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Great leaders are often defined not by their beliefs, but by how they react when those beliefs are tested to the limit.

In the case of the Pakistani girl activist Malala Yousafzai, it's likely historians will focus on the horrific incident one year ago this week when she was shot in the head as she made her way home on the school bus.

In the eyes of the world, that was the defining moment in her fight for education - transforming her from an unknown schoolgirl to a global figurehead in the struggle for girls' rights.

Yet the truly remarkable thing about Malala is how little that attack by the Taliban changed her.

Girls' education crusader

Malala was an outstanding young lady long before that day in October 2012.

Encouraged by her father, a headteacher and anti-Taliban campaigner, Malala began speaking out about girls' education aged just 11. That would be unusual in most societies, but especially in one where girls are often undervalued.

In 2008 she spoke at local press club meeting, telling the gathered journalists: "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?"

Her words were remarkable, not only for their clarity and intelligence, but also for their fearlessness.

Just weeks earlier, the Taliban had taken control of the Swat Valley where Malala lived and issued an edict banning girls from attending school. Most people retreated in fear, but Malala thrust herself into the spotlight to protest against the injustice.

After the press club speech she made TV news appearances in both Pakistan and the United States. She also began writing an online diary for the BBC.

Clearly, Malala wanted to be heard. It's a tragedy that she had to be shot before the world truly listened.

The goal is peace, not a prize

The attack happened just two days before the first-ever International Day of the Girl (IDG) last October.

Today, on IDG 2013, it's clear that Malala has put girls at the centre of the debate about global development and justice.

The girl whose struggle was once ignored now has regular audiences with presidents, monarchs and Hollywood A-listers. She's been named one of the 10 most influential people in the world (higher even than Barack Obama) called "a symbol of hope, a daughter of the United Nations" by the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon and just missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize at the announcement today.

The youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner, the journalist Tawakkol Karman, was 32 when she won it. Malala's nomination at just 16 is an incredible achievement.

Her profile has been transformed, but her focus and determination are the same as they ever were. "My goal is not to get a Nobel Peace Prize, it is to get peace," she told the BBC this week.

The Malala Fund

Progress towards that goal of peace has been rapid.

Malala's education petition received more than three million signatures, and a remarkable speech at the UN on her 16th birthday in July prompted Ban Ki-moon to recommit to Millennium Development Goal 2 - universal primary education - through the Global Education First Initiative. "One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world," she told the UN.

Malala is now attending school in Birmingham, England. Her determination to ensure all girls get an education hasn't faltered even for a moment. Two weeks ago she launched the Malala Fund, which will support 40 Pakistani girls through school. "After a brutal attempt to silence her voice, it grew louder, and she more resolute," said actress and UN special envoy Angelina Jolie at the launch.

"She is powerful, but she is also a sweet, creative, loving little girl who wants to help others. Her goal is progress, not notoriety," added Jolie.

Support the Girl Declaration

Malala's journey from Pakistani school to the floor of the United Nations demonstrates the power of giving girls a voice. "Because of Malala there is a public understanding that something is wrong and has got to be done," said former UK prime minister Gordon Brown.

The global community now owes it to her to make sure no other girl has to endure such a horrific ordeal in order to be heard.

The Girl Declaration has been created to give girls like Malala all over the world a voice, and we are honoured that Malala herself has signed it.

Today the Declaration will be handed over to the UN. They need to read it, support it and use it to put girls at the heart of global development policy. It's the least that Malala - and the 250 million girls living in poverty - deserves.

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Girl Heroes: Malala Yousafzai: the story of a hero

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Great leaders are often defined not by their beliefs, but by how they react when those beliefs are tested to the limit. In the case of the Pakistani girl activist Malala Yousafzai, it's likely historians will focus on the horrific incident one year ago this week when she was shot in the head as she made her way home on the school bus.

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by Nancy Nickerson

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

Wilma Rudolph was an exceptional American track and field athlete who overcame debilitating childhood illnesses and went on to become the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics.

Wilma Rudolph was born in 1940 in Bethlehem, Tenn. The twentieth of 22 children, she was born with polio and suffered from serious bouts of pneumonia and scarlet fever as a young child. All these ailments contributed to a bad leg that some said would prevent her from ever walking. But Wilma had a loving and devoted family who made sure she got medical attention and who provided physical therapy themselves four times a day. She wore a leg brace from the time she was five until she was 11 years old. Then, one Sunday, she removed it and walked down the aisle of her church.

When Wilma was 13, she got involved in organized sports at school, including basketball and track. Soon she was running and winning races. She was invited to a training camp at Tennessee State University by coach Ed Temple, who coached numerous track and field athletes and became Wilma's most important professional influence.

In 1956, when she was still a sophomore in high school, she participated in the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. She lost the 200 meter race, but her relay team took home the bronze medal.

Wilma became more determined than ever. In 1958, she began college at Tennessee State University and became a member of Ed Temple's "Tigerbelles" track team. In 1960, she set a world record for the 200 meter dash during the Olympic trials. Then during the Olympic games in Rome, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash and the 400 meter relay. When she returned to Tennessee, she was honored with her hometown's first racially integrated parade.

The next year she received a Sullivan Award, which is given annually to the top amateur athlete in the United States. Subsequent honors included the Black Sports Hall of Fame, the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the National Women's Hall of Fame. In 1993, she became the first recipient of President Clinton's National Sports Award.

Wilma had worked her way through school and later became a coach and teacher. Her autobiography, "Wilma Rudolph on Track", was a bestseller, and in 1977 it became a television movie, starring Cicely Tyson. Wilma's greatest pride was her four children.

On Nov. 12, 1994, Wilma Rudolph died of a brain tumor at the age of 54. The Olympic flag covered her casket at her funeral. She will always be remembered for her inspirational determination to overcome her physical disabilities. Through the love of her family and her religious convictions she rose above the racism and segregation of her time. She recognized the importance of good teachers in her own life, and later became a teacher herself. Wilma Rudolph was not only a sports hero, she was also a family hero and a teacher hero.

Extra Info

Caltrise Smith from Gretna, La., writes:

Wilma Rudolph, once known as the sickliest child in Clarksville, Tennessee, became one of the fastest women in the world. She overcame polio as a child, and at age twenty became the first American women to win three gold medals at a single Olympics. When Wilma returned home her family was waiting for her, and so was all of Clarksville. The huge parade and banquet held in her honor were the first events in the town's history to include both blacks and whites.
When Wilma was a child, in the 1940s, she contracted polio, also known as infantile paralysis. It was the world's most dreaded disease. With great bravery and the help of her family, Wilma fought and won her battle against polio. A cure for polio was not found until 1955. By then, it had killed or crippled 357,000 Americans, mostly children, only 50,000 fewer than the number of Americans who had died in W. W. II.

After Wilma retired from her career as a runner in 1962, she became a second grade teacher and a high school coach. She remained a much-admired celebrity, but to prove that there was more to her than just running, she started a company called Wilma Unlimited. This gave her opportuniies to travel, lecture and support causes she believed in. Later she founded the non-profit Wilma Rudolph Foundation to nurture young athletes and to teach them that they, too, can succeed despite all odds against them. The story of all she overcame in order to win at the Olympics has inspired thousands of young athletes, especially women and my self. Wilma Rudolph died in 1994. THAT'S WHY I THINK SHE'S A HERO!

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"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt Wilma Rudolph was an exceptional American track and field athlete who overcame debilitating childhood illnesses and went on to become the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics.

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Wilma Rudolph - The First American Woman to Win 3 Gold Medals at a Single Olympics | Mini Bio | BIO

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Wilma Rudolph: A Story of Determination Wilma Rudolph overcame long odds to become one of the world's best-known athletes. How and why she did what she did are as amazing as her accomplishments.
She was born on June 23, 1940, in Bethlehem, Tennessee. She was born premature, or early, and so she was a weak baby. She was born into a large family (the 20th of 22 children), in a time when African-Americans weren't at the top of the list to get help at America's finest hospitals. She had many diseases as a child, including polio, scarlet fever, and pneumonia; one result of this was that her left leg was partially deformed.

She wouldn't give up, however, and was determined to be like any other child. She wore braces to help herself walk. Her family gave her daily massages on her leg and also drove her to physical therapy sessions. All of these things put together led to the astonishing development of Wilma's taking off the braces entirely when she was 9. Two years later, she was playing basketball! (In her later life, she was fond of saying this: "My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.")

Rudolph proved to be a remarkable athlete and caught the attention of the track coach at nearby Tennessee State University, who coached her in track throughout her high school years. She never lost a high school track meet and attended college practices while she was still in high school. At age 16, Wilma competed for and won a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. Her 4x100-meter relay won the bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

She kept running and got better and better. She enrolled at Tennessee State and continued to win track meets. At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, she became the first American woman—white or black—to win three gold medals in one Olympics. She won the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x100-meter relay. Many people called her the "World's Fastest Woman." She was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.

Suddenly , Wilma Rudolph, who was once a little girl who couldn't walk without the help of leg braces, was an international track star. She toured other countries, winning big cheers in England, Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands. When she spoke, people listened.

Her return home to Tennessee was a momentous occasion as well. The governor of her home state wanted to have a victory parade for her, but Rudolph wouldn't allow it unless it didn't include restrictions on people's skin color. The governor agreed, and the parade was the first integrated event in Clarksville, where she had lived since she was very young.

Rudolph remained a public figure, working to help young athletes get better and to improve the rights of African-Americans. She worked as a track coach at DePauw University, in Indiana. She created the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to help young athletes get the recognition and support they deserved. She was voted into the National Track and Field Hall of Hame, as well as the Black Athletes Hall of Fame and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. She was also a sports commentator.

In 1963, she married Robert Eldridge; they had four children.

Sadly, she died of brain cancer on November 12, 1994. She was just 54. She was remembered as an amazing athlete and a powerful voice for African-Americans and their struggle for equality.

"Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion. The potential for greatness lives within each of us."

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Wilma Rudolph: A Story of Determination Wilma Rudolph overcame long odds to become one of the world's best-known athletes. How and why she did what she did are as amazing as her accomplishments. She was born on June 23, 1940, in Bethlehem, Tennessee. She was born premature, or early, and so she was a weak baby.

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Born: June 23, 1940
St. Bethlehem, Tennessee
Died: November 12, 1994
Brentwood, Tennessee
African American track and field athlete, sports manager, and coach

The African American athlete Wilma Rudolph made history in the 1960 Summer Olympic games in Rome, Italy, when she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in the track and field competition.

An uphill battle

Almost every circumstance was stacked against Wilma Rudolph from the day she was born on June 23, 1940. Her father, Ed Rudolph, had eleven children by a first marriage while his second marriage yielded eight more, of which Wilma was the fifth. At birth she weighed only four-and-a-half pounds. Her mother, Blanche, a housemaid, feared for Wilma's survival from the outset. The family lived in tiny St. Bethlehem, Tennessee, a farming community about forty-five miles southeast of Nashville, Tennessee. Shortly after Wilma was born, the Rudolphs moved to nearby Clarksville, Tennessee, where they lived in town. Her father worked as a porter on railroad cars, and her mother cleaned houses six days a week. Older siblings helped care for the sickly baby who had come into the world prematurely.

At the age of four, Wilma was severely weakened when she contracted polio, a disease that attacks the central nervous system and often causes developmental problems in children. She survived the illness, but she lost the use of her left leg. Specialists in Nashville recommended routine massage therapy for the limb, and Mrs. Rudolph learned it and taught it to some of the older children. Thus, Wilma's legs were massaged a number of times each day, helping her to regain strength. Rudolph's confidence may have flagged at times in her childhood when it seemed she might spend a lifetime in leg braces or even a wheelchair. Through the efforts of her devoted family-and her own steely determination to strengthen herself-she rose from disability to Olympic glory.

Staged a comeback from physical disability

After five years of treatment, Wilma one day stunned her doctors when she removed her leg braces and walked by herself. Soon she was joining her brothers and sisters in basketball games in the Rudolph backyard and running street races against other children her age. "By the time I was 12," she told the Chicago Tribune, "I was challenging every boy in our neighborhood at running, jumping, everything."

Rudolph desperately wanted to play high school basketball, but she simply could not convince the coach to put her on the team. When she finally worked up the nerve to ask him for a tryout, he agreed to coach her privately for ten minutes each morning. Still she was cut in her freshman year. She finally earned a position on the roster at Burt High School in Clarksville, Mississippi, because the coach wanted her older sister to play. Her father agreed to allow her sister to join the team only if Wilma was allowed to join, too.

Rudolph soon blossomed into a fine basketball player. As a sophomore she scored 803 points in twenty-five games, a new state record for a player on a girls' basketball team. She also started running in track meets and found that her greatest strengths lay in the sprint. She was only fourteen when she attracted the attention of Ed Temple, the women's track coach at Tennessee State University. Temple told her she had the potential to become a great runner, and during the summer breaks from high school she trained with him and the students at Tennessee State.

An Olympian

The Olympic Games were a far-off dream to a young African American woman in Tennessee. She was a teenager before she even learned what the Olympics were. Rudolph caught on fast, though. In four seasons of high school track meets, she never lost a race. At the tender age of sixteen, she qualified for the Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, and came home with a bronze medal.

Rudolph entered Tennessee State University in the fall of 1957, with the intention of majoring in elementary education. All of her spare time was consumed by running, however. The pace took its toll, and she found herself too ill to run through most of the 1958 season. She rebounded in 1959, only to pull a muscle at a crucial meet between the United States and the Soviet Union, the former country made up of Russia and several smaller nations. Ed Temple, who would prove to be a lifelong friend, supervised her recovery, and by 1960 Rudolph was ready to go to Rome, Italy.

At the 1960 Olympics, Rudolph won all three of her gold medals in very dramatic fashion. In both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, she finished at least three yards in front of her closest competitor. She tied the world record in the 100-meter and set a new Olympic record in the 200. Rudolph also brought her 400-meter relay team from behind to win the gold. The French called her "La Gazelle." Without question, Rudolph's achievements at the 1960 Olympic Games remain a stand-out performance in the history of Olympic competition.

After the fame

Wilma Rudolph became an instant celebrity in Europe and America. Crowds gathered wherever she was scheduled to run. She was given ticker tape parades, an official invitation to the White House by President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), and a dizzying round of dinners, awards, and television appearances.

Rudolph made one decision that she stuck to firmly: she refused to participate in the 1964 Olympic games. She felt that she might not be able to duplicate her achievement of 1960, and she did not want to appear to be fading. She retired from amateur athletics in 1963, finished her college work, and became a school teacher and athletic coach. She also became a mother, raising four children on her own after two divorces.

Talent didn't go to waste

For more than two decades, Wilma Rudolph sought to impart the lessons she learned about amateur athletics to other young men and women. She was the author of an autobiography, Wilma, which was published in 1977-and the subject of a television movie based on her book. She lectured in every part of America and even served in 1991 as an ambassador to the European celebration of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, the wall that for three decades separated East from West Berlin, Germany. Rudolph helped to open and run inner-city sports clinics and served as a consultant to university track teams. She also founded her own organization, the Wilma Rudolph Foundation, dedicated to promoting amateur athletics.

Rudolph was a member of the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. She traveled frequently and was well known for her motivational speeches to youngsters.

On November 12, 1994, Wilma Rudolph died at her home in Brentwood, Tennessee, of a brain tumor. She is survived by two sons, two daughters, six sisters, two brothers, and a truly inspirational legacy.

