This was before the challenge even started.

White herself was a donor to the center, a small nonprofit, contributing to its operating costs and paying to equip their one-room clinic, which means Riherd's wife, a zoo veterinarian, can treat the animals without adding the expense of transport or the stress of taking an animal to an outside facility.

The L.A. Zoo also has been flooded with gifts since the day she died, according to Tom Jacobson, president of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association.

Throughout White's childhood, her parents would take her backpacking deep in the Sierra Nevadas, back when few people did that and few trails were cut, allowing her, an only child, to essentially grow up in nature. White called her parents "genuine animal nuts" in her 2011 memoir, " Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo." Her parents often took in stray animals whose owners couldn't care for them, particularly during the Great Depression. "We wound up with 26 dogs once," she told People magazine in 1999.

Her relationship with the center began 15 years ago when she first visited to shoot scenes from a movie there. (Riherd can't remember which one, but does remember White was holding a Fennec fox.) Every time she'd come, she'd meet up with an array of animal friends, many of whom she'd met before, since the center often has to care for the animals their entire lives. "She was just glad to see them again, like seeing friends again, you know?" says Riherd. "It never got old."

She'd cuddle them, hold them to her cheek, talk to them softly. What struck Riherd was how fearless she was, how unafraid of being hurt or bitten, and "just how much she truly adores animals," he says. "A lot of animal lovers, they like the cute, furry, fluffy animals. She loves everything. Every single creature you brought out for her to meet, she loved it as much as any of the other ones."

She memorably kissed a lizard, says Riherd, which he thinks is illustrative, because people are constantly flocking to the center to see two-toed sloths, while the lizards go forlorn and forgotten. But not by White. She got excited about hawks, owls, lizards, frogs, and even tarantulas.

As White told Entertainment Tonight in 2015, "I just like animals better than people. It's that simple."

There are also photographs of her cradling a boa constrictor at the L.A. Zoo, which she started frequenting when it opened in 1966, then became member of the board of trustees in 1974. Her first act was to do a TV special with her friends from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," which greatly raised awareness about the zoo in Los Angeles. Every time she'd come, says Jacobson, she'd travel around the zoo on a tour with a docent, making two stops every time. One was to Allen Ludden Plaza, where she would go to the plaque with his name on it, dust it off, kneel down and say a few quiet words to him. And then she'd always say hi to Elka, the orangutan who's named after White's character, Elka Ostrovsky, in "Hot in Cleveland." Like Betty and Allen the porcupines, Elka is thriving and turning 10.

Goodbye to Betty White, popular culture's beloved (and saucy) great-grandma

In 2006, White was honored as the City of Los Angeles' "Ambassador to the Animals" for her lifelong work for animal welfare. She was later named an honorary zookeeper by the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. She also started numerous charities, including a fund that does research on wildlife disasters, like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and 2020′s wildfires in Australia. She quietly paid for a plane to rescue penguins and sea otters who needed to be relocated from New Orleans's zoo and aquarium during Hurricane Katrina.

Every year up until covid, she'd go to the L.A. Zoo's annual Beastly Ball, where patrons dine throughout the zoo and get up to see animals between courses. She loved big snakes. She loved large animals. "And she was comfortable being close to them and they understood that and they felt it and then they were comfortable with her and very gentle, as she was with them," says Jacobson.

White herself had a pet golden retriever named Pontiac who died in 2017. White declined to get a new pet because she didn't "want to leave them behind," her executive personal assistant told People.

At some point, the zoo had an elderly elephant named Gita that would take a walk with a docent through the zoo before the public arrived, as part of the enrichment of her life. White would come and walk alongside Gita on many of those constitutionals. She also advocated tirelessly and spearheaded fundraising for new, larger habitats to be built for the gorillas and elephants.

For years, bar patrons bought beers for Betty White hoping she'd come claim them. The funds are now going to animal charity.

One time, many years ago, the zoo's photographer came around dawn to photograph a new baby camel who had just been born, says Jacobson. He was surprised to find White already there, dressed elegantly and watching over the mother camel and new baby. "And Betty said, 'You know, I've got a meeting but I'm not going to go until I know that the baby camel can stand up and start nursing,'"says Jacobson.She stayed for several more hours.

"Her loss leaves a great hole in our hearts. The L.A. Zoo cannot thank Betty enough for her decades of support, and we share in this grief with all of you. There truly will never be another person like her," Denise M. Verret, the CEO and director of the Los Angeles Zoo, said in a statement.

The Wildlife Learning Center brought White's animal friends to her when she appeared on talk shows, and on her birthday, even once to the set of "Hot in Cleveland." For her 99th birthday, with the help of White's assistant, they surprised her outside her house and set the animals in her lap. The whole gang was there: the porcupines, a Fennec fox, a monkey. They also brought a spectacular, huge eagle owl, which White had never seen.

For her 100th birthday, they were planning to bring"a really special animal to her that we hadn't before, like maybe an eagle," Riherd said.

The L.A. Zoo had already been planning a 100th birthday celebration for White to attend, and is going through with much of it. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is attending. There will be a garden made of silk roses, after her character, Rose, on "The Golden Girls," in Allen Ludden Plaza, where people can come and write messages to Betty. They're also inaugurating a Betty White walking tour of her favorite spots in the zoo, which will also be available for people to participate in online. (The zoo later reported that on Monday, White's birthday, it took in $70,389 through 1,731 donations.)

White remained on the Zoo's board until she died. "She was very well educated about what was appropriate for animals and what was going to support saving species from extinction," Jacobson says. "So her example is something we really want to honor. And that's part of her legacy."

This story has been updated.

Obituary: Betty White, one of the most endearing and enduring faces on television, dies at 99

You know Betty White was beloved, but do you know why? Here are 7 clips to catch you up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Betty White adored animals, so shelters and zoos are celebrating her 100th birthday

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LOS ANGELES - When the Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar, Calif., outside Los Angeles, received two baby porcupines, it immediately named the female after one of its most ardent patrons: Betty White. "Then we said, 'Betty, we thought you might enjoy naming the male,' " says the center's owner and director, David Riherd.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Steve Irwin | Biography, Death, Son, Daughter, Wife, & Facts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Steve Irwin, in full Stephen Robert Irwin, (born February 22, 1962, Essendon, Victoria, Australia—died September 4, 2006, off the coast of Port Douglas, Queensland), Australian wildlife conservationist, television personality, and educator who achieved worldwide fame as the exuberant host of The Cr…

# data[].attributes.body
PRIMARY SOURCE - INTERVIEW Q& A BELOW

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most of us know Betty White as the actress from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Golden Girls" or as the resurgent nonagenarian who starred in The Proposal with Sandra Bullock, hosted "Saturday Night Live" after a massive Facebook campaign and took a lead role in the sitcom "Hot in Cleveland."

But what about Betty White the animal lover?

For nearly 40 years, White has served as a trustee of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. She is a devoted advocate of the work that zoos do, educating the public and helping to conserve endangered species in the wild. Her latest book, Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo, is a polished scrapbook of her favorite animals, with photographs and anecdotes.

The Smithsonian Associates is hosting an evening with White this Thursday at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium. On Friday, she has made plans to tour the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
What is your earliest memory of feeling some sort of kinship toward an animal?
Oh, it is so embedded in me. The first time must have happened long before my memory started. Both my mother and father were tremendous animal lovers. They imbued in me the fact that, to me, there isn't an animal on the planet that I don't find fascinating and want to learn more about.
Before wanting to be an actress, it was your dream to be either a forest ranger or a zookeeper.
Right. A couple of years ago, the Forest Service made me an honorary forest ranger. Back when I started, girls couldn't be forest rangers. But now they made me an honorary one, made it very official, and I was deeply honored. As far as a zookeeper, I have been such a zoo nut all my life that I am practically a zookeeper!
That's right. At the Los Angeles Zoo, you have spent a fair amount of time behind the scenes. What has been the most special moment to witness?
There have been quite a few in all of those years, but I think probably watching a baby camel try to stand up. I spent two hours watching while this baby, newly born, tried to get up. He would get one leg up and then he would get a second leg up. He would try the third leg, and the first two would fall down. He really had to work at it. I stood there and watched the whole time.

Just about the time he finally got all four legs under him, and you know how spraddle-legged they are when they first stand, not his mother, but it was like Aunt Maude, one of the adult camels, came over. As if to say, "Oh, what a beautiful baby," she touched him with her nose and splat! Down he went. He had to start all over again.
Betty, what animal has the best sense of humor?
Not so much the great apes, but monkeys. Elephants have a lovely sense of humor too. The Los Angeles Zoo had three tiger cubs that I followed for their whole first year. There is a pool in their habitat. They stalk each other. One would come very quietly and all of a sudden push his brother into the water. That was funny. That would make me laugh every time.
You are clearly a huge advocate of zoos. But some people aren't. What do you say to them?
So many people have a closed mind on zoos. They think no animal should be in captivity, they should all be in the wild in their own habitat. Well, of course, that is a myth. Humans have already taken their habitat; many species have no wild habitat anymore. So what the zoos do, that some of the "zoophobes" don't understand, is work not only with the captive animals but also with the dwindling populations in the wild. What they learn from the captive animals they can apply to the populations in the wild. In many cases, species are still around that would not be without zoos.
Your passion for animal welfare, on at least one occasion, has caused you to turn down a script and an acting role. Can you tell me about this?
It was the Jim Brooks' movie As Good As It Gets. They had this puppy dog, this adorable puppy, that at one point they dropped down a laundry chute. It landed on a pile of laundry in the story line, and I turned down the role. There are a lot of people in apartments who would think that was a solution. It would either be funny to do that or it would be a solution to a barking neighbor or something like that. It certainly wouldn't always have a happy ending. So I said as long as that scene was in the film, I wouldn't do it.
In terms of fan mail, you make it a priority to personally respond to fans that write about the loss of a pet. Why is that? And what advice do you give them?
Because I know how it hurts. If they write to me about that loss, I can't not respond, to give them a little word of comfort or sympathy or let them know I certainly understand. I answer pet loss mail and I answer mail from widows. They know I lost my beloved husband [game show host Allen Ludden, who died in 1981] and new widows write to me and say, how do you get through it? What do I do? I can't answer all the mail, of course, but those two subjects always get a response.
Dues for your official fan club, Bets' Pets, go toward animal charities. Has there ever been a huge gesture made by an avid fan of yours, with your interest in animals in mind?
Oh, many times. They will adopt an animal at the zoo or something like that, at great price, because they know it supports my interest and supports that animal species. It is the loveliest gift they can give. The crew on "Hot in Cleveland" adopted a baby orangutan at the Los Angeles Zoo in my name. They named it Elka, which is my character name on the series.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Most of us know Betty White as the actress from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Golden Girls" or as the resurgent nonagenarian who starred in The Proposal with Sandra Bullock, hosted "Saturday Night Live" after a massive Facebook campaign and took a lead role in the sitcom "Hot in Cleveland."

# data[].attributes.body
From a database

# data[].attributes.body
From a database

# data[].attributes.body
From a database

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
PRIMARY SOURCE!
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
Pay attention the middle section

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Affectionately called "R.B.G." by her supporters, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has inspired generations of women to break gender barriers. Even after facing gender discrimination as she pursued her academic goals, Ginsburg forged ahead and became the second woman--and first Jewish woman--to serve on the Supreme Court.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born on March 15, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. Born to a Jewish family, her father Nathan Bader immigrated to the United States, while her mother Celia Amster Bader was a native of New York. Ginsburg's family valued education and instilled in her a love of learning. She attended P.S. 238 for elementary school and James Madison High School in Brooklyn before continuing on to attend Cornell University. Ginsburg graduated from Cornell with a bachelor's degree in 1954, earning high honors in Government and distinction in all subjects. She was also the College of Arts and Sciences Class Marshal. That same year, she married Martin D. Ginsburg and the couple have two children together.

After graduating from Cornell, Ginsburg subsequently started attending Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, Ginsburg was one of only 9 women in a class of 500 students. She often faced gender discrimination and was asked to explain how she felt about taking a spot in the program instead of a man. Ginsburg and her female colleagues were called on in class for "comic relief" and they were even excluded from using certain sections of the library. Ginsburg transferred to Columbia Law School in 1958 for her final year. During her studies, she made both the Harvard and Columbia Law Review. Ginsburg graduated with her law degree from Columbia in 1959 at the top of her class. However, even with all of her academic accomplishments, it was hard for her to find employment after graduation. She explained, "In the fifties, the traditional law firms were just beginning to turn around on hiring Jews. ... But to be a woman, a Jew, and a mother to boot, that combination was a bit much." Ginsburg was able to land a position as a law clerk for the Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1959. She served in that office until 1961.

Following her clerkship, Ginsburg began working as a research associate for the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. After a year as a research associate, she became the associate director and continued in that position for a year. In 1963, Ginsburg began as a Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law and taught classes until 1972. She also became involved with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and she was central to the founding of their Women's Rights Project in 1971. Ginsburg returned to Columbia Law School in 1972, where she became the first woman hired to receive tenure. While teaching at Columbia, she also served as the general counsel for the ACLU from 1973-1980 and on the National Board of Directors from 1974-1980. During that time, she became a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977-1978.

Ginsburg was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter. She served there for thirteen years, prior to being nominated as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She accepted his nomination and took her seat as a Supreme Court Justice on August 10, 1993. She became the second woman, and first Jewish woman, to serve on the Supreme Court. During her tenure as a justice, Ginsburg has fiercely advocated for gender equality and women's rights. For example, she wrote the court's opinion in the United States v. Virginia case, ruling that qualified women could not be denied admission to the Virginia Military Institute. She was also a voice of dissent to the court's decision in the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. case, denying a woman's gender pay discrimination claim. Ginsburg subsequently worked with President Barack Obama in 2009 on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to combat pay disparities. At eighty-seven years old, Ginsburg continued to work for gender equality as a Supreme Court Justice.

Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020 due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Affectionately called "R.B.G." by her supporters, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has inspired generations of women to break gender barriers. Even after facing gender discrimination as she pursued her academic goals, Ginsburg forged ahead and became the second woman--and first Jewish woman--to serve on the Supreme Court.

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.body
database article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Steve Irwin Gala Dinner celebrates the life and legacy of the original Wildlife Warrior - Steve Irwin. Our goal is to continue to keep Steve's dream alive; to celebrate the life of the one and only Crocodile Hunter and to raise vital funds for Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors.

Brisbane | Los Angeles

Khaki is a symbol of Steve Irwin, the original Crocodile Hunter and Wildlife Warrior. At Australia Zoo and Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors - we continue the legacy of Conservation, Family and...
Read more

As wildlife warriors, we believe that every life is worth rescuing. We believe that anyone can be a Wildlife Warrior. We believe khaki is not just a colour - it's an attitude! We believe that...
Read more

Crikey, what a day! Explore photos from past Steve Irwin Day events.
Read more

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
steve irwin day november 15 khaki day crocodile hunter day australia zoo tributes message steve irwin day donations activities steve irwin day press releases wildlife warriors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Official Steve Irwin Day website, Steve Irwin Day, November 15, a day for remembering the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. The day will represent the many things Steve was passionate about. Get involved in a number of ways including, visiting Australia Zoo, fundraising or donning your khakis for Khaki Day.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
With a simple letter, American schoolgirl Samantha Smith sparked peace and friendship between two nations during one of the tensest periods in modern history.