For More Information

Coffey, Wayne. Wilma Rudolph. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press, 1993.

Flanagan, Alice K. Wilma Rudolph: Athlete and Educator. Chicago: Ferguson, 2000.

Krull, Kathleen. Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1996.

Ruth, Amy. Wilma Rudolph. Minneapolis: Lerner, 2000.

Sherrow, Victoria. Wilma Rudolph: Olympic Champion. New York: Chelsea House, 1995.

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Born: June 23, 1940 St. Bethlehem, Tennessee Died: November 12, 1994 Brentwood, Tennessee African American track and field athlete, sports manager, and coach The African American athlete Wilma Rudolph made history in the 1960 Summer Olympic games in Rome, Italy, when she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in the track and field competition.

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In 1960, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics.

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Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 – November 12, 1994) was an American sprinter from Clarksville, Tennessee, who became a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her successes in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games.

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Humble beginnings

Born Maria Skłodowska on 7 November 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, she was the youngest of five children of poor school teachers.

After her mother died and her father could no longer support her she became a governess, reading and studying in her own time to quench her thirst for knowledge. She never lost this passion.

To become a teacher - the only alternative which would allow her to be independent - was never a possibility because a lack of money prevented her from a formal higher education. However, when her sister offered her lodgings in Paris with a view to going to university, she grasped the opportunity and moved to France in 1891.

She immediately entered Sorbonne University in Paris where she read physics and mathematics - she had naturally discovered a love of the subjects through her insatiable appetite for learning.

It was in Paris, in 1894, that she met Pierre Curie - a scientist working in the city - and who she married a year later. It was also around this time that she adopted the French spelling of her name - Marie. It is of course this version of her name that our charity uses, along with our hospices, Marie Curie Nursing Service and our Companion service.

Work on radioactivity and discoveries

The Curies became research workers at the School of Chemistry and Physics in Paris and there they began their pioneering work into invisible rays given off by uranium - a new phenomenon which had recently been discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel.

He had shown that the rays were able to pass through solid matter, fog and photographic film and caused air to conduct electricity.

Marie also noticed that samples of a mineral called pitchblende, which contains uranium ore, were a great deal more radioactive than the pure element uranium. Further work convinced her the very large readings she was getting could not be caused by uranium alone - there was something else in the pitchblende. Since nobody had ever found it before, it could only be present in tiny quantities, and it seemed to be very radioactive. Marie was convinced she had found a new chemical element - other scientists doubted her results.

Pierre and Marie Curie set about working to search for the unknown element. They ground up samples of pitchblende, dissolved them in acid, and began to separate the different elements present, using the standard analytical chemistry techniques of the time. Eventually, they extracted a black powder 330 times more radioactive than uranium, which they called polonium . Polonium was a new chemical element, atomic number 84.

When the Curies investigated further, they found that the liquid left behind after they had extracted polonium was still extremely radioactive. They realised that pitchblende contained another new element, far more radioactive than polonium, but present in even smaller quantities.

In 1898, the Curies published strong evidence supporting the existence of the new element - which they called radium - but they still had no sample of it. Pitchblende is an expensive mineral, because it contains valuable uranium, and Marie needed a lot of it.

She got in touch with a factory in Austria that removed the uranium from pitchblende for industrial use and bought several tonnes of the worthless waste product, which was even more radioactive than the original pitchblende, and was much cheaper. Marie set about processing the pitchblende to extract the tiny quantities of radium. This involved working on a much larger scale than before, with 20kg batches of the mineral - grinding, dissolving, filtering, precipitating, collecting, redissolving, crystallising and recrystallising.

The work was heavy and physically demanding - and involved dangers the Curies did not appreciate. During this time they began to feel sick and physically exhausted; today we can attribute their ill-health to the early symptoms of radiation sickness. At the time they persevered in ignorance of the risks, often with raw and inflamed hands because they were continually handling highly radioactive material.

In 1902 Marie eventually isolated radium (as radium chloride), determining its atomic weight as 225.93. The journey to the discovery had been long and arduous.
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In 1903 Marie and Pierre were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics jointly with Henri Becquerel for their combined, though separate, work on radioactivity.

In the same year, Marie passed her doctorate thesis in Physics.

In 1906 Marie's life was struck by tragedy when Pierre was killed in a street accident after being knocked down by a horse and cart. Her indomitable spirit, however, kept her working and she went on to succeed him in his Chair as Professor at the Sorbonne, as well as carrying on lecturing where he had left off.

Her determination and remarkable endeavours led to a second Nobel Prize in 1911, this time in chemistry for creating a means of measuring radioactivity. Not long after, Sorbonne built the first radium institute with two laboratories; one for study of radioactivity under Marie Curie's direction, and the other for biological research into the treatment of cancer.

During the First World War, Marie Curie worked to develop small, mobile X-ray units that could be used to diagnose injuries near the battlefront. As Director of the Red Cross Radiological Service, she toured Paris, asking for money, supplies and vehicles which could be converted.

In October 1914, the first machines, known as "Petits Curies", were ready, and Marie set off to the front. She worked with her daughter Irene, then aged 17, at casualty clearing stations close to the front line, X-raying wounded men to locate fractures, bullets and shrapnel.

The technology Marie Curie developed for the "Petits Curies" is similar to that used today in the fluoroscopy machine at our Hampstead hospice. A powerful X-ray machine, it allows doctors to examine moving images in the body, such as pumping action of the heart or the motion of swallowing.

After the war, Marie continued her work as a researcher, teacher and head of a laboratory and received many awards and prizes. Among them were the Ellan Richards Research Prize (1921), the Grand Prix du Marquis d'Argenteuil (1923) and the Cameron Prize from Edinburgh University (1931). She was also the recipient of many honorary degrees from universities around the world.
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Why we're named after Marie Curie

A successful name in the field of science, Marie Curie allowed her name to be used by the Marie Curie Hospital in north London. Opened in 1930, it was staffed entirely by women to treat female cancer patients using radiology. It also had research facilities.

After the Marie Curie Hospital was more or less destroyed in 1944 by a bomb, a group of people decided to re-establish the hospital as a charity under Marie Curie's name, rather than as part of the new NHS. This marked the start of the hospital's development into a charity to support cancer patients.

Now, in the 21 st century, Marie Curie is the UK's leading end of life charity in the UK. We're here to support anyone with an illness they're likely to die from, and those close to them. We provide expert hospice care, support over the phone, and push for a better end of life for all by campaigning and sharing research to change the system. In 2015, Marie Curie's granddaughter, Hélène Langevin-Joliot, visited our Hampstead hospice and talked about her grandmother's legacy.

We are proud to have this great scientist as our namesake.
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Films about Marie Curie the scientist

Marie Curie's renown has led to her being the subject of numerous films over the years.

Below are just some of the many dramatisations that have been created about her work and life. Our charity has not been involved in the production of any of any of these works.

Radioactive - 2020

British actress Rosamund Pike portrays Marie Curie in Radioactive , the most recent film about the physicist. It focuses on her career in the scientific world and the relationships she had throughout her life, including with her husband Pierre Curie.

Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge - 2016

Although born in Poland, Marie Curie spent much of her life living in France. As a result, she has been portrayed several times in French cinema. Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge , a French-language film, was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

Marie Curie: More Than Meets the Eye - 1997

In this 1997 TV film Marie Curie is played by Kate Trotter. Marie Curie: More Than Meets the Eye sees two little girls notice a woman who is somehow able to enter high-security buildings during WW1. They later find out that the subject of their intrigue is none other than the famous physicist.

Madame Curie - 1943

This biographical film was released only 10 years after Marie Curie's death - a testament to the enduring recognition of her work. Madame Curie was adapted from the biography of Ève Curie, Marie Curie's daughter, and focuses on how her mother and father met while working together.
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Marie Curie quotes
"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." "Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood." "I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries." "I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale." "One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done." "Have no fear of perfection; you'll never reach it." "Humanity also needs dreamers, for whom the disinterested development of an enterprise is so captivating that it becomes impossible for them to devote their care to their own material profit." "You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." "I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy." "Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas."

Death and legacy

On 4 July 1934, at the Sancellemoz Sanatorium in Passy, France at the age of 66, Marie Curie died. The cause of her death was given as aplastic pernicious anaemia, a condition she developed after years of exposure to radiation through her work.

She left two daughters, Irene (born 1898) and Eve (born 1904).

Irene, like her mother, entered the field of scientific research and, with her husband Frederic Joliot, worked on the nucleus of the atom and together were awarded a Nobel Prize and credited with the discovery of artificial radiation. Irene too died of a radiation-related illness - leukaemia - in 1956. Irene's daughter and granddaugther to Marie Curie, Hélène Langevin-Joliot, herself a famous nuclear physicist, visited our Hampstead hospice in March 2015.

Eve became a journalist and writer. Irene's daughter Dr Hélène Langevin-Joliot (born 1927) also pursued a career in nuclear physics and became research emeritus of the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris.

In 1995, Marie and Pierre Curie were reburied in the Pantheon - the Paris mausoleum reserved for France's most revered dead - on the orders of French President Mitterand.

Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded a place in the Pantheon for her own achievements.

Marie Curie's life as a scientist was one which flourished because of her ability to observe, deduce and predict. She is also arguably the first woman to make such a significant contribution to science. Marie Curie the charity is proud to be named in honour of her.

Further information about Marie Curie
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Learn about Marie Curie's history, from our founding in 1948 to today.

Our history

How we fund, manage and invest in research.

Research strategy

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Marie Curie the scientist | Biog, facts & quotes

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Marie Curie is remembered for her discovery of radium and polonium, and her huge contribution to the fight against cancer. This work continues to inspire our charity's mission to support anyone with an illness they're likely to die from, and those close to them.

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Marie Curie discovered two new chemical elements - radium and polonium. She carried out the first research into the treatment of tumors with radiation, and she founded of the Curie Institutes, which are important medical research centers.

She is the only person who has ever won Nobel Prizes in both physics and chemistry.

Marie Curie's Early Life and Education

Maria Salomea Sklodowska was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1867. At that time, Warsaw lay within the borders of the Russian Empire. Maria's family wanted Poland to be an independent country.

Marie's mother and father - Bronislawa and Wladyslaw - were both teachers and encouraged her interest in science.

When Marie was aged 10, her mother died. Marie started attending a boarding school, then moved to a gymnasium - a selective school for academically strong children. Aged 15, Marie graduated from high school, winning the gold medal for top student. She was passionate about science and wanted to continue learning about it.

Problems

Two obstacles stood in Marie's way:

her father had too little money to support her ambition to go to university

higher education was not available for girls in Poland

Marie's sister Bronya faced exactly the same problems.

Two Polish Girls in Paris (Eventually)

To overcome the obstacles they faced, Marie agreed to work as a tutor and children's governess to support Bronya financially. This allowed Bronya to go to France and study medicine in Paris.

For the next few years of her life, Marie worked to earn money for herself and Bronya. In the evenings, if she had time, she studied chemistry, physics, and mathematics textbooks. She also attended lectures and laboratory practicals at an illegal free "university" where Poles learned about Polish culture and practical science, both of which had been suppressed by the Russian Tsarist authorities.

In November 1891, aged 24, Marie followed Bronya to Paris. There she studied chemistry, mathematics, and physics at the Sorbonne, Paris's most prestigious university. The course was, of course, taught in French, which Marie had to reach top speed in very quickly.

At first she shared an apartment with Bronya and Bronya's husband, but the apartment lay an hour away from the university. Marie decided to rent a room in the Latin Quarter, closer to the Sorbonne.

This was a time of hardship for the young scientist; winters in her unheated apartment chilled her to the bone.

Top Student Again

In summer 1893, aged 26, Marie finished as top student in her master's physics degree course. She was then awarded industrial funding to investigate how the composition of steel affected its magnetic properties. The idea was to find ways of making stronger magnets.

Her thirst for knowledge pushed her to continue with her education: she completed a master's degree in chemistry in 1894, aged 27.

Homesick

For a long time, Marie had been homesick. She dearly wished to return to live in Poland. After working in Paris on steel magnets for a year, she vacationed in Poland, hoping to find work, but were no jobs for her.

A few years earlier she had been unable to study for a degree in her homeland because she was a woman. Now, for the same reason, she found she could not get a position at a university.

Back to Paris and Pierre

Marie decided to return to Paris and begin a Ph.D. degree in physics.

Back in Paris, in the year 1895, aged 28, she married Pierre Curie. Pierre had proposed to her before her journey back to Poland. Aged 36, he had only recently completed a Ph.D. in physics himself and had become a professor. He had written his Ph.D. thesis after years of delay, because Marie had encouraged him to.

Pierre was already a highly respected industrial scientist and inventor who, at the age of 21, had discovered piezoelectricity with his brother Jacques.

Pierre was also an expert in magnetism: he discovered the effect now called the Curie Point where a change of temperature has a large effect on a magnet's properties.

Marie Curie's Scientific Discoveries

The Ph.D. degree is a research based degree, and Marie Curie now began investigating the chemical element uranium.

Why Uranium?

In 1895, Wilhelm Roentgen had discovered mysterious X-rays, which could capture photographs of human bones beneath skin and muscle.

The following year, Henri Becquerel had discovered that rays emitted by uranium could pass through metal, but Becquerel's rays were not X-rays.

Marie decided to investigate the rays from uranium - this was a new and very exciting field to work in. Discoveries came to her thick and fast. She discovered that:

Uranium rays electrically charge the air they pass through. Such air can conduct electricity. Marie detected this using an electrometer Pierre and his brother invented.

The number of rays coming from uranium depends only on the amount of uranium present - not the chemical form of the uranium. From this she theorized correctly that the rays came from within the uranium atoms and not from a chemical reaction.

The uranium minerals pitchblende and torbernite have more of an effect on the conductivity of air than pure uranium does. She theorized correctly that these minerals must contain another chemical element, more active than uranium.

The chemical element thorium emits rays in the same way as uranium. (Gerhard Carl Schmidt in Germany actually discovered this a few weeks before Marie Curie in 1898: she discovered it independently.)

By the summer of 1898, Marie's husband Pierre had become as excited about her discoveries as Marie herself. He asked Marie if he could cooperate with her scientifically, and she welcomed him. By this time, they had a one-year old daughter Irene. Amazingly, 37 years later, Irene Curie herself would win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Discovery of Polonium and Radium, and Coining a New Word

Marie and Pierre decided to hunt for the new element they suspected might be present in pitchblende. By the end of 1898, after laboriously processing tons of pitchblende, they announced the discovery of two new chemical elements which would soon take their place in Dmitri Mendeleev's periodic table.

The first element they discovered was polonium, named by Marie to honor her homeland. They found polonium was 300 times more radioactive that uranium. They wrote:

"We thus believe that the substance that we have extracted from pitchblende contains a metal never known before, akin to bismuth in its analytic properties. If the existence of this new metal is confirmed, we suggest that it should be called polonium after the name of the country of origin of one of us."

The second element the couple discovered was radium, which they named after the Latin word for ray. The Curies found radium is several million times more radioactive than uranium! They also found radium's compounds are luminous and that radium is a source of heat, which it produces continuously without any chemical reaction taking place. Radium is always hotter than its surroundings.

Together they came up with a new word for the phenomenon they were observing: radioactivity. Radioactivity is produced by radioactive elements such as uranium, thorium, polonium and radium.