"Now I am certain the Russians, like the Americans, do not want war," said Samantha Smith.

At 10 years old, American school girl Samantha Smith became a peace activist between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Her letter to the Soviet Union's General Secretary, Yuri Andropov, and subsequent visit to the USSR, altered the tense relationship between the two opposing countries.

Born on June 29, 1972 in a small town in Maine, Smith had an interest in international affairs from a young age. At the age of five, she wrote a letter of admiration to Queen Elizabeth II.

Five years later, she was named America's youngest Goodwill Ambassador.

The Letter Sent by Samantha Smith

In November 1982, Samantha Smith wrote a letter to Andropov in order to better understand the tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States.

"Actually, the whole thing started when I asked my mother if there is going to be a war," said Smith in her book, Journey to the Soviet Union.

Her mother showed her an article about the Cold War in the November 1982 Time magazine, of which Andropov graced the cover, and suggested that her daughter write to the leader.

Her letter read:

Dear Mr. Andropov,

My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congragulations [sic] on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and The United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer but I would like it if you would. Why do you want to conquer the world or at least our country? God made the world for us to share and take care of. Not to fight over or have one group of people own it all. Please lets [sic] do what he wanted and have every body be happy too.

Samantha Smith
Manchester, Maine U.S.A.
Box 44
04351

P.S. Please write back.

While her letter did not get a response right away, it was published in Pravda, a Soviet newspaper. Smith decided to write a second letter asking if Andropov intended to respond, this time addressed to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C. She received her response a little over a week later.

Andropov's Response

Andropov's response - in Russian, accompanied by an English translation - read:

Dear Samantha,

I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.

It seems to me - I can tell by your letter - that you are a courageous and honest girl, resembling Becky, the friend of Tom Sawyer in the famous book of your compatriot Mark Twain. This book is well known and loved in our country by all boys and girls.

You write that you are anxious about whether there will be a nuclear war between our two countries. And you ask are we doing anything so that war will not break out.

Your question is the most important of those that every thinking man can pose. I will reply to you seriously and honestly.

Yes, Samantha, we in the Soviet Union are trying to do everything so that there will not be war on Earth. This is what every Soviet man wants. This is what the great founder of our state, Vladimir Lenin, taught us.

Soviet people well know what a terrible thing war is. Forty-two years ago, Nazi Germany, which strove for supremacy over the whole world, attacked our country, burned and destroyed many thousands of our towns and villages, killed millions of Soviet men, women and children.

In that war, which ended with our victory, we were in alliance with the United States: together we fought for the liberation of many people from the Nazi invaders. I hope that you know about this from your history lessons in school. And today we want very much to live in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbors on this earth - with those far away and those nearby. And certainly with such a great country as the United States of America.

In America and in our country there are nuclear weapons - terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant. But we do not want them to be ever used. That's precisely why the Soviet Union solemnly declared throughout the entire world that never - never - will it use nuclear weapons first against any country. In general we propose to discontinue further production of them and to proceed to the abolition of all the stockpiles on Earth.

It seems to me that this is a sufficient answer to your second question: 'Why do you want to wage war against the whole world or at least the United States?' We want nothing of the kind. No one in our country-neither workers, peasants, writers nor doctors, neither grown-ups nor children, nor members of the government - want either a big or 'little' war.

We want peace - there is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samantha.

I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children's camp - 'Artek' - on the sea. And see for yourself: in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.

Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.

Y. Andropov

Samantha Smith's Advocacy and Accomplishments

Samantha Smith and her family took Andropov up on his invitation and departed for Moscow on July 7, 1983.

In the Soviet Union, she spent two weeks as Andropov's guest. Although the Soviet leader was too ill to meet with her during the trip, she met many Soviet children at the pioneer camp Artek, where she learned Russian songs and dances. Eschewing more privileged accommodations, Smith stayed in a dormitory with nine other girls, who were carefully selected for their English skills. One girl, a 13-year-old named Natasha, became fast friends with Smith.

At a press conference, Smith stated that the Russian people were "just like us."

After this trip, Smith was named a Goodwill Ambassador. The media attention from her tour of the USSR also made her face and advocacy well-known in both the United States and the Soviet Union.

<embed caption="Samantha Smith's press conference in Moscow during her July 1983 trip to the USSR."]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T4lZnGnY3A[/embed]

A few months later, in December 1983, Smith continued her peacemaking activities in Japan, where she met Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. She also attended the Children's International Symposium in Kobe, where she gave a speech.

"Maybe it's because I have traveled a lot and maybe it's because I've met so many wonderful people who look a little different from the way I look - maybe their skin, or their eyes, or their language is not like mine - but I can picture them becoming my best friends," she said.

During this speech, she also called for a program called the International Granddaughter Exchange in which political leaders in nations all across the globe would send their grandchildren to live with families of "opposite nations." By her logic, leaders wouldn't go to war with countries where their grandchildren have friends.

"If we start with an International Granddaughter Exchange and keep expanding it and expanding it, then the year 2001 can be the year when all of us can look around and see only friends, no opposite nations, no enemies, and no bombs," she said.

A year later, she hosted a special on the U.S. presidential election for the Disney Channel called Samantha Smith Goes to Washington...Campaign '84. On the special, she interviewed several candidates, including George McGovern and Jesse Jackson.

The Untimely Death of Samantha Smith

On August 25, 1985, Smith and her father were returning home to Maine after filming a segment for Lime Street, a show that she had just begun acting on. The Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 struck trees 4,000 feet short of the runway of the Lewiston-Auburn Regional Airport and crashed, killing everyone on board.

After investigating the crash, authorities found no evidence of foul play.

Samantha Smith's funeral was held in Augusta, Maine with a thousand people in attendance. She and her father were cremated, and their ashes were buried in Maine's Estabrook Cemetery in Maine.

At her funeral, the Soviet ambassador to the U.S. read a statement from Mikhail Gorbachev:

Everyone in the Soviet Union who has known Samantha Smith will forever remember the image of the American girl who, like millions of Soviet young men and women, dreamt about peace, and about friendship between the peoples of the United States and the Soviet Union.

Her television show, Lime Street, was canceled after her horrible death. But before the cancellation, the show's creator, Linda Bloodworth, vowed to dedicate every episode to Smith's memory. "If we do a hundred episodes that dedication will be seen for 20 years all over the world," she said. "That is our goal."

The Peacemaker's Legacy

Although her life was cut short, Samantha Smith's legacy has lived on long past her death.

In October of 1985, only a couple of months after the plane crash, Smith's mother established the Samantha Smith Foundation, which sponsored and organized summer exchanges for Soviet and American youth between the ages of 11 and 16. In 1990, the foundation brought a group of children from the Chernobyl fallout zone to the United States. It also organized an internship program in the U.S. targeted at young adults from the USSR.

Smith's legacy was so profound and the foundation was so successful that it brought on its own demise. As Soviet-American exchanges became part of mainstream culture and after relations between the two nations opened up, the foundation's programs dissolved.

Since then, Smith has been remembered in both Moscow and Maine with monuments depicting her peaceful and friendly spirit. The Soviet Union also issued stamps with Smith to commemorate her advocacy.

"I think her story is as relevant as ever," said Laurie LaBar, the chief curator of history and decorative arts for the Maine State Museum. "Particularly for people who may feel they don't have any influence, a story like this is refreshing. Because it shows you can make a difference, if you speak the truth."

Now that you've read the inspiring story of the young peacemaker Samantha Smith, read about these eight real-life heroes who saved the world. Then, read about Vasili Arkhipov, the Soviet submarine commander that prevented World War III.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How This 10-Year-Old Girl Broke Through The Iron Curtain In The 1980s

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Now I am certain the Russians, like the Americans, do not want war," said Samantha Smith. At 10 years old, American school girl Samantha Smith became a peace activist between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

# data[].attributes.body
Wait is this the same as womenshistory.org?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When Was Harriet Tubman Born?

Harriet Tubman was born around 1820 on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. Her parents, Harriet ("Rit") Green and Benjamin Ross, named her Araminta Ross and called her "Minty."

Rit worked as a cook in the plantation's "big house," and Benjamin was a timber worker. Araminta later changed her first name to Harriet in honor of her mother.

Harriet had eight brothers and sisters, but the realities of slavery eventually forced many of them apart, despite Rit's attempts to keep the family together. When Harriet was five years old, she was rented out as a nursemaid where she was whipped when the baby cried, leaving her with permanent emotional and physical scars.

Around age seven Harriet was rented out to a planter to set muskrat traps and was later rented out as a field hand. She later said she preferred physical plantation work to indoor domestic chores.

A Good Deed Gone Bad

Harriet's desire for justice became apparent at age 12 when she spotted an overseer about to throw a heavy weight at a fugitive. Harriet stepped between the enslaved person and the overseer-the weight struck her head.

She later said about the incident, "The weight broke my skull ... They carried me to the house all bleeding and fainting. I had no bed, no place to lie down on at all, and they laid me on the seat of the loom, and I stayed there all day and the next."

Harriet's good deed left her with headaches and narcolepsy the rest of her life, causing her to fall into a deep sleep at random. She also started having vivid dreams and hallucinations which she often claimed were religious visions (she was a staunch Christian). Her infirmity made her unattractive to potential slave buyers and renters.

Escape from Slavery

In 1840, Harriet's father was set free and Harriet learned that Rit's owner's last will had set Rit and her children, including Harriet, free. But Rit's new owner refused to recognize the will and kept Rit, Harriet and the rest of her children in bondage.

Around 1844, Harriet married John Tubman, a free Black man, and changed her last name from Ross to Tubman. The marriage was not good, and the knowledge that two of her brothers-Ben and Henry-were about to be sold provoked Harriet to plan an escape.

Harriet Tubman: Underground Railroad

On September 17, 1849, Harriet, Ben and Henry escaped their Maryland plantation. The brothers, however, changed their minds and went back. With the help of the Underground Railroad, Harriet persevered and traveled 90 miles north to Pennsylvania and freedom.

Tubman found work as a housekeeper in Philadelphia, but she wasn't satisfied living free on her own-she wanted freedom for her loved ones and friends, too.

She soon returned to the south to lead her niece and her niece's children to Philadelphia via the Underground Railroad. At one point, she tried to bring her husband John north, but he'd remarried and chose to stay in Maryland with his new wife.

Fugitive Slave Act

The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act allowed fugitive and freed workers in the north to be captured and enslaved. This made Harriet's role as an Underground Railroad conductor much harder and forced her to lead enslaved people further north to Canada, traveling at night, usually in the spring or fall when the days were shorter.

She carried a gun for both her own protection and to "encourage" her charges who might be having second thoughts. She often drugged babies and young children to prevent slave catchers from hearing their cries.

Over the next 10 years, Harriet befriended other abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett and Martha Coffin Wright, and established her own Underground Railroad network. It's widely reported she emancipated 300 enslaved people; however, those numbers may have been estimated and exaggerated by her biographer Sarah Bradford, since Harriet herself claimed the numbers were much lower.

Nevertheless, it's believed Harriet personally led at least 70 enslaved people to freedom, including her elderly parents, and instructed dozens of others on how to escape on their own. She claimed, "I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger."

Harriet Tubman's Civil War Service

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Harriet found new ways to fight slavery. She was recruited to assist fugitive enslaved people at Fort Monroe and worked as a nurse, cook and laundress. Harriet used her knowledge of herbal medicines to help treat sick soldiers and fugitive enslaved people.

In 1863, Harriet became head of an espionage and scout network for the Union Army. She provided crucial intelligence to Union commanders about Confederate Army supply routes and troops and helped liberate enslaved people to form Black Union regiments.

Though just over five feet tall, she was a force to be reckoned with, although it took over three decades for the government to recognize her military contributions and award her financially.

Harriet Tubman's Later Years

After the Civil War, Harriet settled with family and friends on land she owned in Auburn, New York. She married former enslaved man and Civil War veteran Nelson Davis in 1869 (her husband John had died 1867) and they adopted a little girl named Gertie a few years later.

Harriet had an open-door policy for anyone in need. She supported her philanthropy efforts by selling her home-grown produce, raising pigs and accepting donations and loans from friends. She remained illiterate yet toured parts of the northeast speaking on behalf of the women's suffrage movement and worked with noted suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony.

In 1896, Harriet purchased land adjacent to her home and opened the Harriet Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Colored People. The head injury she suffered in her youth continued to plague her and she endured brain surgery to help relieve her symptoms. But her health continued to deteriorate and eventually forced her to move into her namesake rest home in 1911.

Pneumonia took Harriet Tubman's life on March 10, 1913, but her legacy lives on. Schools and museums bear her name and her story has been revisited in books, movies and documentaries.

Harriet Tubman: $20 Bill

Tubman even had a World War II Liberty ship named after her, the SS Harriet Tubman.

In 2016, the United States Treasury announced that Harriet's image will replace that of former President and slaveowner Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (who served under President Trump) later announced the new bill would be delayed until at least 2026. In January 2021, President Biden's administration announced it would speed up the design process to mint the bills honoring Tubman's legacy.

Sources

Early Life. Harriet Tubman Historical Society.

General Tubman: Female Abolitionist was Also a Secret Military Weapon. Military Times.

Harriet Tubman Biography. Biography.

Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, Residence, and Thompson AME Zion Church. National Park Service.

Harriet Tubman Myths and Facts. Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman Portrait of An American Hero by Kate Clifford Larson, Ph.D.

Harriet Tubman. National Park Service.

Harriet Tubman. National Women's History Museum.

Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People. Harriet Tubman Historical Society.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad. National Park Service.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Harriet Tubman: Facts, Underground Railroad & Legacy | HISTORY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Harriet Tubman was an escaped enslaved woman who became a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, leading enslaved people to freedom before the Civil War. She was also a nurse, a Union spy and a women's suffrage supporter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Peer of Samantha Smith says her story inspired his life aspirations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A boy in the next town over and two years younger than Samantha was so captivated by her and the response to her message of peace that the trajectory of his life, too, was forever altered.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Located in downtown Washington, DC, the memorial honors Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy and the struggle for freedom, equality, and justice. A prominent leader in the modern civil rights movement, Dr. King was a tireless advocate for racial equality, working class, and the oppressed around the world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Located in downtown Washington, DC, the memorial honors Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy and the struggle for freedom, equality, and justice. A prominent leader in the modern civil rights movement, Dr. King was a tireless advocate for racial equality, working class, and the oppressed around the world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
bindi baby harambe australia croc grave the wiggles russell crowe transparent bob irwin

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We already have the breakthrough technologies needed to provide safe and affordable sanitation services to the billions of people who are at risk of waste-borne diseases. Building markets and attracting businesses to this emerging sector are the next big challenges.

By Doulaye Kone Deputy Director, Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Subscribe to The Optimist to get weekly updates on the latest in global health, gender equality, education, and more.

Subscribe to The Optimist to get weekly updates on the latest in global health, gender equality, education, and more.