A Ph.D. and a Nobel Prize in Physics!

In June 1903, Marie Curie was awarded her Ph.D. by the Sorbonne.

Her examiners were of the view that she had made the greatest contribution to science ever found in a Ph.D. thesis.

Six months later, the newly qualified researcher was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics!

She shared the prize with Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel, the original discover of radioactivity.

The Nobel Committee were at first only going to give prizes to Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel.

However, Pierre insisted that Marie must be honored.

So three people shared the prize for discoveries in the scientific field of radiation.

Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize.

Marie Curie Theorizes Correctly About Radioactivity

"Consequently the atom of radium would be in a process of evolution, and we should be forced to abandon the theory of the invariability of atoms, which is at the foundation of modern chemistry.

Moreover, we have seen that radium acts as though it shot out into space a shower of projectiles, some of which have the dimensions of atoms, while others can only be very small fractions of atoms. If this image corresponds to a reality, it follows necessarily that the atom of radium breaks up into subatoms of different sizes, unless these projectiles come from the atoms of the surrounding gas, disintegrated by the action of radium; but this view would likewise lead us to believe that the stability of atoms is not absolute."

Tragedy and Progress

The money from their Nobel Prizes made life easier for Marie and Pierre. For the first time, they could afford a laboratory assistant. Pierre took the Chair of Physics at the Sorbonne. The university also agreed to provide a new, well-equipped laboratory for the couple. In 1904, Marie and Pierre had a second daughter, Eve.

And then their happy life together came to an end. In 1906, Pierre was killed when he was hit by a horse-drawn carriage in the street.

Although distraught over her loss, Marie accepted the offer from the Sorbonne to replace Pierre as the Chair of Physics.

Again, she was breaking the mold: she had been first woman to win a Nobel Prize, now she was the first female professor at the University of Paris.

Nobel Prize for Chemistry

In 1910, Marie isolated a pure sample of the metallic element radium for the first time. She had discovered the element 12 years earlier.

In 1911, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the "discovery of the elements radium and polonium, the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element."

Again, Marie Curie had broken the mold: she was the first person to win a Nobel Prize in both physics and chemistry. In fact, she is the only person ever to have done this.

The Coming of War - Helping the Wounded

During World War 1, 1914 - 1918, Marie Curie put her scientific knowledge to use. With the help of her daughter Irene, who was only 17 years old, she set up radiology medical units near battle lines to allow X-rays to be taken of wounded soldiers. By the end of the war, over one million injured soldiers had passed through her radiology units.

One of the Greats

Marie Curie was now recognized worldwide as one of science's "greats." She traveled widely to talk about science and promote The Radium Institute, which she founded to carry out medical research.

Marie was one of the small number of elite scientists invited to one of the most famous scientific conferences of all-time - the 1927 Solvay Conference on Electrons and Photons.

Healing the World - The Radium Institute

Marie Curie became aware that the rays coming from radioactive elements could be used to treat tumors. She and Pierre decided not to patent the medical applications of radium, and so could not profit from it.

In her later years, Marie Curie's dearest wish was to explore the use of radioactivity in medical applications. To do this, she established the Radium Institute.

At $120,000 per gram, radium was horrendously expensive - millions of dollars in today's money. Marie Curie could only afford 1 gram of it for use in cancer therapies.

Pierre Curie voluntarily exposed his arm to the action of radium during several hours. This resulted in a lesion resembling a burn that developed progressively and required several months to heal. Henri Becquerel had by accident a similar burn as a result of carrying in his vest pocket a glass tube containing radium salt. He came to tell us of this evil effect of radium, exclaiming in a manner at once delighted and annoyed: "I love it, but I owe it a grudge."

Marie Curie, 1867 to 1934

In 1920, Marie gave an interview about her work at the Radium Institute to the American journalist Marie Mattingly Meloney, who was usually called "Missy."

Missy asked if there was any way she could help the Institute. Marie told her that American chemical companies had now isolated 50 grams of radium. Her Institute desperately needed one more gram for medical research, but could not afford it.

Missy returned to the USA and became Chair of the Marie Curium Radium Fund, with the aim of getting Marie Curie her 1 gram of radium.

Money was raised in small donations all over the country until $100,000 had been collected. The Standard Chemical Company of Pittsburgh then agreed to supply a gram of radium at the reduced price of $100,000.

On May 20th, 1921, President Warren G. Harding presented Marie with the radium in a lead-lined steel box at the White House.

Since then, the Radium Institute (now the called the Curie Institute) has gone from strength to strength. Three of its workers have been awarded Nobel Prizes: Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie won the chemistry prize in 1935 and Pierre-Gilles de Gennes won the physics prize in 1991. Irene was Marie and Pierre's daughter. She shared the prize with her husband Frederic. The Curie Institute continues to do important research work today.

The End

Marie Curie died aged 66 on July 4, 1934, killed by aplastic anemia, a disease of the bone marrow. The radioactivity she was exposed to during her career probably caused the disease.

Scientists are now much more cautious in their handling of radioactive elements and X-rays than they were in the first few decades after their discovery. Marie Curie's own books and papers are so radioactive that they are now stored in lead boxes, which may only be opened by people wearing protective suits.

"She not only conquered great secrets of science but the hearts of the people the world over."

Author of this page: The Doc
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Marie Curie discovered two new chemical elements - radium and polonium. She carried out the first research into the treatment of tumors with radiation, and she founded of the Curie Institutes, which are important medical research centers. She is the only person who has ever won Nobel Prizes in both physics and chemistry.

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Nobelprize.org, The Official Web Site of the Nobel Prize

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Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, in Physics, and with her later win, in Chemistry, she became the first person to claim Nobel honors twice.

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In 1960, a 26-year-old Jane Goodall traveled from England to Tanzania to study chimpanzees in the African forest. Since then, her research has revolutionized the study of great apes, their habitats, and the relationship between humans and animals. Her vast impact on primatology continues today through her efforts to save primate populations in the wake of deforestation, poaching, and looming extinction. She is also the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports communities and encourages sustainability throughout African villages. Her work empowers young people all around the world to be mindful of the planet we call home. Jane's birthday is April 3, and to celebrate, here are seven ways she is inspiring and changing the world.

1. She put the world on a first-name basis with chimpanzees in Tanzania

In an unprecedented method in the scientific community, Goodall never assigned numbers to the chimps she observed, only names. When reading her research, people learned about Flo and David Greybeard, Fifi and Goliath. The chimps were portrayed as beings with emotions, personalities, resentments and empathy. When Flo, an older female chimp from Goodall's early days at Gombe, passed away in 1972, The London Times printed an obituary.

2. She is a pioneer for women primatologists

When Goodall first went to Tanzania, it was so unconventional for a woman to conduct research alone in the African jungle that British authorities insisted she bring a companion - so her mother came along. She forged a path for other female primatologists to follow, inspiring a generation of women like Dian Fossey.

3. She earned a Ph.D. from Cambridge University without having an undergraduate degree

When Goodall applied to Cambridge as a Ph.D. candidate in 1961, she was one of the only people to ever be accepted without any previous college degree. At that point, Goodall's year of research with the chimpanzees was promising enough.

4. The Jane Goodall Institute promotes development and environmental sustainability in African communities

Community-centered health projects include access to clean water, vaccinations and attention on women's health. Sustainable development programs like community-managed microcredit and more efficient agricultural practices help improve incomes, increase school enrollment, and protect the environment inhabited by both people and chimpanzees. According to its website, the Institute believes that as a community becomes more sustainable, "the propensity of those who exploit the land and its wildlife for economic gain will subsequently decrease, thereby helping extinguish threats to apes and their habitats both indirectly and directly."

5. Goodall empowers young people to change the world

Girls able to attend school, holding Roots & Shoots backpacks

Through Goodall's Roots & Shoots program, 150,000 members in over 30 countries are becoming leaders in their communities and collaborating on myriad issues facing the world today. Goodall encourages young people to identify a problem, collaborate with the community, and execute a service campaign to target the issue. Roots & Shoots projects have involved clean water initiatives, awareness of endangered species, recycling campaigns, and helping the homeless.

6. Goodall travels 300 days of the year to spread her message

Even though she just turned 82, Goodall has remarkably not slowed down. Her work is more pressing than ever, and she devotes the majority of her time visiting schools and conferences to talk about protecting chimpanzees and the environment. She encourages people to realize that we are an integral part of the planet. We have a responsibility to incite change and protect what surrounds us - whether that be chimpanzees, other people, or the earth.

7. Goodall's TED Talks are incredibly inspiring

If these accomplishments have not been enough to convince you of Goodall's incredible impact, check out her two informative and inspirational TED Talks: one entitled, "What separates us from chimpanzees?" and the other, "How humans and animals can live together." "Goodall hasn't exactly found the missing link" between humans and animals, "but she's come closer than just about anyone else on Earth."

Happy Birthday, Jane! Here's to many more years of your continued legacy.

Cover Image Credit: Youbeauty

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Ah, the " armpit of America." Whether you traveled far for college, moved away, or even just went on vacation--you know these things to be true about leaving New Jersey. It turns out to be quite a unique state, and leaving will definitely take some lifestyle adjustment.

1. You discover an accent you swore you never had.

Suddenly, people start calling you out on your pronunciation of "cawfee," "wooter," "begel," and a lot more words you totally thought you were saying normal.

2. Pork Roll will never exist again.

Say goodbye to the beautiful luxury that is pork roll, egg, and cheese on a bagel. In fact, say goodbye to high-quality breakfast sandwiches completely.

3. Dealing with people who use Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, or Dominos as their go-to pizza.

It's weird learning that a lot of the country considers chain pizza to be good pizza. You're forever wishing you could expose them to a real, local, family-style, Italian-owned pizza shop. It's also a super hard adjustment to not have a pizza place on every single block anymore.

4. You probably encounter people that are genuinely friendly.

Sure Jersey contains its fair share of friendly people, but as a whole, it's a huge difference from somewhere like the South. People will honestly, genuinely smile and converse with strangers, and it takes some time to not find it sketchy.

5. People drive way slower and calmer.

You start to become embarrassed by the road rage that has been implanted in your soul. You'll get cut off, flipped off, and honked at way less. In fact, no one even honks, almost ever.

6. You realize that not everyone lives an hour from the shore.

Being able to wake up and text your friends for a quick beach trip on your day off is a thing of the past. No one should have to live this way.

7. You almost speak a different language.

The lingo and slang used in the Jersey area is... unique. It's totally normal until you leave, but then you find yourself receiving funny looks for your jargon and way fewer people relating to your humor. People don't say "jawn" in place of every noun.

8. Hoagies are never the same.

Or as others would say, "subs." There is nothing even close in comparison.

9. Needing Wawa more than life, and there's no one to relate.

When you complain to your friends about missing Wawa, they have no reaction. Their only response is to ask what it is, but there's no rightful explanation that can capture why it is so much better than just some convenient store.

10. You have to learn to pump gas. Eventually.

After a long period of avoidance and reluctance, I can now pump gas. The days of pulling up, rolling down your window, handing over your card and yelling "Fill it up regular please!" are over. When it's raining or cold, you miss this the most.

11. Your average pace of walking is suddenly very above-average.

Your friends will complain that you're walking too fast - when in reality - that was probably your slow-paced walk. Getting stuck behind painfully slow people is your utmost inconvenience.

12. You're asked about "Jersey Shore" way too often.

No, I don't know Snooki. No, our whole state and shore is not actually like that. We have 130 miles of some of the best beach towns in the country.

13. You can't casually mention NYC without people idealizing some magical, beautiful city.

Someone who has never been there has way too perfect an image of it. The place is quite average and dirty. Don't get me wrong, I love a good NYC day trip as much as the next person, but that's all it is to you... a day trip.

14. The lack of swearing is almost uncomfortable.

Jerseyans are known for their foul mouths, and going somewhere that isn't as aggressive as us is quite a culture adjustment.

15. No more jughandles.

No longer do you have to get in the far right lane to make a left turn.

16. You realize that other states are not nearly as extreme about their North/South division.

We literally consider them two different states. There are constant arguments and debates about it. The only thing that North and South Jersey can agree on is that a "Central Jersey" does not exist.

17. Most places also are not in a war over meat.

"Pork roll" or "taylor ham"... The most famous debate amongst North and South Jersey. It's quite a stupid argument, however, considering it is definitely pork roll.

18. You realize you were spoiled with fresh produce.

After all, it's called the "Garden State" for a reason. Your mouth may water just by thinking about some fresh Jersey corn.

19. You'll regret taking advantage of your proximity to everything.

Super short ride to the beach and a super short ride to Philly or NYC. Why was I ever bored?

20. Lastly, you realize how much pride you actually have in the "armpit of America," even if you claimed to dislike it before.

After all, there aren't many places with quite as much pride. You find yourself defending your state at all necessary moments, even if you never thought that would be the case.

Cover Image Credit: Travel Channel

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In Honduras for cocaine, in daylight, amidst the crowd,

With stolen guns, bare hands, belts, gasoline, of the woman

who dressed improperly, dyed her hair red, wore a choker,

Revolted against rape, worked at a bar, of men fighting

against discrimination, religion, defending families, nations,

politicians with matches, hammers, golf sticks and knives,

of blacks, immigrants, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, those

who know no religion, at the border, in the rain, in the bedroom

where you caught your wife having sex, broken building, graveyard,

latched room, for being humiliated, in anger or in pain, of another with

more money, an ex who moved on too quickly, for sex,

or for fun, for the excitement, the chase, and run, by skinning alive,

burning, with a rope, strangling, of people who didn't surrender,

to lust, dominion, authority, and power, at the backseat of the car,

isolated street, as meat, for theft, robbery, satisfaction, mercy,

for argument's sake or destroyed ego, for obsession or gang loyalty

in El Salvador, for not having enough to eat, crushed by the State,

destroyed by neighbors, consumed by drugs, alcohol or law, of police,

child laborers, grandmothers, and fathers, pregnant woman, by bombing planes,

shopping malls, temples, mosques, times square, water, or terrain.

Cover Image Credit: Author's photo

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How Jane Goodall Was And Still Is Changing The World

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In 1960, a 26-year-old Jane Goodall traveled from England to Tanzania to study chimpanzees in the African forest. Since then, her research has revolutionized the study of great apes, their habitats, and the relationship between humans and animals. Her vast impact on primatology continues today through her efforts to save primate populations in the wake of deforestation, poaching, and looming extinction.

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Jane Goodall, 1967

Hugo van Lawick and Jane Goodall filming at Gombe Stream Research Center.

David Greybeard with Jane Goodall in her Gombe campsite.

Jane Goodall with baby chimpanzee Flint at Gombe Stream Research Center.

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall, 1965, Gombe.

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Who Is Jane Goodall?

Born on April 3, 1934, in London, England, Jane Goodall set out to Tanzania in 1960 to study wild chimpanzees. She immersed herself in their lives, bypassing more rigid procedures to make discoveries about primate behavior that have continued to shape scientific discourse. A highly respected member of the world scientific community, she advocates for ecological preservation through the Jane Goodall Institute.

Jane Goodall Movies

The general public was introduced to Jane Goodall's life work via Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees, first broadcast on American television on December 22, 1965. Filmed by her first husband, and narrated by Orson Welles, the documentary showed the shy but determined young English women patiently watching these animals in their natural habitat, and the chimpanzees soon became a staple of American and British public television. Through these programs, Goodall challenged scientists to redefine the long-held "differences" between humans and other primates.