Foundation facts

For the year ended December 31, 2022. Amount in U.S. dollars.

More about the foundation

For 20 years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been committed to fighting the greatest inequities in the world.

We are focused on results. Those that can be measured. And those measured in ways beyond numbers.

Learn about the origins of the foundation and the values that drive our work.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We are a nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
2022 Softball Roster

Biography

Accolades

2022

Has appeared in 18 games, including 11 starts

Made her first start of the season against Oregon State (Feb. 12), earning the complete-game win with 14 strikeouts and just one run allowed on three hits

Threw a complete-game shutout over No. 8 Virginia Tech (Feb. 18) with 11 strikeouts

Went 3-0 with a save over four appearances at the Mardi Gras Mambo (Feb. 25-27), throwing 17.0 shutout innings with 28 strikeouts

Went 4-0 over four appearances at the T-Mobile Crimson Classic (March 4-6), striking out 26 over 17.1 innings pitched

Struck out 10 in a complete-game win over LSU (March 13), allowing just one run, which was unearned

Posted her sixth double-digit strikeout performance of the season in game one against Kentucky (March 18)

2021

2020

Started eight games during the shortened season

Threw 7.0 innings in her season debut at Florida State (Feb. 7) allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits with seven strikeouts

Tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout over Penn State (Feb. 21), striking out 11 with no walks

2019

Prep Highlights

Personal Information

Born Montana Fouts on June 4, 2000

Daughter of Tim Fouts and Stephanie Williams

One brother, Cody, and two sisters, Madison Fouts and MaKayla Williams

Majoring in psychology

Related Content

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Has appeared in 18 games, including 11 starts Made her first start of the season against Oregon State (Feb. 12), earning the complete-game win with 14 strikeouts and just one run allowed on three hits Threw a complete-game shutout over No. 8 Virginia Tech (Feb.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In 1996, Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin-who is the subject of today's Google Doodle-came from seemingly out of nowhere to become one of the world's most famous television stars. The Crocodile Hunteraired its final episode on September 4, 2007, one year after Irwin was killed when a stingray pierced his chest during the filming of a documentary, Ocean's Deadliest. Yet Irwin's legacy has carried on, both through repeated viewings of his hit series and with the help of his family: wife Terri, daughter Bindi Sue, and son Bob. Here are 13 things you might not have known about The Crocodile Hunter.

Steve Irwin discovered his love of animals, and talent for handling them, at an early age. "My dad was a wildlife expert," Irwin told Larry King in 2004. "His field was herpetology, one who studies reptiles, and my mom was a wildlife rehabilitator." When Irwin was still a child, his family moved to Beerwah, near Queensland, Australia, to open the Beerwah Reptile Park in 1970. Steve spent his formative years helping to run the park, including feeding the animals, and eventually became its owner. It's still in operation, but is now called the Australia Zoo.

Though Steve Irwin was the indisputable star of The Crocodile Hunter, his family-including his wife, Terri-played an integral role in the series. Much like her husband, Terri discovered her love of animals at an early age. She was born in Eugene, Oregon, where her family ran a trucking business and her father would regularly bring home injured animals he'd come across on the road. In 1986, Terri opened Cougar Country, a facility that helped rehabilitate foxes, raccoons, bobcats, bears, and, of course, cougars and release them back into the wild.

In 1991, Terri took a trip to Australia and visited the Australia Zoo, where she first laid eyes on Steve during one of his crocodile shows. "I was absolutely floored," Terri told Barbara Walters in 2006. "That was it. This man was a real-life hero. I fell then and there, love at first sight, not a problem. I said to my friend, 'I got to meet this guy.'" The couple got engaged just four months later.

Appropriately, Steve and Terri spent their honeymoon traveling around Australia trapping crocodiles for relocation. Then they got a call "that there was a crocodile that needed help," Terri recounted to Scientific American. "We dropped our honeymoon, we went to north Queensland, and we helped this crocodile and filmed a documentary on the premise that the cameraman just chases Steve around. Steve hadn't been to acting school, he had no preconceived notions. His background was exactly what you see on television, he's done that all his life. We thought we'd do one show. What happened was, it did really well, so we did a part two. And from then on, we found that Steve's natural behavior in the wild happens to be fascinating!" Recognizing that Steve's enthusiasm would be a huge draw for audiences, Animal Planet picked up The Crocodile Hunter as a regular series.

When asked by Scientific American about what he attributed the show's immense popularity to, Irwin quipped, "Nothing to do with my looks, that's for sure! Yeah, I normally get a big croc out in the foreground of any filming." But he did have a real theory: "You know what I reckon it is? My belief is that what comes across on the television is a capture of my enthusiasm and my passion for wildlife. Since I was a boy, from this house, I was out rescuing crocodiles and snakes. My mum and dad were very passionate about that, and I was lucky enough to go along. The first crocodile I ever caught was at 9 years of age, and it was a rescue. So now what happens is the cameras follow me around and capture exactly what I've been doing since I was a boy. Only now we have a team of, you know, like 73 of us, and it's gone beyond that.

"As the audience, I want you to come with me, right? So we get cameras, every one of us, if we've got a four- or five-man film crew, including myself and Terri. Every one of us can use a camera. I have one in my green backpack that I pull out for the hardcore shots where you've gotta get right in there, so the camera's always right there, in there, while I'm doing my thing. So when I'm talking to the camera, I'm talking to you, in your living room."

Though The Crocodile Hunter was a huge hit in America as well as in Irwin's native Australia, its popularity reached far beyond those two countries. The series was seen, and beloved, by more than 500 million people in 130 countries around the world.

While many viewers tuned into The Crocodile Hunter to witness Irwin's zany antics while going head-to-head with some of the world's most feared creatures, Irwin's main goal was to educate the public about these animals and dispel the many myths surrounding them.

"I've always seen Jacques Cousteau as a hero," he said. "He's a legend, like my dad, just a legend. And so what he did for conservation in the '60s through the '70s was just phenomenal. And I want to be just like him, you know? I want to have a milestone, you know? I want to create history. So we've gone beyond the media that we're working with now, and we're taking the media, we're taking the 'Croc Hunter' message, we're taking conservation, and the greening of our planet to kids' toys, to shirts, you know, our shirts will be an advertisement of conservation. It's like we're taking it to the nth degree. In fact, we probably won't stop there either. If there's another medium where we can just get people excited about conservation we'll take it, we'll run with it."

The success of The Crocodile Hunter allowed Irwin to fulfill one of his lifelong dreams by expanding the Australia Zoo to include a "Crocoseum." The space gives visitors the chance to see how crocodiles behave in nature by housing them in clear water ponds. "Crocodiles use the murkiness of the water in their territory to camouflage from their prey," explains the zoo's website. "By using clear water, we can highlight for you the dangers that can be lurking just below the surface of a seemingly serene billabong."

It's only natural that some of Irwin's animal co-stars would make their reluctance to be put in front of the cameras known. "Steve Irwin's all pretty interesting on the telly or in the movie and that, but by crikey, it's great when he gets bitten," Irwin told ABC Australia. "Now and again I do get bitten ... And it's that, you know, that sense of morbidity that people do have. There's no use sticking your head in the sand and going, 'Oh, no, they're only here because, you know, I talk well.' Nah, man, they wanna see me come unglued."

In 2004, during a live show, Irwin caused a media stir when footage and photos of him emerged feeding a chicken carcass to a croc with one hand while holding his one-month-old son, Bob, in the other. Comparisons were quickly made to the time, two years earlier, that Michael Jackson had dangled his newborn son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony. But Irwin was quick to dismiss the allegations that he had put his child in harm's way. He claimed that the photo that surfaced was actually just taken at an amazingly great angle, which made it appear as if his son was much closer to the croc than he ever actually was.

"They were very lucky," Irwin told Larry King of the photographers who snapped the photo. "They, out of those three news crews, they showed it at the head and saw this stacked vision and they're like, wow, this is great stuff! Bam! That was it. It just went." When King asked whether Bob was ever in danger, Irwin said, "Not once, ever never. The funny thing is I've been doing it with Bindi for like five odd years and I would never endanger my children."

When King asked why Irwin had gone on the TODAY Show to apologize for the incident if Bob was never in danger, Irwin insisted that, "I was apologizing for scaring people. That was never my intention. My intention was strictly and only to show people, here's my little baby boy. I would never endanger my son as you wouldn't yours nor any good father."

Though Irwin wasn't afraid to face off against some of the world's most terrifying reptiles, he wasn't totally fearless when it came to animals. When asked if there was any type of animal that did frighten him, Irwin admitted that, "The only animals I'm not comfortable with are parrots, but I'm learning as I go. I'm getting better and better at 'em. I really am ... For some reason parrots have to bite me. That's their job. I don't know why that is. They've nearly torn my nose off. I've had some really bad parrot bites."

While on a fishing trip with his dad, Steve caught a turtle on his line that didn't look like any creature either Irwin had ever seen before. So they took some pictures and sent them off to herpetologist John Cann, who confirmed that the animal was a never-before-discovered species. In honor of its discoverers, Cann named the species Elseya irwini, or Irwin's snapping turtle. ( Baltimore's National Aquarium is the only place you can see one outside of Australia.)

You didn't have to watch much of The Crocodile Hunter to learn that Irwin was famous for shouting the phrase "Crikey!" In 2009, Dr. John Stanisic, a scientist at the Queensland Museum, discovered a new type of tree snail and named it crikey steveirwini. Stanisic told ABC Australia that the creature was "a colorful snail, with swirling bands of creamy yellow, orange-brown and chocolate giving the shell an overall khaki appearance" and that "It was the khaki color that immediately drew the connection to the late Crocodile Hunter." Crikey!

Whatever your opinion on the controversy that swirled around Steve feeding a crocodile while holding his infant son, one person who clearly wasn't frightened was Robert Irwin himself. Now 15 years old, Bob-who appeared alongside his mom Terri and sister Bindi on Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors and co-hosted Wild But True for Discovery Kids Channel in 2015 and 2016-is clearly looking to follow in his famous father's footsteps. In 2017, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he introduced the host to a handful of animals (including a cuddly sloth).

Bindi Sue has also become a television staple. Beginning in 2007, Bindi had her own Discovery Kids series, Bindi the Jungle Girl. She also starred with her brother on Growing Up Wild for The Pet Collective YouTube channel. In 2015, she showed off her dancing skills when she was crowned the winner of the 21st season of Dancing With the Stars.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
13 Facts About Steve Irwin and The Crocodile Hunter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Steve Irwin faced off against some of the world's most frightening predators, but he was afraid of parrots.

# data[].attributes.body
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/sacagawea

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sacagawea was not afraid. Although she was only 16 years old and the only female in an exploration group of more than 45 people, she was ready to courageously make her mark in American history.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought more than 825,000 square miles of land from France in what was called the Louisiana Purchase. To explore this new part of the country, Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on a two-year journey to report on what they found. They needed local guides to help them through this unknown territory. Sacagawea, a young Native American, joined them.

Born to a Shoshone chief around 1788, Sacagawea had been kidnapped by an enemy tribe when she was about 12, then sold to a French-Canadian trapper. When he was hired as a guide for Lewis and Clark's expedition in 1804, Sacagawea also joined as an interpreter to talk to Native-American people on their 8,000-mile journey.

Sacagawea soon became a respected member of the group. She was skilled at finding plants for food and medicine to help keep the explorers alive. When a boat capsized on the Missouri River as they were crossing into what is now Montana, Sacagawea saved important books and much-needed supplies. When they needed horses to cross rough terrain, she convinced a Shoshone tribe-led by her long-lost brother-to give them some. She was so respected by Lewis and Clark that when they reached the Pacific Ocean in November 1805, Sacagawea was asked to cast her vote for where they should build a fort.

Sacagawea proved herself again after the group took a different route home through what is now Idaho. As they passed through her homeland, Sacagawea remembered Shoshone trails from her childhood and helped the expedition find their way through. Clark even praised her as his "pilot."

Sacagawea left the group to return to what is now Bismarck, South Dakota, before the triumphant return of Lewis and Clark to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1806. She received no pay for her services and died on December 20, 1812. But Sacagawea's bravery and skill live on in the expedition's journals, which are full of praise for the 16-year-old Shoshone girl who guided the most famous American expedition of all time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sacagawea was not afraid. Although she was only 16 years old and the only female in an exploration group of more than 45 people, she was ready to courageously make her mark in American history. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought more than 825,000 square miles of land from France in what was called the Louisiana Purchase.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In addition to leaving us with America's most iconic chocolate bar, Milton S. Hershey left behind a legacy of goodness. It's a story of persistence, spirit, compassion, selflessness and purpose.

Milton Hershey: A Legacy of Goodness that Lives On

One built on compassion. Selflessness. Purpose. Our founder established a school that prepares boys and girls for success in all aspects of life; along with community buildings, civic centers, gardens and cultural institutions that continue to grow today.

His spirit has never faltered, nor has it ever failed to inspire us. It's this very legacy that led The Hershey Company 125 years ago, and it's a legacy that'll us lead for years to come. When we invest in businesses that make a difference, reduce our environmental footprint, enhance the livelihood of communities, or provide a brighter future for children across the world, we do so in the spirit of Milton - a man who taught us business is a matter of service. That generosity leads to the richest of rewards. And that one's happiness is dependent on the joy of others.

A Story as Iconic as the Chocolate Bar

Milton Hershey made his mark as a successful confectioner, philanthropist and innovator. But Milton was by no means an overnight success story, nor did his achievements come without their hardships.

In fact, his first two candy companies were met with failure. It wasn't until his third business that Milton's hard work and talent paid off. From then on, Milton prospered as a successful businessman and generous humanitarian that improved the lives of thousands.

1857

Milton Snavely Hershey was born in Derry Township, Pennsylvania on September 13th.

1872

At age 14, Milton discovered a passion for candy-making and spent the next four years as an apprentice for master confectioner Joseph Royer in Lancaster.

1876

After four years of learning the trade, Milton moved to Philadelphia to start his first candy business eventually ending in bankruptcy.

1882

Milton traveled to Denver and it was there that he learned to make caramels with fresh milk.

1883

Milton returned to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he sold homemade caramels from a pushcart.

1886

Lancaster Caramel Company Founded

1894

Milton's dedication to chocolate was confirmed when he established The Hershey Chocolate Company.

1898

Milton married Catherine "Kitty" Sweeney. Milton met Catherine at a candy shop in New York while delivering one of his caramel orders.

1900

Milton sold the Lancaster Caramel Company and by the end of 1900, Milton had sold his very first Hershey bar.

1905

Factory construction was completed.

1909

Milton and Catherine founded the Hershey Industrial School to provide education and opportunity for orphaned boys in the community.

1918

Following Catherine's death, Milton gifted the Hershey School Trust with his entire fortune. The School Trust provides for the well-being of Milton's community.

1930

The Great Building Campaign began.

1935

Milton founded the M.S. Hershey Foundation to provide cultural opportunities for workers and residents in his community.

1945

On October 13th, Milton died at 88 years of age. The legacy of this chocolatier, philanthropist, innovator and social entrepreneur lives on to this day.

Perhaps Milton's most cherished contribution to the community was the Hershey Industrial School for orphaned boys. Founded by Milton and his wife Catherine, they built the school with the intention of providing young boys with a productive and fulfilling life. Having had no children of their own, they came to consider the boys as family. Now named the Milton Hershey School, this institution fosters the academic and social potential of over 2,000 boys and girls a year, providing them with the skills and resources for success in all areas of life. Prior to his death, Milton left the entirety of his fortune with the school to ensure its continued success.

Milton took great pride in his community. And when the Great Depression threatened it with economic disaster, Milton responded with a major construction program known as The Great Building Campaign. This project saw the employment of over 600 workers to build a number of major structures, which continue to thrive today. This includes the Hotel Hershey, Hershey Community Theatre, the Community Building, the Hershey Sports Arena and many other institutions.

Milton Hershey believed that employees who were treated fairly and lived in comfortable living environments would be better workers. It was this very idea that sparked a lifelong passion for Milton: building a model community where its people would be proud to live and work - and above all, where they would succeed. Milton proceeded to build a community complete with housing, a bank, a hotel, public schools, churches, parks, a zoo, and even a trolley system - all to enhance the quality of life for the employees he considered family. By treating them with dignity and prosperity, Milton inspired loyalty and admiration from all his workers.

Democratizing Chocolate and Building the Future

Milton Hershey was a man of many titles, and social entrepreneur was one of them. It was Milton's wit, instinct and knack for innovation and drive to enhance the quality of life for others that led to some of The Hershey Company's most revolutionary measures.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In addition to leaving us with America's most iconic chocolate bar, Milton S. Hershey left behind a legacy of goodness. It's a story of persistence, spirit, compassion, selflessness and purpose. One built on compassion. Selflessness. Purpose.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 35,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 35,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samantha-Smith

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Samantha Smith, in full Samantha Reed Smith, byname America's Youngest Ambassador, (born June 29, 1972, Houlton, Maine, U.S.-died August 25, 1985, Auburn, Maine), American peace activist and child actress, celebrated for giving children around the world a voice in the volatile Cold War during the 1980s.

In December 1982, when she was 10 years old, Smith wrote a letter to the new leader of the Soviet Union, Yury Andropov. Having learned from public television of the apocalyptic potential of the nuclear arms race then escalating under Andropov and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, she asked Andropov to tell her what he would do to avoid a nuclear war with the United States:

Dear Mr. Andropov,

My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.

Sincerely,

Samantha Smith

After excerpts of her letter were published in the Soviet newspaper in April 1983, she wrote to the Soviet ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin, to ask why Andropov himself had not replied. Andropov responded with his own letter later that month, acknowledging Smith's specific question and the terrible nature of nuclear weapons. He cited his nation's declaration not to use nuclear weapons first against any country. He also complimented her as a courageous and honest girl, resembling the character Becky of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn (1884), and concluded by inviting Smith to come to the Soviet Union.

In July 1983 Smith and her family spent two weeks in the Soviet Union, visiting Moscow, Leningrad, and Artek, a children's camp on the Black Sea. After returning home, she gave numerous television interviews and, with her father's help, wrote a book about her experience, Journey to the Soviet Union (1985). In a December 1983 speech at the International Children's Symposium in Kōbe, Japan, she suggested that U.S. and Soviet leaders exchange granddaughters for two weeks every year, because a leader would not want to bomb a country that "his granddaughter was visiting."

In February 1984 she hosted a television special, Samantha Smith Goes to Washington: Campaign '84, in which she interviewed various political leaders about the issues in the campaign. Later that year she appeared as a guest star in an episode of the television series Charles in Charge, and in 1985 she began appearing in a new television series, Lime Street, in a regular supporting role.

In August 1985, while returning to Maine from London, where she had filmed a segment of Lime Street, Smith and her father were killed in a commuter plane crash. The Soviet government issued a postage stamp with her likeness and named a diamond and an asteroid in her honour. The state of Maine erected a life-size statue of Smith releasing a dove with a small bear (representing both Maine and the Soviet Union) sitting at her feet and proclaimed the first Monday in June to be Samantha Smith Day. In October 1985 her mother established the Samantha Smith Foundation, dedicated to peace education and fostering international friendships among children.

Nessim Watson The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Samantha Smith | American peace activist and actress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Samantha Smith, in full Samantha Reed Smith, byname America's Youngest Ambassador, (born June 29, 1972, Houlton, Maine, U.S.-died August 25, 1985, Auburn, Maine), American peace activist and child actress, celebrated for giving children around the world a voice in the volatile Cold War during the 1980s.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Full Speech

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 10 Best Moments on The Crocodile Hunter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
History of Steve Jobs (Full Documentary)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Born and raised in Denison, Texas, Sullenberger pursued his childhood love of aviation by learning to fly at age 16, while still in high school, and later at the United States Air Force Academy. At his graduation from the Academy in 1973, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award. In addition to his bachelor's degree in psychology, he also has two master's degrees, one in industrial psychology from Purdue University and one in public administration from the University of Northern Colorado. He also has an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Purdue University.

Sullenberger served as a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force. He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer, attaining the rank of captain. During his active duty, he was stationed in North America and Europe. After serving in the Air Force, in February 1980 Sullenberger became an airline pilot with Pacific Southwest Airlines, later acquired by US Airways, until his retirement from commercial flying in March 2010.

Prior to gaining worldwide attention, Sullenberger was an active and ardent safety advocate throughout his four-decade-long career. He was selected to perform accident investigation duties for the United States Air Force, and served as an Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) representative during a National Transportation Safety Board accident investigation. Additionally, Sullenberger served as a Local Air Safety Chairman for ALPA, and was a member of one of their national technical committees, where he contributed to the creation of a Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular. He was also instrumental in developing and implementing the Crew Resource Management course used by US Airways, and he taught the course to hundreds of other airline crewmembers.

After logging more than 20,000 hours of flight time Sullenberger became internationally renowned on January 15, 2009 when he and his crew safely guided US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency water landing in New York City's frigid Hudson River. The Airbus A320's two engines had lost thrust following a bird strike. Sullenberger and his crew received international acclaim for their actions that day, including the passage of a Congressional resolution recognizing their bravery. Sullenberger was ranked second in TIME's "Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009" and was awarded the French Legion of Honour.

Sullenberger is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters and also wrote Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders. Clint Eastwood directed the major motion picture about Sullenberger's life, titled SULLY, based on Highest Duty. Tom Hanks starred in the lead role; Aaron Eckhart and Laura Linney co-starred. The film was released to critical acclaim in September 2016 and garnered four Broadcast Film Critics nominations and one Academy Award nomination. Highest Duty was republished that year as SULLY: My Search for What Really Matters.

Sullenberger is an international lecturer and keynote speaker at educational institutions, corporations and non-profit organizations about the importance of aviation and patient safety, high performance systems improvement, leadership, crisis management, life-long preparation, and living a life of integrity. He presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2011, as well as the Swiss Economic Forum that same year. From 2009 to 2013, he served as co-chairman of EAA Young Eagles-a program that inspires and educates youth about aviation.

Most recently, Sullenberger has lent his voice to fulfilling what he feels is his latest mission: defending our democracy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Born and raised in Denison, Texas, Sullenberger pursued his childhood love of aviation by learning to fly at age 16, while still in high school, and later at the United States Air Force Academy. At his graduation from the Academy in 1973, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
October 1958: Physicist Invents First Video Game

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In October 1958, Physicist William Higinbotham created what is thought to be the first video game. It was a very simple tennis game, similar to the classic 1970s video game Pong, and it was quite a hit at a Brookhaven National Laboratory open house.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

Milton Snavely Hershey was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist. Trained in the confectionery business, Hershey pioneered the manufacture of caramel, using fresh milk.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Betty White's affable nature as one of America's most beloved icons might stem from her own top priority outside of acting: Her love of animals.

"I've loved animals since I was in the womb," White told . "It is so embedded in me," she added to Smithsonian Magazine.

That personal passion has often mixed with her professional work. She created, produced and hosted a 1971 animal show called the Pet Set, which featured both wild animals and her celebrity friends' own pets, with stars like Doris Day and Bob Barker making guest appearances. She also wrote the 2011 book Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo and hosted specials, like Hero Dog Awards, Big Cat Week and Betty White Goes Wild - and even lent her voice to the animated series of Pound Puppies.

But it's what she did when the cameras weren't rolling that was most impressive. Throughout her life, White was a champion for animals in her charity work.

"I'm the luckiest person in the world - my life is divided in absolute half: half animals, half show business," she told TV Guide.
READ MORE: Before Golden Girls, Betty White Was a Game Show Star
White's parents started her love of animals

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, on January 17, 1922, she was the only child of Horace and Tess White - who had an orange tabby cat that would often sit on the edge of her crib. "My mother always told me that if Toby didn't approve, I would have to go back," White joked to .

Indeed, while most young kids were begging their parents for pets, White said it was often the opposite for her. "I was the lucky little girl who had parents who went for a walk and they'd come home with a dog or a cat," she told TV Guide. "'He followed us home, Betty. Can we keep him?' [they'd say.]"

"Both my mother and father were tremendous animal lovers," she said to Smithsonian Magazine. "They imbued in me the fact that, to me, there isn't an animal on the planet that I don't find fascinating and want to learn more about."

Photo: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

She's devoted much of her time to helping zoos

That desire led to many trips to the zoo, and eventually, she started working with the Los Angeles Zoo in the 1960s. "My interest [in zoos] started early on, tagging after my mom and dad, who went to the zoo often, not just to please their little girl, but because they enjoyed the experience," she wrote in her book.

"I got involved with the Los Angeles Zoo because I was kind of shocked that Los Angeles had such a poor zoo inside," she told . "I've never been one to stand outside and criticize. I'd rather get inside and see what's going on, see how I can help."

During her time as a member of the board at the zoo, state-of-the-art chimpanzee, orangutan and gorilla exhibits were added, and she got to know the animals well. She also witnessed some notable animal antics over her more than 50 years of service.

"I spent two hours watching while this baby [camel], newly born, tried to get up," she told Smithsonian. "He really had to work at it. I stood there and watched the whole time. Just about the time he finally got all four legs under him...not his mother, but it was like Aunt Maude, one of the adult camels, came over, as if to say, 'Oh, what a beautiful baby,' she touched him with her nose and splat! Down he went. He had to start all over again."

White was well aware of the critics of the zoo system and works to combat that negative image.

"Zoos don't only exhibit animals; they do a lot of wonderful conservation work," she told AARP. She explained further to Smithsonian: "Many people have a closed mind on zoos. They think no animal should be in captivity, they should all be in the wild in their own habitat. Well, of course, that is a myth."

Photo: Michael Kovac/FilmMagic

Animal welfare and health are White's top focuses

White's volunteer work went beyond just the zoo in Los Angeles. Starting in the 1970s, she also worked with the Morris Animal Foundation, which "advances animal health by funding only research that meets the highest scientific standards" according to their site.

She was drawn to the organization because of her approach to animals. "I'm not into animal rights. I'm only into animal welfare and health," she told TV Guide, adding that the Morris Animal Foundation funds "health studies for dogs, cats, lizards and wildlife."

As a president emeritus, she saw the organization through much of its breakthrough work, which includes developing the feline leukemia vaccine, the parvovirus vaccine and Potomac horse fever vaccine.

White worked closely with the Los Angeles' SPCA (spcaLA), as well as the guide dog school, The Seeing Eye. "The Seeing Eye takes training these dogs quite seriously," White told Parade. "By providing well-trained guide dogs and training recipients to work with these dogs, The Seeing Eye empowers and changes people's lives for the better."

White was also made an honorary forest ranger by the Forest Service and helped out whenever her schedule allowed.

"I have this very expensive habit," she told Parade of her animal volunteer work. "Thankfully, my work makes it possible for me to support and volunteer my time with many different animal welfare organizations."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Betty White's Love for Animals Began as a Child

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Betty White's affable nature as one of America's most beloved icons might stem from her own top priority outside of acting: Her love of animals. "I've loved animals since I was in the womb," White told . "It is so embedded in me," she added to Smithsonian Magazine .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Betty White died late December 2021, just before turning 100. White was best known for her roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, but shewas also a lifelong animal rights activist. To honor her devotion to animals, fans created the #BettyWhiteChallenge, a social media movement calling for $5 donations to local animal rescues and nonprofits in her memory.

The hashtag went viral on January 17, which would have been White's 100th birthday, and it has raised thousands for animal charities. Though it's too soon to measure the total impact of the Betty White Challenge, local groups have seen an influx of donations and took to social media to thank followers for their contributions.

The Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando received more than $42,000, WFTV's Nick Papantonis reports, while the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue in Texas thanked people for more than $30,000 in donations. Uber announced it would donate $50,000 to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in honor of Betty White.

White has inspired fans outside the United States, too. Animal rescue groups and shelters in Alberta, Canada received more than $186,000 in Betty White's honor, per Global News ' Emily Mertz.

"The outpouring of love, the amazing amount of donations being given to all types of animal organizations is such a tribute to how Betty lived her life," her friend and longtime agent Jeff Witjas tells 's Kate Hogan and Liz McNeil. "As Betty would say, 'Thank you from the bottom of my heart.'"

Before becoming an actress, White wanted to pursue a career as a forest ranger or a zookeeper, per 's Megan Gambino, but at that time, women couldn't become rangers. In 2010, the Forest Service made White an honorary forest ranger .

"Wilderness is getting harder and harder to find these days on our beautiful planet, and we're abusing our planet to the point of almost no return," she said at the ceremony in Washington, D.C. at the time. "But whether I've been a legitimate forest ranger or not, I've been working for the cause for the last 89 years, and I will continue to work for it as much as I can."

White served on the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association's board of trustees starting in 1974. In 2010, she became chair of the board, and she became an honorary zookeeper three years later. She also served as a trustee, board president, donor and spokesperson for the Morris Animal Foundation.

White's personal contributions to animals are countless. She once arrived at the LA Zoo with her car trunk filled with empty toilet paper tubes she had been saving because she knew the zoo used them for animal enrichment games, 's Jen Reeder writes. After her death, the Audubon Nature Institute wrote on Twitter that White had paid for a plane to evacuate penguins and sea otters following Hurricane Katrina. Throughout her life, she supported several animal-related nonprofits by making donations, volunteering, fundraising and recording public service announcements, per .

"There isn't an animal on the planet that I don't find fascinating and want to learn more about," White told Smithsonian in a 2012 interview.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Animal Shelters See an Influx of Donations in Honor of Betty White

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Betty White died late December 2021, just before turning 100. White was best known for her roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, but shewas also a lifelong animal rights activist. To honor her devotion to animals, fans created the #BettyWhiteChallenge, a social media movement calling for $5 donations to local animal rescues and nonprofits in her memory.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Sports Illustrated Alabama Crimson Tide News, Analysis and More

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Montana Fouts Named SEC Pitcher of the Week

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Crimson Tide senior gave up just one run across three appearances at the Easton Bama Bash and shut out No. 8 Virginia Tech.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Learning the Trade

Mr. Hershey's family moved from their original home in Derry Township to Lancaster County. His mother did not emphasize learning. So, despite attending several schools as a child, he had little schooling. After a failed apprenticeship with a newspaper shop, Mr. Hershey learned the basics of making candy under the guidance of a candy and ice cream maker.