In 2017, additional footage from the Miss Goodall shooting was pieced together for Jane, a documentary that included recent interviews with the famed activist to create a more encompassing narrative of her experiences with the chimps.

Jane Goodall Institute

Many of Goodall's endeavors are conducted under the auspices of the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation, a nonprofit organization that promotes the protection of chimpanzees and strong environmental practices. Founded in 1977, the organization is based in Virginia but boasts some two dozen offices around the world.

Observing Chimps in Africa

In July 1960, accompanied by her mother and an African cook, Jane Goodall arrived on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Gombe Stream Reserve of Tanzania, Africa, with the goal of studying chimpanzees.

Goodhall's first attempts to closely observe the animals failed; she could get no nearer than 500 yards before the chimps fled. After finding another suitable group to follow, she established a nonthreatening pattern of observation, appearing at the same time every morning on the high ground near a feeding area along the Kakombe Valley.

The chimpanzees soon tolerated her presence and, within a year, allowed her to move as close as 30 feet to their feeding area. After two years of seeing her every day, they showed no fear and often came to her in search of bananas.

Chimp Behavior Discoveries

Goodall used her newfound acceptance to establish what she termed the "banana club," a daily systematic feeding method she used to gain trust and to obtain a more thorough understanding of everyday chimpanzee behavior. Using this method, she became closely acquainted with a majority of the reserve's chimps. She imitated their behaviors, spent time in the trees and ate their foods.

By remaining in almost constant contact with the chimps, Goodhall discovered a number of previously unobserved behaviors: She noted that chimps have a complex social system, complete with ritualized behaviors and primitive but discernible communication methods, including a primitive "language" system containing more than 20 individual sounds. She is credited with making the first recorded observations of chimpanzees eating meat and using and making tools. Tool making was previously thought to be an exclusively human trait.

Goodhall also noted that chimpanzees throw stones as weapons, use touch and embraces to comfort one another and develop long-term familial bonds. The male plays no active role in family life but is part of the group's social stratification: The chimpanzee "caste" system places the dominant males at the top, with the lower castes often acting obsequiously in their presence, trying to ingratiate themselves to avoid possible harm. The male's rank is often related to the intensity of his entrance performance at feedings and other gatherings.

Upending the belief that chimps were exclusively vegetarian, Goodall witnessed chimps stalking, killing and eating large insects, birds and some bigger animals, including baby baboons and bushbacks (small antelopes). On one occasion, she recorded acts of cannibalism. In another instance, she observed chimps inserting blades of grass or leaves into termite hills to insects onto the blade. In true toolmaker fashion, they modified the grass to achieve a better fit, then used the grass as a long-handled spoon to eat the termites.

Jane Goodall's Books

Goodall's fieldwork led to the publication of numerous articles and books. In the Shadow of Man, her first major work, appeared in 1971. The book, essentially a field study of chimpanzees, effectively bridged the gap between scientific treatise and popular entertainment. Her vivid prose brought the chimps to life, revealing an animal world of social drama, comedy and tragedy, although her tendency to attribute human behaviors and names to chimpanzees struck some critics being as manipulative.

Goodall outlined the moral dilemma of keeping chimpanzees captive in her 1990 book, Through a Window: "The more we learn of the true nature of nonhuman animals, especially those with complex brains and corresponding complex social behaviour, the more ethical concerns are raised regarding their use in the service of man-whether this be in entertainment, as 'pets,' for food, in research laboratories or any of the other uses to which we subject them," she wrote. "This concern is sharpened when the usage in question leads to intense physical or mental suffering-as is so often true with regard to vivisection."

Her 1989 work, The Chimpanzee Family Book, written specifically for children, sought to convey a more humane view of wildlife. The book received the 1989 UNICEF/UNESCO Children's Book of the Year Award, and Goodall used the prize money to have the text translated into Swahili and French and distributed throughout Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.

Book Controversy

In March 2013, Goodall attracted media attention for her book Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the Plants, with Gail Hudson. The book had not yet hit store shelves when Goodall was accused of plagiarism. According to The Washington Post, the famed scientist borrowed sections from Wikipedia and other sources in her new book without giving them proper credit.

The publisher subsequently announced the release of the book would be delayed to address the unattributed sections. Goodall, through a statement from her institute, apologized for these unintentional mistakes: "This was a long and well researched book, and I am distressed to discover that some of the excellent and valuable sources were not properly cited, and I want to express my sincere apologies," she said. Seeds of Hope was reissued in 2014.

Marriages and Family

In 1962, Baron Hugo van Lawick (1937-2002), a Dutch wildlife photographer and filmmaker, was sent to Africa by the National Geographic Society to film Goodall at work. The assignment ran longer than anticipated and the couple fell in love; they were married on March 28, 1964, and their European honeymoon marked one of the rare occasions on which Goodall was absent from Gombe Stream. In 1967, she gave birth to a son, Hugo Eric Louis, known as "Grub."

After divorcing van Lawick in 1974, Goodall was married to Derek Bryceson (1922-1980), a member of Tanzania's parliament and director of its national parks, until his death from cancer.

Early Years and Interest in Animals

Jane Goodall was born on April 3, 1934, in London, England, to Mortimer Herbert Goodall, a businessperson and motor-racing enthusiast, and the former Margaret Myfanwe Joseph, who wrote novels under the name Vanne Morris Goodall. Along with her sister, Judy, Goodall was reared in London and Bournemouth, England.

Goodhall's fascination with animal behavior began in early childhood. In her leisure time, she observed native birds and animals, making extensive notes and sketches, and read widely in the literature of zoology and ethology. From an early age, she dreamed of traveling to Africa to observe exotic animals in their natural habitats.

Goodall attended the Uplands private school, receiving her school certificate in 1950 and a higher certificate in 1952. She went on to find employment as a secretary at Oxford University, and in her spare time also worked at a London-based documentary film company to finance a long-anticipated trip to Africa.

Learning from Anthropologist Leakey

At the invitation of a childhood friend, Goodhall visited South Kinangop, Kenya, in the late 1950s. Through other friends, she soon met the famed anthropologist Louis Leakey, then curator of the Coryndon Museum in Nairobi. Leakey hired her as a secretary and invited her to participate in an anthropological dig at the now famous Olduvai Gorge, a site rich in fossilized prehistoric remains of early ancestors of humans. Additionally, Goodall was sent to study the vervet monkey, which lives on an island in Lake Victoria.

Leakey believed that a long-term study of the behavior of higher primates would yield important evolutionary information. He had a particular interest in the chimpanzee, the second most intelligent primate. Few studies of chimpanzees had been successful; either the size of the safari frightened the chimps, producing unnatural behaviors, or the observers spent too little time in the field to gain comprehensive knowledge.

Leakey believed that Goodall had the proper temperament to endure long-term isolation in the wild. At his prompting, she agreed to attempt such a study. Many experts objected to Leakey's selection of Goodall because she had no formal scientific education and lacked even a general college degree.

Professorships and Educating the Public

Goodall's academic credentials were solidified when she received a Ph.D. in ethology from Cambridge University in 1965; she was just the eighth person in the university's long history permitted to pursue a Ph.D. without first earning a baccalaureate degree. Goodall subsequently held a visiting professorship in psychiatry at Stanford University from 1970 to 1975, and in 1973, she was appointed to her longtime position of honorary visiting professor of zoology at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

After attending a 1986 conference in Chicago that focused on the ethical treatment of chimpanzees, Goodall began directing her energies toward educating the public about the wild chimpanzee's endangered habitat and about the unethical treatment of chimpanzees that are used for scientific research.

To preserve the wild chimpanzee's environment, Goodall encourages African nations to develop nature-friendly tourism programs, a measure that makes wildlife into a profitable resource. She actively works with business and local governments to promote ecological responsibility.

Goodall's stance is that scientists must try harder to find alternatives to the use of animals in research. She has openly declared her opposition to militant animal rights groups who engage in violent or destructive demonstrations. Extremists on both sides of the issue, she believes, polarize thinking and make constructive dialogue nearly impossible.

While reluctantly resigned to the continuation of animal research, she feels that young scientists must be educated to treat animals more compassionately. "By and large," she has written, "students are taught that it is ethically acceptable to perpetrate, in the name of science, what, from the point of view of animals, would certainly qualify as torture."

Accolades

In recognition of her achievements, Goodall has received numerous honors and awards, including the Gold Medal of Conservation from the San Diego Zoological Society in 1974, the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize in 1984, the Schweitzer Medal of the Animal Welfare Institute in 1987, the National Geographic Society Centennial Award in 1988, and the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences in 1990. More recently, she was named a Messenger of Peace by the United Nations in 2002 and a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 2003.

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Born on April 3, 1934, in London, England, Jane Goodall set out to Tanzania in 1960 to study wild chimpanzees. She immersed herself in their lives, bypassing more rigid procedures to make discoveries about primate behavior that have continued to shape scientific discourse.

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When we think of nurses today we think of kind, helpful people having a big impact in the lives of the sick and hurting. However, nurses were not always looked up to. Learn about Florence Nightingale and how she made nursing an honorable profession.

Florence Nightingale's impact on medicine and the nursing profession cannot be denied. What drove this woman from a wealthy family to give up the high society life to care for wounded soldiers? What made her seek a career over marriage when it was unheard of at this time? Let's find out!

Early Life

Even as a young child Florence did not follow the path that her wealthy parents planned for her. She enjoyed setting up a doll hospital and helping the sick and hungry servants on her father's land. She preferred studying and writing in her journal to attending social events with her sister.

From her father, Florence studied subjects most often taught only to men: mathematics, writing, history and foreign languages. At the age of sixteen, Florence claimed that God spoke to her and wanted her to serve mankind in some way. She always noticed the poor conditions and illness in places where she traveled. So she asked her parents if she could study to become a nurse. Her parents said, "No!"

At that time, nurses were considered to be servants, dirty and often drunk. Most did not have medical training and were treated badly by doctors. The hospitals where they worked were only for poor people, crowded and full of disease. Wealthy people had doctors come to their own homes when they were sick.

In Her Twenties and Thirties

Much to her family's disappointment, Florence turned down two marriage proposals! She wanted to remain single and follow God's wishes for her. So her parents allowed her to travel and along the way she met friends who shared a common interest. They also wanted to improve hospitals and train nurses to help the poor.

At the age of thirty, Florence secretly studied in Germany. She learned how to train nurses and organize hospitals to make them better for the poor. When she returned to her family in England, her parents were very angry. They forced her to stay home with her sister and attend social events. Florence was heartbroken.

WAR!

In 1853 Russia invaded Turkey to begin the Crimean War. The British and French people were worried that Russia was getting too powerful so they sent troops to help Turkey. It didn't take long for sickness to break out among the troops. Diseases like Malaria and Cholera were causing many deaths. Cholera is a germ that attacks the bowels. It causes diarrhea and dehydration which, left untreated, leads to death. Malaria causes a very high fever.

The supplies were unorganized and the care was poor. Florence was asked to assemble a group of nurses and come to help in the military hospitals in Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey). In the beginning, the doctors refused to let the nurses help. Then vast amount of wounded soldiers began to arrive and they had no choice but to let the ladies begin their care of the soldiers.

Contributions

Florence Nightingale's contributions to the nursing profession are numerous.

Florence set up reading rooms and recreational programs for the soldiers as their health improved.

Wrote letters to the families of soldiers in her care.

Used her influence to improve public health systems in England and India.

Opened the Nightingale Training School for Nurses in London.

Her nurse's training methods spread worldwide.

Sent reports that helped improve military medical care during the Civil War

Wrote books on nursing and women's rights

Influenced the formation of the Army Medical College

Made nursing an admirable profession for women

Her ideas to improve medical care helped hospitals around the world.

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Florence Nightingale: Her Impact on Medicine and Contribution to Nursing

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A young wealthy girl hears from God and follows a path to help the poor and sick. Thus begins Florence Nightingale's career as a nurse; her impact on medicine and her contribution to nursing is world-renowned. Nightingale turned nursing into a respectable profession and her training programs were used in many countries.

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Published on Wednesday August 4th , 2010

Florence Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing. She was born in 1820 to a wealthy Italian family, and at the age of 24 felt called by God to help the poor and sick. While most people know that Nightingale was influential in the field of nursing, they might not know how much she truly impacted it.

Nightingale essentially established the profession. Before she came along, nurses considered their jobs to be unimportant and of low-status, as they were untrained and were not taught about nursing, but learned through experience. Nightingale's efforts turned nursing into a respectable profession raising the standards by incorporating education and responsibilities into the job. Nurses were no longer looked down upon, but became respected and appreciated.

She also improved hospitals. Nightingale helped improve hospitals and still influences their modern design. As a nurse in the Crimean War, she took notice of the dirtiness and deterioration of the military hospitals. By making sanitary improvements and establishing standards for clean and safe hospitals, she helped bring down the death rate for soldiers being treated in them. In her book Notes on Hospitals she explained how they could be improved by increasing ventilation, adding windows, improving drainage, and increasing space.

Nightingale established nursing education by writing the first textbook on the subject in 1960, entitled Notes of Nursing. This book outlined the principles of the nursing profession, provided advice on how regular women could care for their families, and how illness could be properly managed. In her writing, Nightingale emphasized the importance of patient observation to figure out their symptoms and needs, as to be able to provide the right care. The importance of sanitary conditions was also stressed, as well as warmth, clean air, light in rooms, and a nutritious diet.

Florence Nightingale opened the first nursing school in 1860, which was the beginning of professional education and training in the field. Her school, the Nightingale School for Nurses, was a part of St. Thomas' Hospital in London, and offered the first official training program for nurses so that they could work in hospitals, help the poor, and teach others. The training emphasized the important of patient home care and taught students how to care for the sick at home and the practice of midwifery. Many of the students at the school continued on to be matrons at major hospitals in England, as well as went on to establish their own training programs throughout the world.

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The Impact of Florence Nightingale on Nursing | RNCentral.com

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Florence Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing. She was born in 1820 to a wealthy Italian family, and at the age of 24 felt called by God to help the poor and sick. While most people know that Nightingale ...

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Florence Nightingale Biography - life, family, children, parents, death, history, school, mother, information, born, marriage

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Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820; she was named after the city of her birth. Her father, William E. Nightingale, was a wealthy landowner who had inherited an estate in Derbyshire, England. Like many members of the wealthy class, he and Florence's mother, Fanny, dedicated themselves to the pursuit of active social lives.

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KS2 History learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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Quick Facts
"All churches are, of course, only more or less unsuccessful attempts to represent the unseen to the mind.""What the horrors of war are, no one can imagine.""I use the word nursing for want of a better.""Such education in women would indeed diminish the doctor's work-but no one really believes that doctors wish that there should be more illness, in order to have more work.""It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm.""Hospitals are only an intermediate stage of civilization, never intended at all even to take in the whole sick population.""I think one's feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions, and into actions which bring results.""I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.""Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.""Nursing in an art; and if it is to be made an art, it requires as exclusive a devotion, as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work."

Name

Florence Nightingale

Birth Date

May 12, 1820

Death Date

August 13, 1910

Education

Institution of Protestant Deaconesses at Kaiserswerth

Place of Birth

Florence, Italy

Place of Death

London, United Kingdom

Who Was Florence Nightingale?

Part of a wealthy family, Florence Nightingale defied the expectations of the time and pursued what she saw as her God-given calling of nursing. During the Crimean War, she and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, greatly reducing the death count. Her writings sparked worldwide health care reform, and in 1860 she established St. Thomas' Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. A revered hero of her time, she died on August 13, 1910, in London.

Background and Early Life

Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy, the city which inspired her name. The younger of two daughters, Nightingale was part of an affluent British clan that belonged to elite social circles. Her mother, Frances Nightingale, hailed from a family of merchants and took pride in socializing with people of prominent standing. Despite her mother's interests, Nightingale herself was reportedly awkward in social situations and preferred to avoid being the center of attention whenever possible. Strong-willed, she often butted heads with her mother, whom she viewed as overly controlling.

Nightingale's father was William Edward Nightingale (having changed his original surname, "Shore"), a wealthy landowner who would be associated with two estates-one at Lea Hurst, Derbyshire, and the other at Embly, Hampshire. Nightingale was provided with a classical education, including studies in mathematics along with German, French and Italian.

From a young age, Nightingale was active in philanthropy, ministering to the ill and poor people in the village neighboring her family's estate. Nightingale eventually came to the conclusion that nursing was her calling; she believed the vocation to be her divine purpose.

When Nightingale approached her parents and told them about her ambitions to become a nurse, they were not pleased and forbade her to pursue appropriate training. During the Victorian Era, where English women had almost no property rights, a young lady of Nightingale's social stature was expected to marry a man of means to ensure her class standing-not take up a job that was viewed by the upper social classes as lowly menial labor.

In 1849, Nightingale refused a marriage proposal from a "suitable" gentleman, Richard Monckton Milnes, who had pursued her for years. She explained her reason for turning him down, saying that while he stimulated her intellectually and romantically, her "moral...active nature" called for something beyond a domestic life. (One biographer has suggested that the rejection of marriage to Milnes was not in fact an outright refusal.) Determined to pursue her true calling despite her parents' objections, Nightingale eventually enrolled as a nursing student in 1850 at the Institution of Protestant Deaconesses in Kaiserswerth, Germany.

Crimean War

In the early 1850s, Nightingale returned to London, where she took a nursing job in a Harley Street hospital for ailing governesses. Her performance there so impressed her employer that Nightingale was promoted to superintendent. Nightingale also volunteered at the Middlesex Hospital around this time, grappling with a cholera outbreak and unsanitary conditions conducive to the rapid spread of the disease. Nightingale made it her mission to improve hygiene practices, significantly lowering the death rate at the hospital in the process.

In October 1853, the Crimean War broke out. Allied British and French forces were at war against the Russian Empire for control of Ottoman territory. Thousands of British soldiers were sent to the Black Sea, where supplies quickly dwindled. By 1854, no fewer than 18,000 soldiers had been admitted into military hospitals.

At the time, there were no female nurses stationed at hospitals in the Crimea. After the Battle of Alma, England was in an uproar about the neglect of their ill and injured soldiers, who not only lacked sufficient medical attention due to hospitals being horribly understaffed but also languished in appallingly unsanitary conditions.

Pioneering Nurse

In late 1854, Nightingale received a letter from Secretary of War Sidney Herbert, asking her to organize a corps of nurses to tend to the sick and fallen soldiers in the Crimea. Given full control of the operation, she quickly assembled a team of almost three dozen nurses from a variety of religious orders and sailed with them to the Crimea just a few days later.

Although they had been warned of the horrid conditions there, nothing could have prepared Nightingale and her nurses for what they saw when they arrived at Scutari, the British base hospital in Constantinople. The hospital sat on top of a large cesspool, which contaminated the water and the building itself. Patients lay in their own excrement on stretchers strewn throughout the hallways. Rodents and bugs scurried past them. The most basic supplies, such as bandages and soap, grew increasingly scarce as the number of ill and wounded steadily increased. Even water needed to be rationed. More soldiers were dying from infectious diseases like typhoid and cholera than from injuries incurred in battle.

The no-nonsense Nightingale quickly set to work. She procured hundreds of scrub brushes and asked the least infirm patients to scrub the inside of the hospital from floor to ceiling. Nightingale herself spent every waking minute caring for the soldiers. In the evenings she moved through the dark hallways carrying a lamp while making her rounds, ministering to patient after patient. The soldiers, who were both moved and comforted by her endless supply of compassion, took to calling her "the Lady with the Lamp." Others simply called her "the Angel of the Crimea." Her work reduced the hospital's death rate by two-thirds.

In addition to vastly improving the sanitary conditions of the hospital, Nightingale instituted an "invalid's kitchen" where appealing food for patients with special dietary requirements was prepared. She also established a laundry so that patients would have clean linens. as well as a classroom and library for intellectual stimulation and entertainment.

Recognition and Appreciation

Nightingale remained at Scutari for a year and a half. She left in the summer of 1856, once the Crimean conflict was resolved, and returned to her childhood home at Lea Hurst. To her surprise she was met with a hero's welcome, which the humble nurse did her best to avoid. The previous year, Queen Victoria had rewarded Nightingale's work by presenting her with an engraved brooch that came to be known as the "Nightingale Jewel" and by granting her a prize of $250,000 from the British government.

Nightingale decided to use the money to further her cause. In 1860, she funded the establishment of St. Thomas' Hospital, and within it, the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. Nightingale became a figure of public admiration. Poems, songs and plays were written and dedicated in the heroine's honor. Young women aspired to be like her. Eager to follow her example, even women from the wealthy upper classes started enrolling at the training school. Thanks to Nightingale, nursing was no longer frowned upon by the upper classes; it had, in fact, come to be viewed as an honorable vocation.

Based on her observations during the Crimea War, Nightingale wrote Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army, a massive report published in 1858 analyzing her experience and proposing reforms for other military hospitals. Her research would spark a total restructuring of the War Office's administrative department, including the establishment of a Royal Commission for the Health of the Army in 1857. Nightingale was also noted for her statistician skills, creating coxcomb pie charts on patient mortality in Scutari that would influence the direction of medical epidemiology.

Later Life

While at Scutari, Nightingale had contracted the bacterial infection brucellosis, also known as Crimean fever, and would never fully recover. By the time she was 38 years old, she was homebound and routinely bedridden, and would be so for the remainder of her life. Fiercely determined and dedicated as ever to improving health care and alleviating patients' suffering, Nightingale continued her work from her bed.

Residing in Mayfair, she remained an authority and advocate of health care reform, interviewing politicians and welcoming distinguished visitors from her bed. In 1859, she published Notes on Hospitals, which focused on how to properly run civilian hospitals.

Throughout the U.S. Civil War, she was frequently consulted about how to best manage field hospitals. Nightingale also served as an authority on public sanitation issues in India for both the military and civilians, although she had never been to India herself.

In 1907, she was conferred the Order of Merit by King Edward, and received the Freedom of the City of London the following year, becoming the first woman to receive the honor. In May 1910, she received a celebratory message from King George on her 90th birthday.

Death and Legacy

In August 1910, Nightingale fell ill but seemed to recover and was reportedly in good spirits. A week later, on the evening of Friday, August 12, 1910, she developed an array of troubling symptoms. She died unexpectedly at around 2 p.m. the following day, Saturday, August 13, at her home in London.

Characteristically, she had expressed the desire that her funeral be a quiet and modest affair, despite the public's desire to honor Nightingale-who tirelessly devoted her life to preventing disease and ensuring safe and compassionate treatment for the poor and the suffering. Respecting her last wishes, her relatives turned down a national funeral. The "Lady with the Lamp" was laid to rest in her family's plot at St. Margaret's Church, East Wellow, in Hampshire, England.

The Florence Nightingale Museum, which sits at the site of the original Nightingale Training School for Nurses, houses more than 2,000 artifacts commemorating the life and career of the "Angel of the Crimea." To this day, Nightingale is broadly acknowledged and revered as the pioneer of modern nursing.

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"All churches are, of course, only more or less unsuccessful attempts to represent the unseen to the mind." "What the horrors of war are, no one can imagine." "I use the word nursing for want of a better."

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Animated Hero Classics Florence Nightingale

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Florence Nightingale. , British nurse, statistician, and social reformer who was the foundation philosopher of modern nursing

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Today marks Mandela Day - also known as Nelson Mandela International Day. It is held every year on 18 July.

It is on this day because this marks the birthday of Nelson Mandela - the South African anti-apartheid leader. The special day was created by the United Nations (UN) and honours Mandela's achievements. It has been celebrated every year since 2009.

Mr Mandela, who died in 2013 aged 95, was South Africa's first black president after spending 27 years in jail, and is remembered as one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen.

The UN says: "Everyone has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better. Mandela Day is an occasion for all to take action and inspire change."

Newsround explains why Mandela is such a legend.

Why was Nelson Mandela important?

When Nelson Mandela was a young man, white and black people in South Africa lived separate lives under a system called apartheid.

White people, who were a small part of the population, were in charge of the country.

It was illegal for black people to use the same schools, hospitals and even beaches as white people. Conditions in whites-only schools and hospitals were much better.

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Black people were also denied basic rights, like being allowed to vote in elections.

But Nelson Mandela believed that everybody should be treated equally.

Mandela joined a political party called the African National Congress (ANC) and later co-founded the ANC Youth League, leading protests against apartheid.

Sometimes the demonstrations turned violent and in 1964, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison on Robben Island.

While Mandela was in prison, photos of him were banned and it was even illegal to quote him in public.

But people from all over the world campaigned for his release.

Songs were written and big concerts were held in protest.

AFP/Getty Images

Finally, in 1990, the South African President FW de Klerk - a white man - allowed him to go free.

Mandela had spent 27 years in jail and was greeted as a hero on his release.

He is famous for promoting a message of forgiveness and equality.

Apartheid was abolished in 1991, and three years later, South Africa held its first elections in which black people, as well as white, were allowed to vote.

Nelson Mandela was elected president and set about trying to bring people of different races together.

In 1993, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize - the highest honour of its kind - for his work.

In 1995, South Africa held its first major sports competition - the Rugby World Cup.

Mandela gave his support to the South African team, made up mostly of white men, which helped to unite the country.

He became one of the world's most popular leaders, with politicians and celebrities queuing up to have their photo taken with him.

Even though Nelson Mandela helped to make South Africa a fairer place, the country still has lots of problems today, including poverty, violent crime and disease.

But he is remembered around the world for his message of peace and unity.
Take a look back at his extrarordinary life in pictures

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Nelson Mandela Day: Why he is so important - CBBC Newsround

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Today marks Mandela Day - also known as Nelson Mandela International Day. It is held every year on 18 July. It is on this day because this marks the birthday of Nelson Mandela - the South African anti-apartheid leader. The special day was created by the United Nations (UN) and honours Mandela's achievements.

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10 Ways Nelson Mandela Changed The World9. Promoting nonviolent action as the preferred method of protest.

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South Africa's most famous peacemaker always maintained a "people first" attitude.

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Word of Nelson Mandela's death spread quickly across the United States, bringing with it a mix of reverence and grief for a man who was born in South Africa but in the end belonged to the world.

President Barack Obama ordered American flags to be lowered immediately to half-staff until Monday in tribute to Mandela, a rare honor for a foreign leader.

Memorials to the former South African president popped up from Los Angeles to Chicago, where flowers and candles were laid in front of murals bearing his likeness. In Washington, people gathered in front of South Africa's embassy.

For many Americans, the death of Mandela was akin to losing one of their own.

He loomed large in the actions of activists and politicians; he inspired music and movies.

Here's a look at Mandela's impact on the United States:

It began with a financial boycott, of sorts.

Students on campuses across the country in the late 1970s called for their universities and colleges to divest from investments in South Africa.

That led to sit-ins and protest marches that by the mid-1980s drew thousands.

"We had marches day after day, thousands of people got arrested in Washington, D.C.," civil rights attorney Charles Ogletree said. "They were all released and ultimately not charged with any offense. Because it was a national issue -- black, white, male, female, people on the left and right, everybody was involved in it."

In 1986, Rep. Ron Dellums, D-California, sponsored a bill that called for a full trade embargo against South Africa as well as divestment by American companies. The bill, which passed the House, was vetoed by then-President Ronald Reagan. Congress then overrode the veto.

Today, this type of activism -- financial boycotts -- have become a protest staple. For example, fast food workers called this week for a boycott of their respective restaurants to protest low wages.

The music brought together such musical powerhouses as Bruce Springsteen, Run DMC, Bonnie Raitt, Miles Davis, George Clinton, Jackson Browne and dozens more to record the single and video.

That was followed in 1986 with the release of Paul Simon's "Graceland," which featured South African musicians -- including Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Simon on Thursday praised Mandela as one of the world's greatest teachers.

"He conceived a model for mortal enemies to overcome their hatred and find a way through compassion to rebuild a nation based on truth, justice and the power of forgiveness," the singer said in a statement to CNN. "His passing should reignite a worldwide effort for peace."

On Thursday, the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem -- that hosted so many of these artists -- paid tribute to Mandela. Its marquee said, simply: "He changed our world."

Hollywood was a long-time supporter of Mandela's fight against apartheid, releasing a number of movies inspired by the civil rights leader's plight.

"We count ourselves unspeakably fortunate to have been immersed in Nelson Mandela's story and legacy," said Harvey Weinstein, whose company is releasing the biopic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" this month.

A number of Hollywood heavyweights have portrayed Mandela, including Danny Glover, Sidney Poitier and Terrance Howard. Morgan Freeman earned an Oscar nomination for best actor for his portrayal of Mandela in "Invictus."

The latest to step into the role is Idris Elba, who plays the South African leader in "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom."

"What an honor it was to step into the shoes of Nelson Mandela and portray a man who defied odds, broke down barriers, and championed human rights before the eyes of the world," Elba said.

Perhaps nowhere is Mandela's influence more evident that on America's politicians.

As a student at the University of California, Berkeley, California Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner participated in the divestment protests in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

So when Mandela was released and the South African government began its transition, "I think we felt like were part of that," Skinner said.

She learned of Mandela's death during a Democratic caucus in California.

"That strategic, spiritual, political leadership has no equal," she said.

President Obama recounted to the nation on Thursday how he drew inspiration from Mandela during his first public speech.

"My very first political action, the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics, was a protest against apartheid. I studied his words and his writings," he said in a televised address shortly after Mandela's death was announced.

"And like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him."

"He no longer belongs to us," Obama said. "He belongs to the ages."

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nelson mandela's impact on american activism

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Nelson Mandela's impact on American activism, politics and pop culture - CNN.com

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Word of Nelson Mandela's death spread quickly across the United States, bringing with it a mix of reverence and grief for a man who was born in South Africa but in the end belonged to the world. President Barack Obama ordered American flags to be lowered immediately to half-staff until Monday in tribute to Mandela, a rare honor for a foreign leader.

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When and How Did Nelson Mandela Die?

On December 5, 2013, at the age of 95, Nelson Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. After suffering a lung infection in January 2011, Mandela was briefly hospitalized in Johannesburg to undergo surgery for a stomach ailment in early 2012. He was released after a few days, later returning to Qunu. Mandela would be hospitalized many times over the next several years - in December 2012, March 2013 and June 2013 - for further testing and medical treatment relating to his recurrent lung infection.

Following his June 2013 hospital visit, Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, canceled a scheduled appearance in London to remain at her husband's his side, and his daughter, Zenani Dlamini, flew back from Argentina to South Africa to be with her father. Jacob Zuma, South Africa's president, issued a statement in response to public concern over Mandela's March 2013 health scare, asking for support in the form of prayer: "We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts," Zuma said.