Starting Over

Milton Hershey borrowed a large sum of money from family to start his own candy business in 1876. He believed many people would visit Philadelphia during the anniversary of the American Revolution, so he based his company there. This new company, as well as a subsequent company he owned in New York City, failed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Milton Hershey History | Milton Hershey Timeline and Early Life

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn more about Milton Hershey's history and how he turned failure into success. Explore the founder's early life and how he started Milton Hershey School.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The late comedian, who died Friday at age 99, is being honored with Betty White Day two days before her birthday, Jan. 17, in her Illinois hometown. Oak Park, Ill. is establishing the new holiday this year on Jan. 15, a rep for the event confirmed to PEOPLE.

As part of the celebration, Oak Park businesses, including Mickey's Restaurant, will create and offer their own "Betty White specials," TMZ reported. Mickey's will sell a meal made up of some of White's favorite foods.

The special will include a hot dog, fries and diet coke, according to TMZ. White told PEOPLE in 2012 that "hot dogs and Red Vines and potato chips and French fries" were her "favorite foods."

While Mickey's will be serving some of White's go-to savory dishes, Turano Bakery will mark what would have been the comedian's 100th birthday with "a giant birthday cake," TMZ reports. Red Vines will also give away licorice.

According to a release from event organizer Lourdes Nicholls, Golden Girls theme vocalist Cindy Fee will sing "Thank You for Being a Friend," following commentary from the village president and a local historian.

Betty White Day will also include a mural contest. The winning design of White will be painted in Oak Park's downtown, per TMZ.

White was born in Oak Park in 1922, although her family later moved to California. According to TMZ, White returned to visit the Illinois town years after she left.

White's agent and friend Jeff Witjas confirmed her death in a statement shared with PEOPLE Friday.
RELATED VIDEO: Betty White, The 'Golden Girls' and 'Hot in Cleveland' Star, Dead at 99
"Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," Witjas shared. "I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again."

He added, "Betty died peacefully in her sleep at her home early this morning."

White was known for her work on shows like The Golden Girls, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Hot in Cleveland. She also appeared in multiple films during her decades-long career, including The Proposal and You Again.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Betty White's Hometown to Mark Her 100th Birthday with Special Holiday in Her Honor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The late comedian, who died Friday at age 99, is being honored with Betty White Day two days before her birthday, Jan. 17, in her Illinois hometown. Oak Park, Ill. is establishing the new holiday this year on Jan. 15, a rep for the event confirmed to PEOPLE.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Steve Irwin's Biggest Crocodile Battles (Wildlife Documentary) | Real Wild

# data[].attributes.body
Albert Einstein

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is most commonly celebrated on 23 April (see When was Shakespeare born), which is also believed to be the date he died in 1616.

Shakespeare was a prolific writer during the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages of British theatre (sometimes called the English Renaissance or the Early Modern Period). Shakespeare's plays are perhaps his most enduring legacy, but they are not all he wrote. Shakespeare's poems also remain popular to this day.

Shakespeare's Family Life

Records survive relating to William Shakespeare's family that offer an understanding of the context of Shakespeare's early life and the lives of his family members. John Shakespeare married Mary Arden, and together they had eight children. John and Mary lost two daughters as infants, so William became their eldest child. John Shakespeare worked as a glove-maker, but he also became an important figure in the town of Stratford by fulfilling civic positions. His elevated status meant that he was even more likely to have sent his children, including William, to the local grammar school.

William Shakespeare would have lived with his family in their house on Henley Street until he turned eighteen. When he was eighteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was twenty-six. It was a rushed marriage because Anne was already pregnant at the time of the ceremony. Together they had three children. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born six months after the wedding and was later followed by twins Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died when he was just 11 years old.

Shakespeare in London

Shakespeare's career jump-started in London, but when did he go there? We know Shakespeare's twins were baptised in 1585, and that by 1592 his reputation was established in London, but the intervening years are considered a mystery. Scholars generally refer to these years as ' The Lost Years '.

During his time in London, Shakespeare's first printed works were published. They were two long poems, 'Venus and Adonis' (1593) and 'The Rape of Lucrece' (1594). He also became a founding member of The Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company of actors. Shakespeare was the company's regular dramatist, producing on average two plays a year, for almost twenty years.

He remained with the company for the rest of his career, during which time it evolved into The King's Men under the patronage of King James I (from 1603). During his time in the company Shakespeare wrote many of his most famous tragedies, such as King Lear and Macbeth, as well as great romances, like The Winter's Tale and The Tempest.

Shakespeare's Works

Altogether Shakespeare's works include 38 plays, 2 narrative poems, 154 sonnets, and a variety of other poems. No original manuscripts of Shakespeare's plays are known to exist today. It is actually thanks to a group of actors from Shakespeare's company that we have about half of the plays at all. They collected them for publication after Shakespeare died, preserving the plays. These writings were brought together in what is known as the First Folio ('Folio' refers to the size of the paper used). It contained 36 of his plays, but none of his poetry.

Shakespeare's legacy is as rich and diverse as his work; his plays have spawned countless adaptations across multiple genres and cultures. His plays have had an enduring presence on stage and film. His writings have been compiled in various iterations of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, which include all of his plays, sonnets, and other poems. William Shakespeare continues to be one of the most important literary figures of the English language.

New Place; a home in Stratford-upon-Avon

Shakespeare's success in the London theatres made him considerably wealthy, and by 1597 he was able to purchase New Place,the largest house in the borough of Stratford-upon-Avon. Although his professional career was spent in London, he maintained close links with his native town.

Recent archaeological evidence discovered on the site of Shakespeare's New Place shows that Shakespeare was only ever an intermittent lodger in London. This suggests he divided his time between Stratford and London (a two or three-day commute). In his later years, he may have spent more time in Stratford-upon-Avon than scholars previously thought.

Watch our video for more about Shakespeare as a literary commuter:

On his father's death in 1601, William Shakespeare inherited the old family home in Henley Street part of which was then leased to tenants. Further property investments in Stratford followed, including the purchase of 107 acres of land in 1602.

Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23 April 1616 at the age of 52. He is buried in the sanctuary of the parish church, Holy Trinity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564. Read about his life and works.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
William Shakespeare (Tooltip baptised 26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the " Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ( sharer) of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them , Romeo and Juliet, , , and , all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.

Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminges and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

John Shakespeare's house, believed to be Shakespeare's birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon

Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover (glove-maker) originally from Snitterfield in Warwickshire, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning family. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was baptised on 26 April 1564. His date of birth is unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April, Saint George's Day. This date, which can be traced to William Oldys and George Steevens, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on the same date in 1616. He was the third of eight children, and the eldest surviving son.

Although no attendance records for the period survive, most biographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated at the King's New School in Stratford, a free school chartered in 1553, about a quarter-mile (400 m) from his home. Grammar schools varied in quality during the Elizabethan era, but grammar school curricula were largely similar: the basic Latin text was standardised by royal decree, and the school would have provided an intensive education in grammar based upon Latin classical authors.

At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway. The consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaway's neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage. The ceremony may have been arranged in some haste since the Worcester chancellor allowed the marriage banns to be read once instead of the usual three times, and six months after the marriage Anne gave birth to a daughter, Susanna, baptised 26 May 1583. Twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596.

Shakespeare's coat of arms, from the 1602 book The book of coates and creasts. Promptuarium armorum. It features spears as a pun on the family name.[c]

After the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the "complaints bill" of a law case before the Queen's Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9 October 1589. Scholars refer to the years between 1585 and 1592 as Shakespeare's "lost years". Biographers attempting to account for this period have reported many apocryphal stories. Nicholas Rowe, Shakespeare's first biographer, recounted a Stratford legend that Shakespeare fled the town for London to escape prosecution for deer poaching in the estate of local squire Thomas Lucy. Shakespeare is also supposed to have taken his revenge on Lucy by writing a scurrilous ballad about him. Another 18th-century story has Shakespeare starting his theatrical career minding the horses of theatre patrons in London. John Aubrey reported that Shakespeare had been a country schoolmaster. Some 20th-century scholars suggested that Shakespeare may have been employed as a schoolmaster by Alexander Hoghton of Lancashire, a Catholic landowner who named a certain "William Shakeshafte" in his will. Little evidence substantiates such stories other than hearsay collected after his death, and Shakeshafte was a common name in the Lancashire area.

London and theatrical career

It is not known definitively when Shakespeare began writing, but contemporary allusions and records of performances show that several of his plays were on the London stage by 1592. By then, he was sufficiently known in London to be attacked in print by the playwright Robert Greene in his Groats-Worth of Wit from that year:

... there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country.

Scholars differ on the exact meaning of Greene's words, but most agree that Greene was accusing Shakespeare of reaching above his rank in trying to match such university-educated writers as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe, and Greene himself (the so-called " University Wits"). The italicised phrase parodying the line "Oh, tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide" from Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 3, along with the pun "Shake-scene", clearly identify Shakespeare as Greene's target. As used here, Johannes Factotum ("Jack of all trades") refers to a second-rate tinkerer with the work of others, rather than the more common "universal genius".

Greene's attack is the earliest surviving mention of Shakespeare's work in the theatre. Biographers suggest that his career may have begun any time from the mid-1580s to just before Greene's remarks. After 1594, Shakespeare's plays were performed only by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a company owned by a group of players, including Shakespeare, that soon became the leading playing company in London. After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the company was awarded a royal patent by the new King James I, and changed its name to the King's Men.

All the world's a stage,
and all the men and women merely players:
they have their exits and their entrances;
and one man in his time plays many parts ...

-As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7, 139-142

In 1599, a partnership of members of the company built their own theatre on the south bank of the River Thames, which they named the Globe. In 1608, the partnership also took over the Blackfriars indoor theatre. Extant records of Shakespeare's property purchases and investments indicate that his association with the company made him a wealthy man, and in 1597, he bought the second-largest house in Stratford, New Place, and in 1605, invested in a share of the parish tithes in Stratford.

Some of Shakespeare's plays were published in quarto editions, beginning in 1594, and by 1598, his name had become a selling point and began to appear on the title pages. Shakespeare continued to act in his own and other plays after his success as a playwright. The 1616 edition of Ben Jonson's Works names him on the cast lists for Every Man in His Humour (1598) and Sejanus His Fall (1603). The absence of his name from the 1605 cast list for Jonson's is taken by some scholars as a sign that his acting career was nearing its end. The First Folio of 1623, however, lists Shakespeare as one of "the Principal Actors in all these Plays", some of which were first staged after Volpone, although one cannot know for certain which roles he played. In 1610, John Davies of Hereford wrote that "good Will" played "kingly" roles. In 1709, Rowe passed down a tradition that Shakespeare played the ghost of Hamlet's father. Later traditions maintain that he also played Adam in As You Like It, and the Chorus in , though scholars doubt the sources of that information.

Throughout his career, Shakespeare divided his time between London and Stratford. In 1596, the year before he bought New Place as his family home in Stratford, Shakespeare was living in the parish of St Helen's, Bishopsgate, north of the River Thames. He moved across the river to Southwark by 1599, the same year his company constructed the Globe Theatre there. By 1604, he had moved north of the river again, to an area north of St Paul's Cathedral with many fine houses. There, he rented rooms from a French Huguenot named Christopher Mountjoy, a maker of women's wigs and other headgear.

Later years and death

Shakespeare's funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon

Nicholas Rowe was the first biographer to record the tradition, repeated by Samuel Johnson, that Shakespeare retired to Stratford "some years before his death". He was still working as an actor in London in 1608; in an answer to the sharers' petition in 1635, Cuthbert Burbage stated that after purchasing the lease of the Blackfriars Theatre in 1608 from Henry Evans, the King's Men "placed men players" there, "which were Heminges, Condell, Shakespeare, etc.". However, it is perhaps relevant that the bubonic plague raged in London throughout 1609. The London public playhouses were repeatedly closed during extended outbreaks of the plague (a total of over 60 months closure between May 1603 and February 1610), which meant there was often no acting work. Retirement from all work was uncommon at that time. Shakespeare continued to visit London during the years 1611-1614. In 1612, he was called as a witness in Bellott v Mountjoy, a court case concerning the marriage settlement of Mountjoy's daughter, Mary. In March 1613, he bought a gatehouse in the former Blackfriars priory; and from November 1614, he was in London for several weeks with his son-in-law, John Hall. After 1610, Shakespeare wrote fewer plays, and none are attributed to him after 1613. His last three plays were collaborations, probably with John Fletcher, who succeeded him as the house playwright of the King's Men. He retired in 1613, before the Globe Theatre burned down during the performance of on 29 June.

Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in "perfect health". No extant contemporary source explains how or why he died. Half a century later, John Ward, the vicar of Stratford, wrote in his notebook: "Shakespeare, Drayton, and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and, it seems, drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted", not an impossible scenario since Shakespeare knew Jonson and Drayton. Of the tributes from fellow authors, one refers to his relatively sudden death: "We wondered, Shakespeare, that thou went'st so soon / From the world's stage to the grave's tiring room."

Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was baptised and is buried

He was survived by his wife and two daughters. Susanna had married a physician, John Hall, in 1607, and Judith had married Thomas Quiney, a vintner, two months before Shakespeare's death. Shakespeare signed his last will and testament on 25 March 1616; the following day, his new son-in-law, Thomas Quiney was found guilty of fathering an illegitimate son by Margaret Wheeler, who had died during childbirth. Thomas was ordered by the church court to do public penance, which would have caused much shame and embarrassment for the Shakespeare family.

Shakespeare bequeathed the bulk of his large estate to his elder daughter Susanna under stipulations that she pass it down intact to "the first son of her body". The Quineys had three children, all of whom died without marrying. The Halls had one child, Elizabeth, who married twice but died without children in 1670, ending Shakespeare's direct line. Shakespeare's will scarcely mentions his wife, Anne, who was probably entitled to one-third of his estate automatically. He did make a point, however, of leaving her "my second best bed", a bequest that has led to much speculation. Some scholars see the bequest as an insult to Anne, whereas others believe that the second-best bed would have been the matrimonial bed and therefore rich in significance.

Shakespeare's grave, next to those of Anne Shakespeare, his wife, and Thomas Nash, the husband of his granddaughter

Shakespeare was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death. The epitaph carved into the stone slab covering his grave includes a curse against moving his bones, which was carefully avoided during restoration of the church in 2008:

Good frend for Iesvs sake forbeare,
To digg the dvst encloased heare.
Bleste be yͤ man yͭ spares thes stones,
And cvrst be he yͭ moves my bones.

Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.

Some time before 1623, a funerary monument was erected in his memory on the north wall, with a half-effigy of him in the act of writing. Its plaque compares him to Nestor, Socrates, and Virgil. In 1623, in conjunction with the publication of the First Folio, the Droeshout engraving was published. Shakespeare has been commemorated in many statues and memorials around the world, including funeral monuments in Southwark Cathedral and Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Procession of Characters from Shakespeare's Plays by an unknown 19th-century artist

Most playwrights of the period typically collaborated with others at some point, as critics agree Shakespeare did, mostly early and late in his career.