On the day of Mandela's death, Zuma released a statement speaking to Mandela's legacy: "Wherever we are in the country, wherever we are in the world, let us reaffirm his vision of a society ... in which none is exploited, oppressed or dispossessed by another," he said.

Children and Wife

Mandela was married three times and had six children. He wed his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko Mase, in 1944. The couple had four children together: Madiba Thembekile (d. 1964), Makgatho (d. 2005), Makaziwe (d. 1948 at nine months old) and Maki. The couple divorced in 1957. In 1958, Mandela wed Winnie Madikizela; the couple had two daughters together, Zenani (now Argentina's South African ambassador) and Zindziswa (the South African ambassador to Denmark), before splitting in 1996. Two years later, in 1998, Mandela married Graca Machel, the first Education Minister of Mozambique, with whom he remained until his death in 2013.

Movie and Books

In 1994, Mandela published his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, much of which he had secretly written while in prison. The book inspired the 2013 movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. He also published a number of books on his life and struggles, among them No Easy Walk to Freedom; Nelson Mandela: The Struggle Is My Life; and Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales.

Mandela Day

In 2009, Mandela's birthday (July 18th) was declared Mandela Day, an international day to promote global peace and celebrate the South African leader's legacy. According to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, the annual event is meant to encourage citizens worldwide to give back the way that Mandela has throughout his lifetime. A statement on the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory's website reads: "Mr. Mandela gave 67 years of his life fighting for the rights of humanity. All we are asking is that everyone gives 67 minutes of their time, whether it's supporting your chosen charity or serving your local community."

When and Where Was Nelson Mandela Born?

Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918, in the tiny village of Mvezo, on the banks of the Mbashe River in Transkei, South Africa. "Rolihlahla" in the Xhosa language literally means "pulling the branch of a tree," but more commonly translates as "troublemaker."

Family and Early Life

Nelson Mandela's father, who was destined to be a chief, served as a counselor to tribal chiefs for several years, but lost both his title and fortune over a dispute with the local colonial magistrate. Mandela was only an infant at the time, and his father's loss of status forced his mother to move the family to Qunu, an even smaller village north of Mvezo. The village was nestled in a narrow grassy valley; there were no roads, only foot paths that linked the pastures where livestock grazed. The family lived in huts and ate a local harvest of maize, sorghum, pumpkin and beans, which was all they could afford. Water came from springs and streams and cooking was done outdoors. Mandela played the games of young boys, acting out male right-of-passage scenarios with toys he made from the natural materials available, including tree branches and clay.

At the suggestion of one of his father's friends, Mandela was baptized in the Methodist Church. He went on to become the first in his family to attend school. As was custom at the time, and probably due to the bias of the British educational system in South Africa, Mandela's teacher told him that his new first name would be Nelson.

When Mandela was nine years old, his father died of lung disease, causing his life to change dramatically. He was adopted by Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the acting regent of the Thembu people - a gesture done as a favor to Mandela's father, who, years earlier, had recommended Jongintaba be made chief. Mandela subsequently left the carefree life he knew in Qunu, fearing that he would never see his village again. He traveled by motorcar to Mqhekezweni, the provincial capital of Thembuland, to the chief's royal residence. Though he had not forgotten his beloved village of Qunu, he quickly adapted to the new, more sophisticated surroundings of Mqhekezweni.

Mandela was given the same status and responsibilities as the regent's two other children, his son and oldest child, Justice, and daughter Nomafu. Mandela took classes in a one-room school next to the palace, studying English, Xhosa, history and geography. It was during this period that Mandela developed an interest in African history, from elder chiefs who came to the Great Palace on official business. He learned how the African people had lived in relative peace until the coming of the white people. According to the elders, the children of South Africa had previously lived as brothers, but white men had shattered this fellowship. While black men shared their land, air and water with whites, white men took all of these things for themselves.

When Mandela was 16, it was time for him to partake in the traditional African circumcision ritual to mark his entrance into manhood. The ceremony of circumcision was not just a surgical procedure, but an elaborate ritual in preparation for manhood. In African tradition, an uncircumcised man cannot inherit his father's wealth, marry or officiate at tribal rituals. Mandela participated in the ceremony with 25 other boys. He welcomed the opportunity to partake in his people's customs and felt ready to make the transition from boyhood to manhood.

His mood shifted during the proceedings, however, when Chief Meligqili, the main speaker at the ceremony, spoke sadly of the young men, explaining that they were enslaved in their own country. Because their land was controlled by white men, they would never have the power to govern themselves, the chief said. He went on to lament that the promise of the young men would be squandered as they struggled to make a living and perform mindless chores for white men. Mandela would later say that while the chief's words didn't make total sense to him at the time, they would eventually formulate his resolve for an independent South Africa.

Education

Under the guardianship of Regent Jongintaba, Mandela was groomed to assume high office, not as a chief, but a counselor to one. As Thembu royalty, Mandela attended a Wesleyan mission school, the Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Wesleyan College, where, he would later state, he achieved academic success through "plain hard work." He also excelled at track and boxing. Mandela was initially mocked as a "country boy" by his Wesleyan classmates, but eventually became friends with several students, including Mathona, his first female friend.

In 1939, Mandela enrolled at the University College of Fort Hare, the only residential center of higher learning for blacks in South Africa at the time. Fort Hare was considered Africa's equivalent of the University of Oxford or Harvard University, drawing scholars from all parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In his first year at the university, Mandela took the required courses, but focused on Roman Dutch law to prepare for a career in civil service as an interpreter or clerk - regarded as the best profession that a black man could obtain at the time.

In his second year at Fort Hare, Mandela was elected to the Student Representative Council. For some time, students had been dissatisfied with the food and lack of power held by the SRC. During this election, a majority of students voted to boycott unless their demands were met. Aligning with the student majority, Mandela resigned from his position. Seeing this as an act of insubordination, the university's Dr. Kerr expelled Mandela for the rest of the year and gave him an ultimatum: He could return to the school if he agreed to serve on the SRC. When Mandela returned home, the regent was furious, telling him unequivocally that he would have to recant his decision and go back to school in the fall.

A few weeks after Mandela returned home, Regent Jongintaba announced that he had arranged a marriage for his adopted son. The regent wanted to make sure that Mandela's life was properly planned, and the arrangement was within his right, as tribal custom dictated. Shocked by the news, feeling trapped and believing that he had no other option than to follow this recent order, Mandela ran away from home. He settled in Johannesburg, where he worked a variety of jobs, including as a guard and a clerk, while completing his bachelor's degree via correspondence courses. He then enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg to study law.

Anti-Apartheid Movement and Civil Disobedience

Mandela became actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement, joining the African National Congress in 1942. Within the ANC, a small group of young Africans banded together, calling themselves the African National Congress Youth League. Their goal was to transform the ANC into a mass grassroots movement, deriving strength from millions of rural peasants and working people who had no voice under the current regime. Specifically, the group believed that the ANC's old tactics of polite petitioning were ineffective. In 1949, the ANC officially adopted the Youth League's methods of boycott, strike, civil disobedience and non-cooperation, with policy goals of full citizenship, redistribution of land, trade union rights, and free and compulsory education for all children.

For 20 years, Mandela directed peaceful, nonviolent acts of defiance against the South African government and its racist policies, including the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People. He founded the law firm Mandela and Tambo, partnering with Oliver Tambo, a brilliant student he'd met while attending Fort Hare. The law firm provided free and low-cost legal counsel to unrepresented blacks.

In 1956, Mandela and 150 others were arrested and charged with treason for their political advocacy (they were eventually acquitted). Meanwhile, the ANC was being challenged by Africanists, a new breed of black activists who believed that the pacifist method of the ANC was ineffective. Africanists soon broke away to form the Pan-Africanist Congress, which negatively affected the ANC; by 1959, the movement had lost much of its militant support.

Mandela's Time in Prison

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, from November 1962 until February 1990. Formerly committed to nonviolent protest, he began to believe that armed struggle was the only way to achieve change. In 1961, Mandela co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe, also known as MK, an armed offshoot of the ANC dedicated to sabotage and use guerilla war tactics to end apartheid. In 1961, Mandela orchestrated a three-day national workers' strike. He was arrested for leading the strike the following year and was sentenced to five years in prison. In 1963, Mandela was brought to trial again. This time, he and 10 other ANC leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment for political offenses, including sabotage.

Nelson Mandela was incarcerated on Robben Island for 18 of his 27 years in prison. During this time, he contracted tuberculosis and, as a black political prisoner, received the lowest level of treatment from prison workers. However, while incarcerated, Mandela was able to earn a Bachelor of Law degree through a University of London correspondence program.

A 1981 memoir by South African intelligence agent Gordon Winter described a plot by the South African government to arrange for Mandela's escape so as to shoot him during the recapture; the plot was foiled by British intelligence. Mandela continued to be such a potent symbol of black resistance that a coordinated international campaign for his release was launched, and this international groundswell of support exemplified the power and esteem that Mandela had in the global political community.

In 1982, Mandela and other ANC leaders were moved to Pollsmoor Prison, allegedly to enable contact between them and the South African government. In 1985, President P.W. Botha offered Mandela's release in exchange for renouncing armed struggle; the prisoner flatly rejected the offer. With increasing local and international pressure for his release, the government participated in several talks with Mandela over the ensuing years, but no deal was made. It wasn't until Botha suffered a stroke and was replaced by Frederik Willem de Klerk that Mandela's release was finally announced, on February 11, 1990. De Klerk also unbanned the ANC, removed restrictions on political groups and suspended executions.

Upon his release from prison, Nelson Mandela immediately urged foreign powers not to reduce their pressure on the South African government for constitutional reform. While he stated that he was committed to working toward peace, he declared that the ANC's armed struggle would continue until the black majority received the right to vote. In 1991, Mandela was elected president of the African National Congress, with lifelong friend and colleague Oliver Tambo serving as national chairperson.

Nobel Peace Prize

In 1993, Nelson Mandela and President de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward dismantling apartheid in South Africa. After Mandela's release from prison, he negotiated with President F.W. de Klerk toward the country's first multiracial elections. White South Africans were willing to share power, but many black South Africans wanted a complete transfer of power. The negotiations were often strained, and news of violent eruptions, including the assassination of ANC leader Chris Hani, continued throughout the country. Mandela had to keep a delicate balance of political pressure and intense negotiations amid the demonstrations and armed resistance.

Presidency

Due in no small part to the work of Mandela and President de Klerk, negotiations between black and white South Africans prevailed: On April 27, 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections. Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the country's first black president on May 10, 1994, at the age of 77, with de Klerk as his first deputy.

From 1994 until June 1999, President Mandela worked to bring about the transition from minority rule and apartheid to black majority rule. He used the nation's enthusiasm for sports as a pivot point to promote reconciliation between whites and blacks, encouraging black South Africans to support the once-hated national rugby team. In 1995, South Africa came to the world stage by hosting the Rugby World Cup, which brought further recognition and prestige to the young republic. That year Mandela was also awarded the Order of Merit.

During his presidency Mandela also worked to protect South Africa's economy from collapse. Through his Reconstruction and Development Plan, the South African government funded the creation of jobs, housing and basic health care. In 1996, Mandela signed into law a new constitution for the nation, establishing a strong central government based on majority rule, and guaranteeing both the rights of minorities and the freedom of expression.

Retirement and Later Career

By the 1999 general election, Nelson Mandela had retired from active politics. He continued to maintain a busy schedule, however, raising money to build schools and clinics in South Africa's rural heartland through his foundation, and serving as a mediator in Burundi's civil war.

Mandela was diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer in 2001. In June 2004, at the age of 85, he announced his formal retirement from public life and returned to his native village of Qunu.

On July 18, 2007, Mandela and wife Graca Machel co-founded The Elders, a group of world leaders aiming to work both publicly and privately to find solutions to some of the world's toughest issues. The group included Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson and Muhammad Yunus. The Elders' impact has spanned Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and their actions have included promoting peace and women's equality, demanding an end to atrocities, and supporting initiatives to address humanitarian crises and promote democracy.

In addition to advocating for peace and equality on both a national and global scale, in his later years, Mandela remained committed to the fight against AIDS. His son Makgatho died of the disease in 2005.

Nelson Mandela made his last public appearance at the final match of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. He remained largely out of the spotlight in his later years, choosing to spend much of his time in his childhood community of Qunu, south of Johannesburg. He did, however, visit with U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, wife of President Barack Obama, during her trip to South Africa in 2011.

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On December 5, 2013, at the age of 95, Nelson Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. After suffering a lung infection in January 2011, Mandela was briefly hospitalized in Johannesburg to undergo surgery for a stomach ailment in early 2012. He was released after a few days, later returning to Qunu.

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Kids learn about Nelson Mandela's biography. A great civil rights leader from South Africa.

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First black president of South Africa

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Mohandas Gandhi is known around the world for his philosophy of passive nonresistance and helping to lead the people of India out of the bonds of being ruled by the British. Referred to as "Mathatma", which means "Great-souled one", he changed the history of India for not only its governing but also to allow respect for the oppression of some of the lower classes of citizens.

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gandhi mohandas karamchand mahatma cloze activity india asia indian

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Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today.

He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world's peaceful political dissidents.

Mohandas Gandhi - also affectionately known as Mahatma - led India's independence movement in the 1930s and 40s by speaking softly without carrying much of a big stick, facing down the British colonialists with stirring speeches and non-violent protest. For his troubles, he's often named among the 20th century's most important figures and remains revered in India as a father of the nation.

More than anything else, historians say, Gandhi proved that one man has the power to take on an empire, using both ethics and intelligence. Other peaceful resisters such as Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s civil rights movement and Tibet's Dalai Lama have emulated his methods in years since, shaking up the dynamic of world politics in the process.

Urges Britain to quit India

It is hard to imagine the thin, robed Gandhi working in the rough and tumble world of law, but Gandhi did get his start in politics as a lawyer in South Africa, where he supported the local Indian community's struggle for civil rights. Returning to India in 1915, he carried over his desire to improve the station of the lower classes.

Gandhi quickly became a leader within the Indian National Congress, a growing political party supporting independence, and traveled widely with the party to learn about the local struggles of various Indian communities.

It was during those travels that his legend grew among the Indian people, historians say.

Finding extreme poverty and famine in his own Gujarat province, Gandhi led an initiative to clean up the area, install new schools and build hospitals. He was ultimately arrested by British-appointed landlords for causing unrest, but talked his way out of jail and negotiated better conditions for the Indian farmers. When news about this sneaky feat spread through India, he earned the nickname "Bapu" - or Father.

Indeed, Gandhi was known as much for his wit and intelligence as for his piety. When he was arrested several more times over the years for his actions during the movement, Gandhi calmly fasted in prison, believing that his death would embarrass the British enough to spur independence, which had become the focus of his politics by 1920.

Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, kicked off in the early 1920s, called for Indians to boycott British goods and traditions and become self-reliant. His most famous protest came in 1930, when Gandhi led thousands of Indians on a 250-mile march to a coastal town to produce salt, on which the British had a monopoly.

Inspires civil rights

India finally gained full independence in 1947 when Gandhi was 78. Although some historians argue that independence was inevitable with Britain's economic collapse after World War II, most agree that it would not have happened without the foundation of dissent he built among several hundred million Indians throughout the 1920s and 30s.