The first recorded works of Shakespeare are Richard III and the three parts of , written in the early 1590s during a vogue for historical drama. Shakespeare's plays are difficult to date precisely, however, and studies of the texts suggest that Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona may also belong to Shakespeare's earliest period. His first histories, which draw heavily on the 1587 edition of Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, dramatise the destructive results of weak or corrupt rule and have been interpreted as a justification for the origins of the Tudor dynasty. The early plays were influenced by the works of other Elizabethan dramatists, especially Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe, by the traditions of medieval drama, and by the plays of Seneca. The Comedy of Errors was also based on classical models, but no source for The Taming of the Shrew has been found, though it is related to a separate play of the same name and may have derived from a folk story. Like The Two Gentlemen of Verona, in which two friends appear to approve of rape, the Shrew's story of the taming of a woman's independent spirit by a man sometimes troubles modern critics, directors, and audiences.

Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing. By William Blake, c. 1786.

Shakespeare's early classical and Italianate comedies, containing tight double plots and precise comic sequences, give way in the mid-1590s to the romantic atmosphere of his most acclaimed comedies. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a witty mixture of romance, fairy magic, and comic lowlife scenes. Shakespeare's next comedy, the equally romantic Merchant of Venice, contains a portrayal of the vengeful Jewish moneylender Shylock, which reflects dominant Elizabethan views but may appear derogatory to modern audiences. The wit and wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing, the charming rural setting of As You Like It, and the lively merrymaking of Twelfth Night complete Shakespeare's sequence of great comedies. After the lyrical , written almost entirely in verse, Shakespeare introduced prose comedy into the histories of the late 1590s, Henry IV, parts 1 and , and . His characters become more complex and tender as he switches deftly between comic and serious scenes, prose and poetry, and achieves the narrative variety of his mature work. This period begins and ends with two tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, the famous romantic tragedy of sexually charged adolescence, love, and death; and Julius Caesar-based on Sir Thomas North's 1579 translation of Plutarch's Parallel Lives-which introduced a new kind of drama. According to Shakespearean scholar James Shapiro, in Julius Caesar, "the various strands of politics, character, inwardness, contemporary events, even Shakespeare's own reflections on the act of writing, began to infuse each other".

Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus, and the Ghost of Hamlet's Father. Henry Fuseli, 1780-1785.

In the early 17th century, Shakespeare wrote the so-called " problem plays" Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and All's Well That Ends Well and a number of his best known tragedies. Many critics believe that Shakespeare's greatest tragedies represent the peak of his art. The titular hero of one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, , has probably been discussed more than any other Shakespearean character, especially for his famous soliloquy which begins " To be or not to be; that is the question". Unlike the introverted Hamlet, whose fatal flaw is hesitation, the heroes of the tragedies that followed, Othello and King Lear, are undone by hasty errors of judgement. The plots of Shakespeare's tragedies often hinge on such fatal errors or flaws, which overturn order and destroy the hero and those he loves. In , the villain Iago stokes Othello's sexual jealousy to the point where he murders the innocent wife who loves him. In , the old king commits the tragic error of giving up his powers, initiating the events which lead to the torture and blinding of the Earl of Gloucester and the murder of Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia. According to the critic Frank Kermode, "the play...offers neither its good characters nor its audience any relief from its cruelty". In , the shortest and most compressed of Shakespeare's tragedies, uncontrollable ambition incites Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, to murder the rightful king and usurp the throne until their own guilt destroys them in turn. In this play, Shakespeare adds a supernatural element to the tragic structure. His last major tragedies, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus, contain some of Shakespeare's finest poetry and were considered his most successful tragedies by the poet and critic T. S. Eliot.

In his final period, Shakespeare turned to romance or tragicomedy and completed three more major plays: , The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest, as well as the collaboration, Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Less bleak than the tragedies, these four plays are graver in tone than the comedies of the 1590s, but they end with reconciliation and the forgiveness of potentially tragic errors. Some commentators have seen this change in mood as evidence of a more serene view of life on Shakespeare's part, but it may merely reflect the theatrical fashion of the day. Shakespeare collaborated on two further surviving plays, and The Two Noble Kinsmen, probably with John Fletcher.

Classification

The Plays of William Shakespeare, a painting containing scenes and characters from several plays of Shakespeare; by Sir John Gilbert, c. 1849

Shakespeare's works include the 36 plays printed in the First Folio of 1623, listed according to their folio classification as comedies, histories, and tragedies. Two plays not included in the First Folio, The Two Noble Kinsmen and Pericles, Prince of Tyre, are now accepted as part of the canon, with today's scholars agreeing that Shakespeare made major contributions to the writing of both. No Shakespearean poems were included in the First Folio.

In the late 19th century, Edward Dowden classified four of the late comedies as romances, and though many scholars prefer to call them tragicomedies, Dowden's term is often used. In 1896, Frederick S. Boas coined the term " problem plays" to describe four plays: All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, and . "Dramas as singular in theme and temper cannot be strictly called comedies or tragedies", he wrote. "We may, therefore, borrow a convenient phrase from the theatre of today and class them together as Shakespeare's problem plays." The term, much debated and sometimes applied to other plays, remains in use, though Hamlet is definitively classed as a tragedy.

Performances

It is not clear for which companies Shakespeare wrote his early plays. The title page of the 1594 edition of Titus Andronicus reveals that the play had been acted by three different troupes. After the plagues of 1592-93, Shakespeare's plays were performed by his own company at The Theatre and the Curtain in Shoreditch, north of the Thames. Londoners flocked there to see the first part of Henry IV, Leonard Digges recording, "Let but Falstaff come, Hal, Poins, the rest ... and you scarce shall have a room". When the company found themselves in dispute with their landlord, they pulled The Theatre down and used the timbers to construct the Globe Theatre, the first playhouse built by actors for actors, on the south bank of the Thames at Southwark. The Globe opened in autumn 1599, with Julius Caesar one of the first plays staged. Most of Shakespeare's greatest post-1599 plays were written for the Globe, including Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear.

The reconstructed Globe Theatre on the south bank of the River Thames in London

After the Lord Chamberlain's Men were renamed the King's Men in 1603, they entered a special relationship with the new King James. Although the performance records are patchy, the King's Men performed seven of Shakespeare's plays at court between 1 November 1604, and 31 October 1605, including two performances of The Merchant of Venice. After 1608, they performed at the indoor Blackfriars Theatre during the winter and the Globe during the summer. The indoor setting, combined with the Jacobean fashion for lavishly staged masques, allowed Shakespeare to introduce more elaborate stage devices. In Cymbeline, for example, Jupiter descends "in thunder and lightning, sitting upon an eagle: he throws a thunderbolt. The ghosts fall on their knees."

The actors in Shakespeare's company included the famous Richard Burbage, William Kempe, Henry Condell and John Heminges. Burbage played the leading role in the first performances of many of Shakespeare's plays, including Richard III, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear. The popular comic actor Will Kempe played the servant Peter in Romeo and Juliet and Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, among other characters. He was replaced around 1600 by Robert Armin, who played roles such as Touchstone in As You Like It and the fool in King Lear. In 1613, Sir Henry Wotton recorded that Henry VIII "was set forth with many extraordinary circumstances of pomp and ceremony". On 29 June, however, a cannon set fire to the thatch of the Globe and burned the theatre to the ground, an event which pinpoints the date of a Shakespeare play with rare precision.

Textual sources

Title page of the First Folio, 1623. Copper engraving of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout.

In 1623, John Heminges and Henry Condell, two of Shakespeare's friends from the King's Men, published the First Folio, a collected edition of Shakespeare's plays. It contained 36 texts, including 18 printed for the first time. The others had already appeared in quarto versions-flimsy books made from sheets of paper folded twice to make four leaves. No evidence suggests that Shakespeare approved these editions, which the First Folio describes as "stol'n and surreptitious copies".

Alfred Pollard termed some of the pre-1623 versions as " bad quartos" because of their adapted, paraphrased or garbled texts, which may in places have been reconstructed from memory. Where several versions of a play survive, each differs from the other. The differences may stem from copying or printing errors, from notes by actors or audience members, or from Shakespeare's own papers. In some cases, for example, Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida, and Othello, Shakespeare could have revised the texts between the quarto and folio editions. In the case of , however, while most modern editions do conflate them, the 1623 folio version is so different from the 1608 quarto that the Oxford Shakespeare prints them both, arguing that they cannot be conflated without confusion.

In 1593 and 1594, when the theatres were closed because of plague, Shakespeare published two narrative poems on sexual themes, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. He dedicated them to Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. In Venus and Adonis, an innocent Adonis rejects the sexual advances of Venus; while in The Rape of Lucrece, the virtuous wife Lucrece is raped by the lustful Tarquin. Influenced by Ovid's Metamorphoses, the poems show the guilt and moral confusion that result from uncontrolled lust. Both proved popular and were often reprinted during Shakespeare's lifetime. A third narrative poem, A Lover's Complaint, in which a young woman laments her seduction by a persuasive suitor, was printed in the first edition of the Sonnets in 1609. Most scholars now accept that Shakespeare wrote A Lover's Complaint. Critics consider that its fine qualities are marred by leaden effects. The Phoenix and the Turtle, printed in Robert Chester's 1601 Love's Martyr, mourns the deaths of the legendary phoenix and his lover, the faithful turtle dove. In 1599, two early drafts of sonnets 138 and 144 appeared in The Passionate Pilgrim, published under Shakespeare's name but without his permission.

Title page from 1609 edition of Shake-Speares Sonnets

Published in 1609, the were the last of Shakespeare's non-dramatic works to be printed. Scholars are not certain when each of the 154 sonnets was composed, but evidence suggests that Shakespeare wrote sonnets throughout his career for a private readership. Even before the two unauthorised sonnets appeared in The Passionate Pilgrim in 1599, Francis Meres had referred in 1598 to Shakespeare's "sugred Sonnets among his private friends". Few analysts believe that the published collection follows Shakespeare's intended sequence. He seems to have planned two contrasting series: one about uncontrollable lust for a married woman of dark complexion (the "dark lady"), and one about conflicted love for a fair young man (the "fair youth"). It remains unclear if these figures represent real individuals, or if the authorial "I" who addresses them represents Shakespeare himself, though Wordsworth believed that with the sonnets "Shakespeare unlocked his heart".

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate ...

-Opening lines from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.

The 1609 edition was dedicated to a "Mr. W.H.", credited as "the only begetter" of the poems. It is not known whether this was written by Shakespeare himself or by the publisher, Thomas Thorpe, whose initials appear at the foot of the dedication page; nor is it known who Mr. W.H. was, despite numerous theories, or whether Shakespeare even authorised the publication. Critics praise the Sonnets as a profound meditation on the nature of love, sexual passion, procreation, death, and time.

Shakespeare's first plays were written in the conventional style of the day. He wrote them in a stylised language that does not always spring naturally from the needs of the characters or the drama. The poetry depends on extended, sometimes elaborate metaphors and conceits, and the language is often rhetorical-written for actors to declaim rather than speak. The grand speeches in Titus Andronicus, in the view of some critics, often hold up the action, for example; and the verse in The Two Gentlemen of Verona has been described as stilted.

Pity by William Blake, 1795, is an illustration of two similes in Macbeth:

"And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, hors'd
Upon the sightless couriers of the air."

However, Shakespeare soon began to adapt the traditional styles to his own purposes. The opening soliloquy of Richard III has its roots in the self-declaration of Vice in medieval drama. At the same time, Richard's vivid self-awareness looks forward to the soliloquies of Shakespeare's mature plays. No single play marks a change from the traditional to the freer style. Shakespeare combined the two throughout his career, with Romeo and Juliet perhaps the best example of the mixing of the styles. By the time of Romeo and Juliet, , and A Midsummer Night's Dream in the mid-1590s, Shakespeare had begun to write a more natural poetry. He increasingly tuned his metaphors and images to the needs of the drama itself.

Shakespeare's standard poetic form was blank verse, composed in iambic pentameter. In practice, this meant that his verse was usually unrhymed and consisted of ten syllables to a line, spoken with a stress on every second syllable. The blank verse of his early plays is quite different from that of his later ones. It is often beautiful, but its sentences tend to start, pause, and finish at the end of lines, with the risk of monotony. Once Shakespeare mastered traditional blank verse, he began to interrupt and vary its flow. This technique releases the new power and flexibility of the poetry in plays such as Julius Caesar and . Shakespeare uses it, for example, to convey the turmoil in Hamlet's mind:

Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting
That would not let me sleep. Methought I lay
Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly-
And prais'd be rashness for it-let us know
Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well ...

After Hamlet, Shakespeare varied his poetic style further, particularly in the more emotional passages of the late tragedies. The literary critic A. C. Bradley described this style as "more concentrated, rapid, varied, and, in construction, less regular, not seldom twisted or elliptical". In the last phase of his career, Shakespeare adopted many techniques to achieve these effects. These included run-on lines, irregular pauses and stops, and extreme variations in sentence structure and length. In , for example, the language darts from one unrelated metaphor or simile to another: "was the hope drunk/ Wherein you dressed yourself?" (1.7.35-38); "... pity, like a naked new-born babe/ Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, hors'd/ Upon the sightless couriers of the air ..." (1.7.21-25). The listener is challenged to complete the sense. The late romances, with their shifts in time and surprising turns of plot, inspired a last poetic style in which long and short sentences are set against one another, clauses are piled up, subject and object are reversed, and words are omitted, creating an effect of spontaneity.

Shakespeare combined poetic genius with a practical sense of the theatre. Like all playwrights of the time, he dramatised stories from sources such as Plutarch and Holinshed. He reshaped each plot to create several centres of interest and to show as many sides of a narrative to the audience as possible. This strength of design ensures that a Shakespeare play can survive translation, cutting, and wide interpretation without loss to its core drama. As Shakespeare's mastery grew, he gave his characters clearer and more varied motivations and distinctive patterns of speech. He preserved aspects of his earlier style in the later plays, however. In Shakespeare's late romances, he deliberately returned to a more artificial style, which emphasised the illusion of theatre.

Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head. By Henry Fuseli, 1793-1794.

Shakespeare's work has made a significant and lasting impression on later theatre and literature. In particular, he expanded the dramatic potential of characterisation, plot, language, and genre. Until Romeo and Juliet, for example, romance had not been viewed as a worthy topic for tragedy. Soliloquies had been used mainly to convey information about characters or events, but Shakespeare used them to explore characters' minds. His work heavily influenced later poetry. The Romantic poets attempted to revive Shakespearean verse drama, though with little success. Critic George Steiner described all English verse dramas from Coleridge to Tennyson as "feeble variations on Shakespearean themes." John Milton, considered by many to be the most important English poet after Shakespeare, wrote in tribute: "Thou in our wonder and astonishment/ Has built thyself a live-long monument."

Shakespeare influenced novelists such as Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, and Charles Dickens. The American novelist Herman Melville's soliloquies owe much to Shakespeare; his Captain Ahab in is a classic tragic hero, inspired by King Lear. Scholars have identified 20,000 pieces of music linked to Shakespeare's works. These include three operas by Giuseppe Verdi, , and , whose critical standing compares with that of the source plays. Shakespeare has also inspired many painters, including the Romantics and the Pre-Raphaelites, while William Hogarth's 1745 painting of actor David Garrick playing Richard III was decisive in establishing the genre of theatrical portraiture in Britain. The Swiss Romantic artist Henry Fuseli, a friend of William Blake, even translated Macbeth into German. The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud drew on Shakespearean psychology, in particular, that of Hamlet, for his theories of human nature. Shakespeare has been a rich source for filmmakers; Akira Kurosawa adapted Macbeth and King Lear as Throne of Blood and , respectively. Other examples of Shakespeare on film include Max Reinhardt's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Laurence Olivier's and Al Pacino's documentary Looking For Richard. Orson Welles, a lifelong lover of Shakespeare, directed and starred in films of Macbeth and Othello, and Chimes at Midnight, in which he plays John Falstaff, which Welles himself called his best work.

In Shakespeare's day, English grammar, spelling, and pronunciation were less standardised than they are now, and his use of language helped shape modern English. Samuel Johnson quoted him more often than any other author in his A Dictionary of the English Language, the first serious work of its type. Expressions such as "with bated breath" ( Merchant of Venice) and "a foregone conclusion" ( Othello) have found their way into everyday English speech.

Shakespeare's influence extends far beyond his native England and the English language. His reception in Germany was particularly significant; as early as the 18th century Shakespeare was widely translated and popularised in Germany, and gradually became a "classic of the German Weimar era;" Christoph Martin Wieland was the first to produce complete translations of Shakespeare's plays in any language. Actor and theatre director Simon Callow writes, "this master, this titan, this genius, so profoundly British and so effortlessly universal, each different culture - German, Italian, Russian - was obliged to respond to the Shakespearean example; for the most part, they embraced it, and him, with joyous abandon, as the possibilities of language and character in action that he celebrated liberated writers across the continent. Some of the most deeply affecting productions of Shakespeare have been non-English, and non-European. He is that unique writer: he has something for everyone."

According to Guinness World Records, Shakespeare remains the world's best-selling playwright, with sales of his plays and poetry believed to have achieved in excess of four billion copies in the almost 400 years since his death. He is also the third most translated author in history.

Critical reputation

He was not of an age, but for all time.

Shakespeare was not revered in his lifetime, but he received a large amount of praise. In 1598, the cleric and author Francis Meres singled him out from a group of English playwrights as "the most excellent" in both comedy and tragedy. The authors of the Parnassus plays at St John's College, Cambridge, numbered him with Chaucer, Gower, and Spenser. In the First Folio, Ben Jonson called Shakespeare the "Soul of the age, the applause, delight, the wonder of our stage", although he had remarked elsewhere that "Shakespeare wanted art" (lacked skill).

Between the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the end of the 17th century, classical ideas were in vogue. As a result, critics of the time mostly rated Shakespeare below John Fletcher and Ben Jonson. Thomas Rymer, for example, condemned Shakespeare for mixing the comic with the tragic. Nevertheless, poet and critic John Dryden rated Shakespeare highly, saying of Jonson, "I admire him, but I love Shakespeare". He also famously remarked that Shakespeare "was naturally learned; he needed not the spectacles of books to read nature; he looked inwards, and found her there." For several decades, Rymer's view held sway. But during the 18th century, critics began to respond to Shakespeare on his own terms and, like Dryden, to acclaim what they termed his natural genius. A series of scholarly editions of his work, notably those of Samuel Johnson in 1765 and Edmond Malone in 1790, added to his growing reputation. By 1800, he was firmly enshrined as the national poet, and described as the " Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). In the 18th and 19th centuries, his reputation also spread abroad. Among those who championed him were the writers Voltaire, Goethe, Stendhal, and Victor Hugo.

William Ordway Partridge's garlanded statue of William Shakespeare in Lincoln Park, Chicago, typical of many created in the 19th and early 20th centuries

During the Romantic era, Shakespeare was praised by the poet and literary philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and the critic August Wilhelm Schlegel translated his plays in the spirit of German Romanticism. In the 19th century, critical admiration for Shakespeare's genius often bordered on adulation. "This King Shakespeare," the essayist Thomas Carlyle wrote in 1840, "does not he shine, in crowned sovereignty, over us all, as the noblest, gentlest, yet strongest of rallying signs; indestructible". The Victorians produced his plays as lavish spectacles on a grand scale. The playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw mocked the cult of Shakespeare worship as " bardolatry", claiming that the new naturalism of Ibsen's plays had made Shakespeare obsolete.

The modernist revolution in the arts during the early 20th century, far from discarding Shakespeare, eagerly enlisted his work in the service of the avant-garde. The Expressionists in Germany and the Futurists in Moscow mounted productions of his plays. Marxist playwright and director Bertolt Brecht devised an epic theatre under the influence of Shakespeare. The poet and critic T. S. Eliot argued against Shaw that Shakespeare's "primitiveness" in fact made him truly modern. Eliot, along with G. Wilson Knight and the school of New Criticism, led a movement towards a closer reading of Shakespeare's imagery. In the 1950s, a wave of new critical approaches replaced modernism and paved the way for post-modern studies of Shakespeare. By the 1980s, Shakespeare studies were open to movements such as structuralism, feminism, New Historicism, African-American studies, and queer studies. Comparing Shakespeare's accomplishments to those of leading figures in philosophy and theology, Harold Bloom wrote, "Shakespeare was larger than Plato and than St. Augustine. He encloses us because we see with his fundamental perceptions."

Speculation

Authorship

Around 230 years after Shakespeare's death, doubts began to be expressed about the authorship of the works attributed to him. Proposed alternative candidates include Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Several "group theories" have also been proposed. All but a few Shakespeare scholars and literary historians consider it a fringe theory, with only a small minority of academics who believe that there is reason to question the traditional attribution, but interest in the subject, particularly the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, continues into the 21st century.

Shakespeare conformed to the official state religion, but his private views on religion have been the subject of debate. Shakespeare's will uses a Protestant formula, and he was a confirmed member of the Church of England, where he was married, his children were baptised, and where he is buried. Some scholars claim that members of Shakespeare's family were Catholics, at a time when practising Catholicism in England was against the law. Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, certainly came from a pious Catholic family. The strongest evidence might be a Catholic statement of faith signed by his father, John Shakespeare, found in 1757 in the rafters of his former house in Henley Street. However, the document is now lost and scholars differ as to its authenticity. In 1591, the authorities reported that John Shakespeare had missed church "for fear of process for debt", a common Catholic excuse. In 1606, the name of William's daughter Susanna appears on a list of those who failed to attend Easter communion in Stratford. Other authors argue that there is a lack of evidence about Shakespeare's religious beliefs. Scholars find evidence both for and against Shakespeare's Catholicism, Protestantism, or lack of belief in his plays, but the truth may be impossible to prove.

Few details of Shakespeare's sexuality are known. At 18, he married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, who was pregnant. Susanna, the first of their three children, was born six months later on 26 May 1583. Over the centuries, some readers have posited that Shakespeare's sonnets are autobiographical, and point to them as evidence of his love for a young man. Others read the same passages as the expression of intense friendship rather than romantic love. The 26 so-called "Dark Lady" sonnets, addressed to a married woman, are taken as evidence of heterosexual liaisons.

Portraiture

No written contemporary description of Shakespeare's physical appearance survives, and no evidence suggests that he ever commissioned a portrait, so the Droeshout engraving, which Ben Jonson approved of as a good likeness, and his Stratford monument provide perhaps the best evidence of his appearance. From the 18th century, the desire for authentic Shakespeare portraits fuelled claims that various surviving pictures depicted Shakespeare. That demand also led to the production of several fake portraits, as well as misattributions, repaintings, and relabelling of portraits of other people.

References

1. The concept that Shakespeare was born on 23 April, contrary to belief, is a tradition, and not a fact; see ^ § Early life below.

2. Dates follow the ^ Julian calendar, used in England throughout Shakespeare's lifespan, but with the start of the year adjusted to 1 January (see Old Style and New Style dates). Under the Gregorian calendar, adopted in Catholic countries in 1582, Shakespeare died on 3 May.

3. The ^ crest is a silver falcon supporting a spear, while the motto is Non Sanz Droict (French for "not without right"). This motto is still used by Warwickshire County Council, in reference to Shakespeare.

4. Inscribed in Latin on his ^ funerary monument: AETATIS 53 DIE 23 APR (In his 53rd year he died 23 April).

5. The "national cult" of Shakespeare, and the "bard" identification, dates from September 1769, when the actor ^ David Garrick organised a week-long carnival at Stratford to mark the town council awarding him the freedom of the town. In addition to presenting the town with a statue of Shakespeare, Garrick composed a doggerel verse, lampooned in the London newspapers, naming the banks of the Avon as the birthplace of the "matchless Bard".

6. Grady cites ^ Voltaire's Philosophical Letters (1733); Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1795); Stendhal's two-part pamphlet Racine et Shakespeare (1823-25); and Victor Hugo's prefaces to (1827) and William Shakespeare (1864).

7. For example, ^ A.L. Rowse, the 20th-century Shakespeare scholar, was emphatic: "He died, as he had lived, a conforming member of the Church of England. His will made that perfectly clear-in facts, puts it beyond dispute, for it uses the Protestant formula."

Adams, Joseph Quincy (1923). A Life of William Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 1935264.

Baldwin, T.W. (1944). William Shakspere's Small Latine & Lesse Greek. Vol. 1. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. OCLC 359037.

Bednarz, James P. (2004). "Marlowe and the English literary scene". In Cheney, Patrick Gerard (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 90-105. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521820340. ISBN 978-0-511-99905-5. OCLC 53967052 - via Cambridge Core.

Boas, Frederick S. (1896). Shakspere and His Predecessors. The University series. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. hdl:2027/uc1.32106001899191. OCLC 221947650. OL 20577303M.

Bowers, Fredson (1955). On Editing Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Dramatists. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. OCLC 2993883.

Bryant, John (1998). "Moby-Dick as Revolution". In Levine, Robert Steven (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Herman Melville. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 65-90. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521554772. ISBN 978-1-139-00037-6. OCLC 37442715 - via Cambridge Core.

Carlyle, Thomas (1841). On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History. London: James Fraser. hdl:2027/hvd.hnlmmi. OCLC 17473532. OL 13561584M.

Craig, Leon Harold (2003). Of Philosophers and Kings: Political Philosophy in Shakespeare's Macbeth and King Lear. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-8605-1. OCLC 958558871.

Dominik, Mark (1988). Shakespeare-Middleton Collaborations. Beaverton: Alioth Press. ISBN 978-0-945088-01-1. OCLC 17300766.

Drakakis, John (1985). "Introduction". In Drakakis, John (ed.). Alternative Shakespeares. New York: Methuen. pp. 1-25. ISBN 978-0-416-36860-4. OCLC 11842276.

Dryden, John (1889). Arnold, Thomas (ed.). Dryden: An Essay of Dramatic Poesy. Oxford: Clarendon Press. hdl:2027/umn.31951t00074232s. ISBN 978-81-7156-323-4. OCLC 7847292. OL 23752217M.

Edwards, Phillip (1958). Shakespeare's Romances: 1900-1957. Shakespeare Survey. Vol. 11. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1-18. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521064244.001. ISBN 978-1-139-05291-7. OCLC 220909427 - via Cambridge Core.

Evans, G. Blakemore, ed. (1996). . The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Vol. 26. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-22225-9. OCLC 32272082.

Foakes, R.A. (1990). "Playhouses and players". In Braunmuller, A.R.; Hattaway, Michael (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to English Renaissance Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1-52. ISBN 978-0-521-38662-3. OCLC 20561419.

Friedman, Michael D. (2006). "'I'm not a feminist director but...': Recent Feminist Productions of The Taming of the Shrew". In Nelsen, Paul; Schlueter, June (eds.). Acts of Criticism: Performance Matters in Shakespeare and his Contemporaries. New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. pp. 159-174. ISBN 978-0-8386-4059-3. OCLC 60644679.

Gibbons, Brian (1993). Shakespeare and Multiplicity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511553103. ISBN 978-0-511-55310-3. OCLC 27066411 - via Cambridge Core.

Grady, Hugh (2001a). "Modernity, Modernism and Postmodernism in the Twentieth Century's Shakespeare". In Bristol, Michael; McLuskie, Kathleen (eds.). Shakespeare and Modern Theatre: The Performance of Modernity. New York: Routledge. pp. 20-35. ISBN 978-0-415-21984-6. OCLC 45394137.

Grady, Hugh (2001b). "Shakespeare criticism, 1600-1900". In de Grazia, Margreta; Wells, Stanley (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 265-278. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521650941.017. ISBN 978-1-139-00010-9. OCLC 44777325 - via Cambridge Core.

Johnson, Samuel (2002) [1755]. Lynch, Jack (ed.). Samuel Johnson's Dictionary: Selections from the 1755 Work that Defined the English Language. Delray Beach: Levenger Press. ISBN 978-1-84354-296-4. OCLC 56645909.

Jonson, Ben (1996) [1623]. "To the memory of my beloued, The AVTHOR MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: AND what he hath left vs". In Hinman, Charlton (ed.). The First Folio of Shakespeare (2nd ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-03985-6. OCLC 34663304.

Knutson, Roslyn (2001). Playing Companies and Commerce in Shakespeare's Time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511486043. ISBN 978-0-511-48604-3. OCLC 45505919 - via Cambridge Core.

Lee, Sidney (1900). Shakespeare's Life and Work: Being an Abridgment Chiefly for the Use of Students of a Life of A Life of William Shakespeare. London: Smith, Elder & Co. OCLC 355968. OL 21113614M.

Love, Harold (2002). Attributing Authorship: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511483165. ISBN 978-0-511-48316-5. OCLC 70741078 - via Cambridge Core.

Maguire, Laurie E. (1996). Shakespearean Suspect Texts: The 'Bad' Quartos and Their Contexts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511553134. ISBN 978-0-511-55313-4. OCLC 726828014 - via Cambridge Core.

McDonald, Russ (2006). Shakespeare's Late Style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511483783. ISBN 978-0-511-48378-3. OCLC 252529245 - via Cambridge Core.

McMichael, George; Glenn, Edgar M. (1962). Shakespeare and his Rivals: A Casebook on the Authorship Controversy. New York: Odyssey Press. OCLC 2113359.

Paraisz, Júlia (2006). "The Author, the Editor and the Translator: William Shakespeare, Alexander Chalmers and Sándor Petofi or the Nature of a Romantic Edition". Editing Shakespeare. Shakespeare Survey. Vol. 59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 124-135. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521868386.010. ISBN 978-1-139-05271-9. OCLC 237058653 - via Cambridge Core.

Pollard, Alfred W. (1909). Shakespeare Quartos and Folios: A Study in the Bibliography of Shakespeare's Plays, 1594-1685. London: Methuen. OCLC 46308204.