Ironically, the ultimate proponent of non-violence was killed by assassination in 1948 while walking to his evening prayer meeting.

Today, Indians, anti-war protestors and authors, for the many interesting quotes he provided, celebrate Gandhi as a preeminent figure. Not 20 years after his death, Gandhi also had a direct impact on the history of the United States.

Martin Luther King Jr. is said to be have been heavily influenced by Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, believing it to be the only logical approach to the problem of race relations in America.

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Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today. He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world's peaceful political dissidents.

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Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer who became the leader of the nationalist movement against the British rule of India.

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Kids learn about Mohandas Gandhi's biography. A great civil rights leader from India.

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Learn about Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross who led the organization for 23 years.

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Clara Barton and The American Red Cross | Clara Barton - Birthplace Museum

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Clara Barton spent a decade organizing the American National Red Cross, which was officially incorporated in 1882. Under her leadership the Red Cross assisted with relief efforts following natural and manmade disasters, including forest fires, earthquakes, and epidemics. Clara galvanized the American people to assist their countrymen in times of hardship and loss.

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This is a complete biography of Clara Barton.

Clara Barton

Childhood

Clarissa Harlowe Barton, called Clara, was born on December 25, 1821, in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Before she started school, her brothers taught her spelling, arithmetic, and geography. When she was four, she could already spell three-syllable words. She was very shy.

Teacher

Clara became a teacher when she was seventeen. In 1850, Clara went to teach at a school in Bordentown, New Jersey. Many children could not go to the school because their families could not pay the tuition. Clara offered to teach without a salary if children could attend for free. In this way, she started the first free school in New Jersey. Even though she raised enrollment from six to six hundred, the school board hired a man to be the head of the school instead of offering the job to Clara. Clara resigned.

Angel of the Battlefield

Her congressman helped her get a job as a copyist at the Patent Office in Washington, DC. She was working there when the Civil War (1861-1865) began. After the Baltimore Riots, a trainload of soldiers arrived in Washington with no baggage or supplies. Clara helped take care for them and gather some of the necessary supplies. After the First Battle of Bull Run, Clara advertised in the Worcester, Massachusetts Spy magazine for medical supplies to treat wounded soldiers. Her ads were successful, and she began an organization to distribute bandages, socks, and other supplies. The US Surgeon General, William A. Hammond, gave her permission to travel to places where fighting was taking place. Clara did not work primarily as a nurse during the war; she was important because she obtained and passed out supplies where they were needed. She became known as the "Angel of the Battlefield."

Providing Closure

In 1865, at Camp Parole, Maryland, she decided to organize a group to find soldiers listed as missing in action. Clara also went to Georgia to identify Union soldiers in unmarked graves at Andersonville, the Confederate prison camp. She helped set up a national cemetery there. She became the first woman bureau head in the United States government when she was appointed head of the Missing Person Office. In coordination with the Bureau of Records, the organizations identified nearly twenty thousand soldiers so that families could know what happened to their loved ones. This was about one-tenth of the total number of missing or unidentified in the Civil War.

Red Cross

In 1869, she went to Geneva, Switzerland, where she met officials of the recently organized International Red Cross. She worked to get the US Congress to agree to the Geneva Convention. This agreement resulted in the formation of the Red Cross, and it asked nations to agree to protect medical personnel on the battlefield. After she returned to the United States, she lived in Danville, New York. In 1877, she offered to lead the American branch of the International Red Cross. Besides helping during wartime, the American Red Cross provides relief for victims of epidemics and natural disasters like floods and earthquakes. Her work helping people in times of war and times of peace made her an eternal symbol of humanitarianism. She died on Good Friday, April 12, 1912, in Glen Echo, Maryland.

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This is a complete biography of Clara Barton. Clarissa Harlowe Barton, called Clara, was born on December 25, 1821, in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Before she started school, her brothers taught her spelling, arithmetic, and geography. When she was four, she could already spell three-syllable words. She was very shy.

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Educator Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross and became its first president. Learn more at Biography.com.

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Kids learn about the biography of Clara Barton, Civil War nurse who founded the American Red Cross.

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pioneering nurse who founded the American Red Cross.

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Abraham Lincoln's impact on the Civil War

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Abraham Lincoln's impact on the Civil War

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In 1982, forty-nine historians and political scientists were asked by the Chicago Tribune to rate all the Presidents through Jimmy Carter in five categories: leadership qualities, accomplishments/crisis management, political skills, appointments, and character/integrity. At the top of the list stood Abraham Lincoln. He was followed by Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, and Harry Truman. None of these other Presidents exceeded Lincoln in any category according to the rate scale. Roosevelt fell into second place because he did not measure up to Lincoln in character. Washington, close behind, ranked third because of his lesser political skills. It is the general opinion of pollsters, moreover, that the average American would probably put Lincoln at the top as well. In other words, the judgment of historians and the public tells us that Abraham Lincoln was the nation's greatest President by every measure applied.

Interestingly, had the average Union citizen been asked the same question in the spring of 1863, there can be no doubt but that Lincoln would have fared poorly. Not much more could have been said for him even a year later, when Lincoln thought that he would lose his bid for reelection. It would take Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse and his own death a week later to propel Lincoln into the pantheon of presidential greatness.

And Lincoln's canonization began almost immediately. Within days of his death, his life was being compared to Jesus Christ. Lincoln was portrayed to a worshipping public as a self-made man, the liberator of the slaves, and the savior of the Union who had given his life so that others could be free. President Lincoln became Father Abraham, a near mythological hero, "lawgiver" to African Americans, and a "Masterpiece of God" sent to save the Union. His humor was presented as an example of his humanity; his numerous pardons demonstrated his "great soul"; and his sorrowful demeanor reflected the burdens of his lonely journey as the leader of a "blundering and sinful" people.

Historians, mindful of Lincoln's mythic place in American popular culture, accord him similar praise for what he accomplished and for how he did it. Because he was committed to preserving the Union and thus vindicating democracy no matter what the consequences to himself, the Union was indeed saved. Because he understood that ending slavery required patience, careful timing, shrewd calculations, and an iron resolve, slavery was indeed killed. Lincoln managed in the process of saving the Union and killing slavery to define the creation of a more perfect Union in terms of liberty and economic equality that rallied the citizenry behind him. Because he understood that victory in both great causes depended upon purposeful and visionary presidential leadership as well as the exercise of politically acceptable means, he left as his legacy a United States that was both whole and free.

As the most activist President in history, Lincoln transformed the President's role as commander in chief and as chief executive into a powerful new position, making the President supreme over both Congress and the courts. His activism began almost immediately with Fort Sumter when he called out state militias, expanded the army and navy, spent $2 million without congressional appropriation, blockaded Southern ports, closed post offices to treasonable correspondences, suspended the writ of habeas corpus in several locations, ordered the arrest and military detention of suspected traitors, and issued the Emancipation Proclamation on New Year's Day 1863.

To do all of these things, Lincoln broke an assortment of laws and ignored one constitutional provision after another. He made war without a declaration of war, and indeed even before summoning Congress into special session. He countered Supreme Court opposition by affirming his own version of judicial review that placed the President as the final interpreter of the Constitution. For Lincoln, it made no sense "to lose the nation and yet preserve the Constitution." Following a strategy of "unilateral action," Lincoln justified his powers as an emergency authority granted to him by the people. He had been elected, he told his critics, to decide when an emergency existed and to take all measures required to deal with it. In doing so, Lincoln maintained that the President was one of three "coordinate" departments of government, not in any way subordinate to Congress or the courts. Moreover, he demonstrated that the President had a special duty that went beyond the duty of Congress and the courts, a duty that required constant executive action in times of crisis. While the other branches of government are required to support the Constitution, Lincoln's actions pointed to the notion that the President alone is sworn to preserve, protect, and defend it. In times of war, this power makes the President literally responsible for the well-being and survival of the nation.

Lincoln's legacy of executive authority did not last beyond his death, and over the next forty years both Congress and the courts overshadowed the White House in power and influence. Still, the most lasting accomplishments attributed to Lincoln are the preservation of the Union, the vindication of democracy, and the death of slavery, all accomplished by the ways in which he handled the crisis that most certainly would have ended differently with a lesser man in office. His great achievement, historians tell us, was his ability to energize and mobilize the nation by appealing to its best ideals while acting "with malice towards none" in the pursuit of a more perfect, more just, and more enduring Union. No President in American history ever faced a greater crisis and no President ever accomplished as much.

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Abraham Lincoln: Impact and Legacy | Miller Center

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In 1982, forty-nine historians and political scientists were asked by the Chicago Tribune to rate all the Presidents through Jimmy Carter in five categories: leadership qualities, accomplishments/crisis management, political skills, appointments, and character/integrity. At the top of the list stood Abraham Lincoln.

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Learn all about this landmark law that ensured slavery would cease to exist in the United States forever more.

This section features over 40 Lincoln-themed and Civil War-themed printable activities that foster role-playing, cretive writing, critical thinking, comparing and contrastig, and relating to the lives and times to those in the Civil War era

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Who Was Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and is regarded as one of America's greatest heroes due to his role as savior of the Union and emancipator of slaves. His rise from humble beginnings to achieving the highest office in the land is a remarkable story.

Lincoln was assassinated at a time when his country needed him to complete the great task of reunifying the nation. His eloquent support of democracy and insistence that the Union was worth saving embody the ideals of self-government that all nations strive to achieve. Lincoln's distinctively humane personality and incredible impact on the nation have endowed him with an enduring legacy.

Family

Lincoln was born to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Thomas was a strong and determined pioneer who found a moderate level of prosperity and was well respected in the community.

The couple had two other children: Lincoln's older sister Sarah and younger brother Thomas, who died in infancy.

When young Lincoln was nine years old, his mother died of tremetol (milk sickness) at age 34, on October 5, 1818. The event was devastating to him, and young Lincolngrew more alienated from his father and quietly resented the hard work placed on him at an early age.

In December 1819, just over a year after his mother's death, Lincoln's father Thomas married Sarah Bush Johnston, a Kentucky widow with three children of her own. She was a strong and affectionate woman with whom Lincoln quickly bonded.

Early Life and Education

The Lincolns were forced to move from Lincoln's birthplace of Kentucky to Perry County, Indiana, due to a land dispute in 1817.

In Indiana, the family "squatted" on public land to scrap out a living in a crude shelter, hunting game and farming a small plot. Lincoln's father was eventually able to buy the land.

Though both his parents were most likely illiterate, Thomas' new wife Sarah encouraged Lincoln to read. It was while growing into manhood that Lincoln received his formal education - an estimated total of 18 months - a few days or weeks at a time.

Reading material was in short supply in the Indiana wilderness. Neighbors recalled how Lincoln would walk for miles to borrow a book. He undoubtedly read the family Bible and probably other popular books at that time such as Robinson Crusoe, Pilgrim's Progress and Aesop's Fable s

In March 1830, the family again migrated, this time to Macon County, Illinois. When his father moved the family again to Coles County, 22-year-old Lincoln struck out on his own, making a living in manual labor.

How Tall Was Abraham Lincoln?

Lincoln was six feet four inches tall, rawboned and lanky, but muscular and physically strong. He spoke with a backwoods twang and walked with a long-striding gait. He was known for his skill in wielding an ax and early on made a living splitting wood for fire and rail fencing.

Young Lincoln eventually migrated to the small community of New Salem, Illinois, where over a period of years he worked as a shopkeeper, postmaster and eventually general store owner. It was there that Lincoln, working with the public, acquired social skills and honed storytelling talent that made him popular with the locals.

When the Black Hawk War broke out in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans, the volunteers in the area elected Lincoln to be their captain. He saw no combat during this time, save for "a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes," but was able to make several important political connections.

Lawyer and Politician

In 1834, Lincoln began his political career and was elected to the Illinois state legislature as a member of the Whig Party.

It was around this time that he decided to become a lawyer, teaching himself the law by reading William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. After being admitted to the bar in 1837, he moved to Springfield, Illinois, and began to practice in the John T. Stuart law firm.

In 1844, Lincoln partnered with William Herndon in the practice of law. Though the two had different jurisprudent styles, they developed a close professional and personal relationship.

Lincoln made a good living in his early years as a lawyer, but found that Springfield alone didn't offer enough work, so to supplement his income, he followed the court as it made its rounds on the circuit to the various county seats in Illinois.

Children and Wife

Lincoln was married to Mary Todd on November 4, 1842. Todd was a high-spirited, well-educated woman from a distinguished Kentucky family.

When the couple became engaged in 1840, many of their friends and family couldn't understand Mary's attraction; at times Lincoln questioned it himself. In 1841, the engagement was suddenly broken off, most likely at Lincoln's initiative.

Mary and Lincoln met later at a social function and eventually married in 1842. The couple had four sons - Robert Todd, Edward Baker, William Wallace and Thomas "Tad" - of whom only Robert Todd survived to adulthood.

Before marrying Todd, Lincoln was involved with other potential matches. Around 1837, he purportedly met and became romantically involved with Anne Rutledge. Before they had a chance to be engaged, a wave of typhoid fever came over New Salem and Anne died at age 22.

Her death was said to have left Lincoln severely depressed. However, several historians disagree on the extent of Lincoln's relationship with Rutledge and his level of sorrow at her death may be more the makings of legend.

About a year after the death of Rutledge, Lincoln courted Mary Owens. The two saw each other for a few months and marriage was considered. But in time, Lincoln called off the match.

Political Career

Lincoln served a single term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1847 to 1849. His foray into national politics seemed to be as unremarkable as it was brief. He was the lone Whig from the state of Illinois, showing party loyalty, but finding few political allies.

Lincoln used his term in office to speak out against the Mexican-American War and supported Zachary Taylor for president in 1848. His criticism of the war made him unpopular back home and he decided not to run for second term, but instead returned to Springfield to practice law.

By the 1850s, the railroad industry was moving west and Illinois found itself becoming a major hub for various companies. Lincoln served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad as its company attorney.

Success in several court cases brought other business clients as well - banks, insurance companies and manufacturing firms. Lincoln also worked in some criminal trials.

In one case, a witness claimed that he could identify Lincoln's client who was accused of murder, because of the intense light from a full moon. Lincoln referred to an almanac and proved that the night in question had been too dark for the witness to see anything clearly. His client was acquitted.

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Lincoln and Slavery

As a member of the Illinois state legislature in 1834, Lincoln supported the Whig politics of government-sponsored infrastructure and protective tariffs. This political understanding led him to formulate his early views on slavery, not so much as a moral wrong, but as an impediment to economic development.

In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, allowing individual states and territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. The law provoked violent opposition in Kansas and Illinois, and it gave rise to the Republican Party.

This awakened Lincoln's political zeal once again, and his views on slavery moved more toward moral indignation. Lincoln joined the Republican Party in 1856.

In 1857, the Supreme Court issued its controversial Dred Scott decision, declaring African Americans were not citizens and had no inherent rights. Though Lincoln felt African Americans were not equal to whites, he believed America's founders intended that all men were created with certain inalienable rights.

Senate Race

Lincoln decided to challenge sitting U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas for his seat. In his nomination acceptance speech, he criticized Douglas, the Supreme Court, and President James Buchanan for promoting slavery and declared "a house divided cannot stand."

During Lincoln's 1858 U.S. Senate campaign against Douglas, he participated in seven debates held in different cities across Illinois. The two candidates didn't disappoint the public, giving stirring debates on issues ranging from states' rights to western expansion, but the central issue was slavery.