Roe, John, ed. (2006). The Poems: Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece, The Phoenix and the Turtle, The Passionate Pilgrim, A Lover's Complaint. The New Cambridge Shakespeare (2nd revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-85551-8. OCLC 64313051.

Rowe, Nicholas (2009) [1709]. Nicholl, Charles (ed.). Some Account of the Life &c of Mr. William Shakespear. Pallas Athene. ISBN 9781843680567.

Schoch, Richard W. (2002). "Pictorial Shakespeare". In Wells, Stanley; Stanton, Sarah (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 58-75. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521792959.004. ISBN 978-0-511-99957-4. OCLC 48140822 - via Cambridge Core.

de Sélincourt, Basil (1909). William Blake. The Library of Art. London: Duckworth & co. hdl:2027/mdp.39015066033914. OL 26411508M.

Schoenbaum, S. (1987). William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life (Revised ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-505161-2.

Smith, Irwin (1964). Shakespeare's Blackfriars Playhouse. New York: New York University Press. OCLC 256278.

Wells, Stanley; Taylor, Gary; Jowett, John; Montgomery, William, eds. (2005). The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-926717-0. OCLC 1153632306.

Wood, Manley, ed. (1806). The Plays of William Shakespeare with Notes of Various Commentators. Vol. I. London: George Kearsley. OCLC 38442678.

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
William Shakespeare (Tooltip baptised 26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the " Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard").

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Joanne Rowling – the girl who grew up to write Harry Potter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921 was awarded to Albert Einstein “for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Childhood and education

Einstein's parents were secular, middle-class Jews. His father, Hermann Einstein, was originally a featherbed salesman and later ran an electrochemical factory with moderate success. His mother, the former Pauline Koch, ran the family household. He had one sister, Maria (who went by the name Maja), born two years after Albert.

Einstein would write that two "wonders" deeply affected his early years. The first was his encounter with a compass at age five. He was mystified that invisible forces could deflect the needle. This would lead to a lifelong fascination with invisible forces. The second wonder came at age 12 when he discovered a book of geometry, which he devoured, calling it his "sacred little geometry book."

Einstein became deeply religious at age 12, even composing several songs in praise of God and chanting religious songs on the way to school. This began to change, however, after he read science books that contradicted his religious beliefs. This challenge to established authority left a deep and lasting impression. At the Luitpold Gymnasium, Einstein often felt out of place and victimized by a Prussian-style educational system that seemed to stifle originality and creativity. One teacher even told him that he would never amount to anything.

Yet another important influence on Einstein was a young medical student, Max Talmud (later Max Talmey), who often had dinner at the Einstein home. Talmud became an informal tutor, introducing Einstein to higher mathematics and philosophy. A pivotal turning point occurred when Einstein was 16 years old. Talmud had earlier introduced him to a children's science series by Aaron Bernstein, Naturwissenschaftliche Volksbucher (1867-68; Popular Books on Physical Science), in which the author imagined riding alongside electricity that was traveling inside a telegraph wire. Einstein then asked himself the question that would dominate his thinking for the next 10 years: What would a light beam look like if you could run alongside it? If light were a wave, then the light beam should appear stationary, like a frozen wave. Even as a child, though, he knew that stationary light waves had never been seen, so there was a paradox. Einstein also wrote his first "scientific paper" at that time ("The Investigation of the State of Aether in Magnetic Fields").

Einstein's education was disrupted by his father's repeated failures at business. In 1894, after his company failed to get an important contract to electrify the city of Munich, Hermann Einstein moved to Milan to work with a relative. Einstein was left at a boardinghouse in Munich and expected to finish his education. Alone, miserable, and repelled by the looming prospect of military duty when he turned 16, Einstein ran away six months later and landed on the doorstep of his surprised parents. His parents realized the enormous problems that he faced as a school dropout and draft dodger with no employable skills. His prospects did not look promising.

Fortunately, Einstein could apply directly to the Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule ("Swiss Federal Polytechnic School"; in 1911, following expansion in 1909 to full university status, it was renamed the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, or "Swiss Federal Institute of Technology") in Zürich without the equivalent of a high school diploma if he passed its stiff entrance examinations. His marks showed that he excelled in mathematics and physics, but he failed at French, chemistry, and biology. Because of his exceptional math scores, he was allowed into the polytechnic on the condition that he first finish his formal schooling. He went to a special high school run by Jost Winteler in Aarau, Switzerland, and graduated in 1896. He also renounced his German citizenship at that time. (He was stateless until 1901, when he was granted Swiss citizenship.) He became lifelong friends with the Winteler family, with whom he had been boarding. (Winteler's daughter, Marie, was Einstein's first love; Einstein's sister, Maja, would eventually marry Winteler's son Paul; and his close friend Michele Besso would marry their eldest daughter, Anna.)

Einstein would recall that his years in Zürich were some of the happiest years of his life. He met many students who would become loyal friends, such as Marcel Grossmann, a mathematician, and Besso, with whom he enjoyed lengthy conversations about space and time. He also met his future wife, Mileva Maric, a fellow physics student from Serbia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Albert Einstein | Biography, Education, Discoveries, & Facts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Albert Einstein, the brilliant physicist and Nobel laureate, revolutionized our understanding of the universe with his theory of relativity and became a symbol of genius that continues to inspire minds worldwide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
SchoolTube - Safe video sharing and management for K12

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 26: Michael Jordan attends during the French Ligue 1 match between Paris ... [+]
Getty Images

Now that he's a 56-year-old grandfather and is 16 years removed from his NBA playing career, Michael Jordan is approaching life differently.

In addition to celebrating the birth of his first grandson, Rakeem Michael Christmas, Jordan has now donated some $30 million over the last five years to activist projects, including $5 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, at least $3 million to hurricane relief, millions to Make-A-Wish and millions to Chicago-area-charities, according to an interview Jordan did with Craig Melvin of The Today Show.

"My purpose for doing it is because I see a certain need," he told Melvin. "I feel a certain warmth about it. If I feel like I'm making a difference, that's all that matters to me."

Jordan, who helped lead the North Carolina Tar Heels to the 1982 NCAA championship before winning six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, also helped support not one, but two health clinics for the under-served in his home state of North Carolina.

"I'll be able to give back to the community that's supported me over the years when I was playing the game of basketball to now where I'm a part of this community," he said at the event's groundbreaking.

"I give for the sake of giving, not to advertise or not to promote," he told Melvin.

Jordan, the owner of the Charlotte Hornets and the face of Nike's Jordan Brand, is worth an estimated $1.9 billion, making him the fourth-richest African-American in the world, Melvin reported.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 18: Mark Smith and Cincoro founding partner Michael Jordan the ... [+]
Getty Images for Cincoro

He's also just launched a signature tequila line, called Cincoro.

"We decided to do our own tequila. If we sell it, we sell it," he told Melvin. "If not, at least we got enough to drink."

On the basketball front, Jordan said in 2013 if he could pick four guys to compete on a five-on-five team against anyone, he would take Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, James Worthy and Hakeem Olajuwon.

But with new stars like LeBron James, Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo now dominating, would Jordan change his team at all?

"I'm going with who I know, every single night," he said, adding he wouldn't change his team "in a heartbeat."

Of Curry, Jordan said with a smile, "He's still a great player, not a Hall of a Famer yet."

As for his grandson, Rakeem Michael Christmas is the son of former Syracuse player Rakeem Christmas and Syracuse alum Jasmine Jordan.

"It's fun because I can actually hold him and play with him and I'm having fun watching him," Jordan told Melvin.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Michael Jordan Has Donated $30 Million To Activist Projects, Including Health Clinics And Hurricane Relief

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Now that he's a 56-year-old grandfather and is 16 years removed from his NBA playing career, Michael Jordan is approaching life differently.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
William Shakespeare - Playwright | Mini Bio | BIO

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
M arie Curie, née Maria Sklodowska, was born in Warsaw on November 7, 1867, the daughter of a secondary-school teacher. She received a general education in local schools and some scientific training from her father. She became involved in a students' revolutionary organization and found it prudent to leave Warsaw, then in the part of Poland dominated by Russia, for Cracow, which at that time was under Austrian rule. In 1891, she went to Paris to continue her studies at the Sorbonne where she obtained Licenciateships in Physics and the Mathematical Sciences. She met Pierre Curie, Professor in the School of Physics in 1894 and in the following year they were married. She succeeded her husband as Head of the Physics Laboratory at the Sorbonne, gained her Doctor of Science degree in 1903, and following the tragic death of Pierre Curie in 1906, she took his place as Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences, the first time a woman had held this position. She was also appointed Director of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium Institute of the University of Paris, founded in 1914.

Her early researches, together with her husband, were often performed under difficult conditions, laboratory arrangements were poor and both had to undertake much teaching to earn a livelihood. The discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel in 1896 inspired the Curies in their brilliant researches and analyses which led to the isolation of polonium, named after the country of Marie's birth, and radium. Mme. Curie developed methods for the separation of radium from radioactive residues in sufficient quantities to allow for its characterization and the careful study of its properties, therapeutic properties in particular.

Mme. Curie throughout her life actively promoted the use of radium to alleviate suffering and during World War I, assisted by her daughter, Irene, she personally devoted herself to this remedial work. She retained her enthusiasm for science throughout her life and did much to establish a radioactivity laboratory in her native city - in 1929 President Hoover of the United States presented her with a gift of $ 50,000, donated by American friends of science, to purchase radium for use in the laboratory in Warsaw.

Mme. Curie, quiet, dignified and unassuming, was held in high esteem and admiration by scientists throughout the world. She was a member of the Conseil du Physique Solvay from 1911 until her death and since 1922 she had been a member of the Committee of Intellectual Co-operation of the League of Nations. Her work is recorded in numerous papers in scientific journals and she is the author of Recherches sur les Substances Radioactives (1904), L'Isotopie et les Éléments Isotopes and the classic Traité' de Radioactivité (1910).

The importance of Mme. Curie's work is reflected in the numerous awards bestowed on her. She received many honorary science, medicine and law degrees and honorary memberships of learned societies throughout the world. Together with her husband, she was awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for their study into the spontaneous radiation discovered by Becquerel, who was awarded the other half of the Prize. In 1911 she received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity. She also received, jointly with her husband, the Davy Medal of the Royal Society in 1903 and, in 1921, President Harding of the United States, on behalf of the women of America, presented her with one gram of radium in recognition of her service to science.

For further details, cf. Biography of Pierre Curie. Mme. Curie died in Savoy, France, after a short illness, on July 4, 1934.

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished inNobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

To cite this section
MLA style: Marie Curie - Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Wed. 9 Aug 2023. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1903/marie-curie/biographical/>

Back to top

See them all presented here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 was divided, one half awarded to Antoine Henri Becquerel "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity", the other half jointly to Pierre Curie and Marie Curie, née Sklodowska "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Betty Jean Jennings Bartik receives 2008 Computer Pioneer Award

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Walt Disney was a pioneer in the field of animated, or cartoon, films. He became famous for creating such well-known characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois. At an early age Walt had a gift for drawing and painting. While attending high school he took art classes to develop these skills. Disney left school to serve as an ambulance driver during World War I.

In 1923 Disney moved to Hollywood, California. There he began creating the characters that would make him famous. In 1928 he released the short cartoon film Steamboat Willie. It starred a cheerful mouse named Mickey. The next year Disney formed Walt Disney Productions to create more animated films.

Other popular cartoon characters followed. In the 1930s audiences were introduced to Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy. Disney's first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was released in 1937.

In the 1940s Disney's company began making movies with live actors. Mary Poppins, from 1964, was the most successful of these. Disney also continued making animated features, including such classics as Pinocchio (1940), Cinderella (1950), and Peter Pan (1953).

In 1955 Disney's company opened Disneyland, a large theme park in Anaheim, California. Walt Disney World, a second and larger amusement park, opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1971. Disney died on December 15, 1966.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Walt Disney was a pioneer in the field of animated, or cartoon, films. He became famous for creating such well-known characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois. At an early age Walt had a gift for drawing and painting.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
William Shakespeare: Legendary Wordsmith - Fast Facts | History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
At Global Sport Matters and the Global Sport Institute we recognize, celebrate, and honor Indigenous communities and their histories. We believe that Indigenous stories matter not only on a single day, but everyday.

Voices: Jordan Marie Daniel is running for those whose voices were stolen
"My body is a messenger in this journey and I paint it on my body to honor, remember and recognize those stolen from our communities."
Jordan Marie Daniel is an elite runner and a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate (Lower Brule Sioux) tribe. In this personal op-ed, she talks about her commitment to combining advocacy and athletics to support her community. She has contributed her efforts and talents to protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and competes wearing numbers and red paint dedicated to the victims of the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) epidemic. Daniel is a resilient inspiration and an amazing example of what it means to use your platform for justice.

The Huddle: Reaction to Washington NFL Team Retiring The R-Word & Racist Mascot
"If we're going to move forward with larger questions of addressing structural and institutional and societal racism, it's going to have to be through calls of coalition."
After years of controversy and protest, the Washington Football Team retired its long-standing racist name and logo in June. While this was a triumph, it is not a solution to the racism faced by Indigenous peoples in the United States. Amanda Blackhorse (Diné), Natalie Diaz (Mojave), Dr. Bryan Brayboy (Lumbee), and Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota) share their reactions to the team's announcement and emphasize the importance of education, coalition, and action.

Navajo ultra distance runner honors the Long Walk by retracing history step by step
"I saw that my runs were about honoring those sites from the past to the present and into the future...in that way, the runs were really about the Navajo people and their voices and prayers and thoughts-and acknowledging that we're still here."
Edison Eskeets (Diné) is an ultra-distance runner from Gallup, New Mexico. In 2018, he embarked on a 15 day run that traced the route of the , the path traveled by thousands of Diné people as they were forcibly removed from their homeland by the United States government. His goal was to acknowledge this history, honor the tradition of long-distance messengers, and celebrate the survival of the Diné tribe.

The Huddle: The R-Word, Racist Mascots, & Reporters' Roundtable
"Racism has always been there. It's how we address it that matters."
Amanda Blackhorse is also featured in this episode of which predates the Washington Football Team name change. She provides more specific insight into the history and weight of derogatory names. As the lead plaintiff in Blackhorse v. Pro-Football , she also delves into the legal actions taken against the Washington team and others that use racist mascots.

GSM Live: COVID-19 & Sport in Native American Communities (Video)

Native American communities have been hit harder than others in the wake of the pandemic. The realities of lacking resources have been brought to the forefront during this time. Communities have been forced to cancel large gatherings, like most of the world, including the 2020 Native American Basketball Invitational, which has far-reaching impact for young people on and off the court. The games brought the community together as well as opportunities for higher education with college and job fairs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sport and Its Tie to Indigenous Communities - Global Sport Matters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At Global Sport Matters and the Global Sport Institute we recognize, celebrate, and honor Indigenous communities and their histories. We believe that Indigenous stories matter not only on a single day, but everyday.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
Database article

# data[].attributes.body
Primary Source - See the statement given by Rosa Parks after her arrest.

# data[].attributes.body
Primary Source

# data[].attributes.body
Primary Source

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
instant access to thousands of great kids books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.