Newspapers intensely covered the debates, often times with partisan commentary. In the end, the state legislature elected Douglas, but the exposure vaulted Lincoln into national politics.

President Abraham Lincoln

With his newly enhanced political profile, in 1860, political operatives in Illinois organized a campaign to support Lincoln for the presidency. On May 18, at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Lincoln surpassed better-known candidates such as William Seward of New York and Salmon P. Chase of Ohio.

Lincoln's nomination was due in part to his moderate views on slavery, his support for improving the national infrastructure, and the protective tariff.

In the general election, Lincoln faced his friend and rival, Stephen Douglas, this time besting him in a four-way race that included John C. Breckinridge of the Northern Democrats and John Bell of the Constitution Party.

Lincoln received not quite 40 percent of the popular vote, but carried 180 of 303 Electoral College votes, thus winning the U.S. presidency.

Lincoln's Cabinet

Following his election to the presidency in 1860, Lincoln selected a strong cabinet composed of many of his political rivals, including William Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates and Edwin Stanton.

Formed out the adage "Hold your friends close and your enemies closer," Lincoln's Cabinet became one of his strongest assets in his first term in office, and he would need them as the clouds of war gathered over the nation the following year.

Civil War

Before Lincoln's inauguration in March 1861, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union, and by April the U.S. military installation Fort Sumter was under siege in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

In the early morning hours of April 12, 1861, the guns stationed to protect the harbor blazed toward the fort signaling the start of the U.S. Civil War, America's costliest and bloodiest war.

Lincoln responded to the crisis wielding powers as no other president before him: He distributed $2 million from the Treasury for war material without an appropriation from Congress; he called for 75,000 volunteers into military service without a declaration of war; and he suspended the writ of habeas corpus, arresting and imprisoning suspected Confederate States sympathizers without a warrant.

Crushing the rebellion would be difficult under any circumstances, but the Civil War, after decades of white-hot partisan politics, was especially onerous. From all directions, Lincoln faced disparagement and defiance. He was often at odds with his generals, his Cabinet, his party and a majority of the American people.

Emancipation Proclamation

On January 1, 1863, Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation, reshaping the cause of the Civil War from saving the Union to abolishing slavery.

The Union Army's first year and a half of battlefield defeats made it difficult to keep up morale and support strong for a reunification of the nation. And the Union victory at Antietam on September 22, 1862, while by no means conclusive, was hopeful, giving Lincoln the confidence to officially change the goals of the war.

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation stated that all individuals who were held as slaves in rebellious states "henceforward shall be free." The action was more symbolic than effective because the North didn't control any states in rebellion and the proclamation didn't apply to Border States, Tennessee or some Louisiana parishes.

Gettysburg Address

On November 19, 1863, Lincoln delivered what would become his most famous speech and one of the most important speeches in American history, the Gettysburg Address.

Addressing a crowd of around 15,000 people, Lincoln delivered his 272-word speech at one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War, the Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania.

The Civil War, Lincoln said, was the ultimate test of the preservation of the Union created in 1776, and the people who died at Gettysburg fought to uphold this cause.

Lincoln evoked the Declaration of Independence, saying it was up to the living to ensure that the "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth," and this Union was "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

A common interpretation was that the President was expanding the cause of the Civil War from simply reunifying the Union to also fighting for equality and abolishing slavery.

Civil War Ends

Following Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the war effort gradually improved for the North, though more by attrition than by brilliant military victories.

But by 1864, the Confederate armies had eluded major defeat and Lincoln was convinced he'd be a one-term president. His nemesis, George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Army of the Potomac, challenged him for the presidency, but the contest wasn't even close. Lincoln received 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 243 Electoral votes.

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Virginia, surrendered his forces to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. The Civil War was for all intents and purposes over.

Reconstruction has already began during the Civil War as early as 1863 in areas firmly under Union military control, and Lincoln favored a policy of quick reunification with a minimum of retribution.

He was confronted by a radical group of Republicans in the Senate and House that wanted complete allegiance and repentance from former Confederates. Before a political debate had any chance to firmly develop, Lincoln was assassinated.

Assassination

Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, by well-known actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

He was taken to the Petersen House across the street and laid in a coma for nine hours before dying the next morning. His death was mourned by millions of citizens in the North and South alike.

Lincoln's body lay in state at the U. S. Capitol before a funeral train took him back to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.

Legacy

Lincoln is frequently cited by historians and average citizens alike as America's greatest president. An aggressively activist commander-in-chief, Lincoln used every power at his disposal to assure victory in the Civil War and end slavery in the United States.

Some scholars doubt that the Union would have been preserved had another person of lesser character been in the White House. According to historian Michael Burlingame, "No president in American history ever faced a greater crisis and no president ever accomplished as much."

Lincoln's philosophy was perhaps best summed up in this Second Inaugural Address, when he stated, "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

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Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and is regarded as one of America's greatest heroes due to his role as savior of the Union and emancipator of slaves. His rise from humble beginnings to achieving the highest office in the land is a remarkable story.

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A big thanks to all my Subscribers! :) Enjoy! ~Shadow

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Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. Learn about his biography, the Civil War, and his life story.

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The Wright Brothers | Inventing a Flying Machine

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Between 1899 and 1905, the Wright brothers conducted a program of aeronautical research and experimentation that led to the first successful powered airplane in 1903 and a refined, practical flying machine two years later. All successful airplanes since then have incorporated the basic design elements of the 1903 Wright Flyer.

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first flight: how wright brothers changed world

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First Flight: How Wright Brothers Changed World

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One hundred years ago today, a machine carrying a person made a brief and wobbly flight. As Wilbur Wright watched his brother Orville guide their flying machine into the air, the past and the future separated and the world started shrinking.

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The Wright Brothers

Fast Facts about the Wright Brothers for kids: Fast Fact Sheet
Fast, fun facts about the Wright Brothers and the Birth of Aviation:

● Who were the Wright Brothers? Orville and Wilbur Wright came from a family of seven children and invented the "Flying Machine"
● Orville and Wilbur Wright were mechanics who owned a bicycle shop and began to experiment with flight.
● The Wright Brothers first produced glider in 1902 which made more than 700 flights.
● The Wright Brothers designed and built an engine and experimented with powered flight.
● On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane that covered 120 feet and lasted 12 seconds in the Kill Devil Hills, a group of sand dunes near the town of Kitty Hawk in Dare County, North Carolina. The same day Wilbur Wright flew their "Flying Machine" 852 feet and the flight lasted for 59 seconds.

The Wright Brothers achieved the first powered, sustained, and controlled flight of an airplane

Wright Brothers Facts for kids: Fact Sheet
Interesting description and facts about the Wright Brothers are detailed in the Fact Sheet. The history of Wright Brothers is told in a factual sequence consisting of a series of short facts providing a simple method of relating the history, events surrounding the Wright Brothers . For additional facts refer to the Inventions & Inventors Timeline.

Wright Brothers Facts and History for kids

Continued...

Wright Brothers Facts and History for kids

Wright Brothers Facts for kids
Interesting history and the Wright Brothers Facts for kids are continued below.

Wright Brothers Facts and History for kids

● Orville and Wilbur first tested control of the unmanned glider, flying it as if it were a kite
● The photograph shows the 1900 glider flying as a kite
● You can see the ropes attached to the glider

In 1900 the Wright Brothers Fact 16: Zeppelin Airship was invented by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin

● A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other

● They decide to test their just outside the town of Kitty Hawk in Dare County, North Carolina.
● The sand dunes at Kill Devil Hills was chosen for the test flight of their manned glider because it had high winds to launch them and soft sand to land them.

● In 1900 they tested a glider with a17.5 foot wingspan
● In 1901 they tested a glider, 22-foot wingspan that traveled 389 feet
● In 1902 they tested a glider with a 32-foot wingspan and recorded their longest flight of 622 feet, lasting 26 seconds

● They test the manned biplane-design glider repeatedly (as shown in the photo) and record their longest flight of 622 feet which lasts for 26 seconds
● They experience problems with control and convert the fixed tail to a movable rudder

● John Daniels had never seen a camera before he took the famous photo.
● He was so excited by the events he almost forgot to take the photograph
● The "first flight" photo depicts Orville piloting and Wilbur running at wingtip

● They also established the world's first test flight facilities at a field they called Huffman Prairie, northeast of Dayton (now the site of Wright Patterson Air Force Base)

At first, the Wright Brothers could only fly in a straight line for less than a minute. Then, on September 19, 1904, they achieved a major accomplishment and flew the first full circle in an airplane, making a complete turn around Huffman Prairie in 1 minute and 35 seconds

● The Flyer III had a 40-foot wingspan with a 20 horsepower engine.
● Its longest flight covered 24 miles and took 39 minutes.

● There were 16 crashes and Cal Rodgers was injured several times.
● Charlie Taylor and a team of Wrights mechanics rebuilt the Vin Fiz Flyer when necessary
● Cal Rodgers landed in Pasadena, California on November 5, 1911 in front of a crowd of 20,000 people.

Wright Brothers Fact 58: In 1920 President Woodrow Wilson appointed Orville to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, the forerunner of NASA ).

Wright Brothers Facts and History for kids

Wright Brothers Facts for kids: History of Airplanes
For visitors interested in the history of airplanes refer to the following articles:

Wright Brothers Facts for kids - President Theodore Roosevelt Video
The article on the Wright Brothers Facts provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following video will give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 26th American President whose presidency spanned from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909.

Wright Brothers Facts

● Facts about the Wright Brothers Facts for kids and schoolsSummary of the Wright Brothers Facts in US historyThe Wright Brothers Facts and the invention of the airplaneTheodore Roosevelt from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909Fast, fun facts about the Wright Brothers FactsFactual Biography on the lives of the Wright Brothers
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● Theodore Roosevelt Presidency and Wright Brothers Facts for schools, homework, kids and children

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The Wright Brothers Fast Facts about the Wright Brothers for kids: Fast Fact Sheet Fast, fun facts about the Wright Brothers and the Birth of Aviation: ● Who were the Wright Brothers?

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Born four years apart, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright grew up in a small town in Ohio.

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Back to Biographies
Orville and Wilbur Wright are credited with inventing the airplane. They were the first to make a successful human flight with a craft that was powered by an engine and was heavier than air. This was quite a milestone and impacted transportation throughout the world. It took some time to perfect, but in later years people could travel large distances at much less time. Today, trips that previously would have taken months by boat and train, can now be traveled by plane in a few hours.

Where did the Wright Brothers Grow Up?

Wilbur was the older brother by about 4 years. He was born in Millville, Indiana on April 16, 1867. Orville was born in Dayton, Ohio on August 19, 1871. They grew up in Indiana and Ohio, moving back and forth a few times with their family. They had 5 other siblings.

The boys grew up loving to invent things. They got interested in flying when their dad gave them a toy helicopter than flew with the help of rubber bands. They experimented with making their own helicopters and Orville liked to build kites.

Who flew the first flight?

Orville made the famous first flight. The flight took place at Kitty HawkNorth Carolina on December 17, 1903. They chose Kitty Hawk because it had a hill, good breezes, and was sandy which would help soften the landings in case of a crash. The first flight lasted 12 seconds and they flew for 120 feet. Each brother made additional flights that day that were slightly longer.

This wasn't a simple or easy task they had completed. They had worked and experimented for years with gliders perfecting the wing design and controls. Then they had to learn how to make efficient propellers and a lightweight engine for the powered flight. There was a lot of technology, know how, and courage involved in making that first flight.

The Wright Brothers didn't stop with this first flight. They continued to perfect their craft. Around a year later, in November 1904, Wilbur took their newly designed airplane, the Flyer II, to the air for the first flight lasting over 5 minutes.

Did the Wright Brothers invent anything else?

The Wright Brother's were primarily pioneers in the area of flight. They did a lot of work on aerodynamics, propellers, and wing design. Prior to working on flight they ran a printing press business and then later a successful bicycle shop.

Fun Facts about the Wright Brothers

For safety concerns, the brother's father asked them not to fly together.

August 19th, Orville Wright's birthday, is also National Aviation Day.

They studied how birds flew and used their wings to help design the wings for their gliders and planes.

Both North Carolina and Ohio take credit for the Wright Brothers. Ohio because the Wright Brothers lived and did much of their design while living in Ohio. North Carolina because that is where the first flight took place.

The original Wright Flyer plane from Kitty Hawk can be seen at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

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Kids learn about the Wright Brothers's biography. Inventors of the airplane.

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The Wright Brothers ~ Animated Hero Classics

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THE VERITABLE QUANDARY AND GYRO SCREWLOOSE ARE NOT AND NEVER WILL BE MONETIZED. A Hero is a person that is noted for courageous acts or nobility of character. This series will tell you about some of the most recognized heroes in history. I do not own this series.

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Galileo Galilei is credited with discovering the first four moons of Jupiter.

Credit: NASA

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei provided a number of scientific insights that laid the foundation for future scientists. His investigation of the laws of motion and improvements on the telescope helped further the understanding of the world and universe around him. Both led him to question the current belief of the time - that all things revolved around the Earth.

[See also our overview of Famous Astronomers and great scientists from many fields who have contributed to the rich history of discoveries in astronomy.]

The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, taught that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones, a belief still held in Galileo's lifetime. But Galileo wasn't convinced. Experimenting with balls of different sizes and weights, he rolled them down ramps with various inclinations. His experiments revealed that all of the balls boasted the same acceleration independent of their mass. He also demonstrated that objects thrown in the air travel along a parabola.

At the same time, Galileo worked with pendulums. In his life, accurate timekeeping was virtually nonexistent. Galileo observed, however, that the steady motion of a pendulum could improve this. In 1602, he determined that the time it takes a pendulum to swing back and forth does not depend on the arc of the swing. Near the end of his lifetime, Galileo designed the first pendulum clock.

Galileo is often incorrectly credited with the creation of a telescope. ( Hans Lippershey applied for the first patent in 1608, but others may have beaten him to the actual invention.) Instead, he significantly improved upon them. In 1609, he first learned of the existence of the spyglass, which excited him. He began to experiment with telescope-making, going so far as to grind and polish his own lenses. His telescope allowed him to see with a magnification of eight or nine times. In comparison, spyglasses of the day only provided a magnification of three.

It wasn't long before Galileo turned his telescope to the heavens. He was the first to see craters on the moon, he discovered sunspots, and he tracked the phases of Venus. The rings of Saturn puzzled him, appearing as lobes and vanishing when they were edge-on - but he saw them, which was more than can be said of his contemporaries.

Of all of his telescope discoveries, he is perhaps most known for his discovery of the four most massive moons of Jupiter, now known as the Galilean moons: Io, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. When NASA sent a mission to Jupiter in the 1990s, it was called Galileo in honor of the famed astronomer.

In his book " Sidereus Nuncius" ("Starry Messenger"), published in 1610, Galileo wrote:

"On the 7th day of January in the present year, 1610, in the first hour of the following night, when I was viewing the constellations of the heavens through a telescope, the planet Jupiter presented itself to my view, and as I had prepared for myself a very excellent instrument, I noticed a circumstance which I had never been able to notice before, namely that three little stars, small but very bright, were near the planet; and although I believed them to belong to a number of the fixed stars, yet they made me somewhat wonder, because they seemed to be arranged exactly in a straight line, parallel to the ecliptic, and to be brighter than the rest of the stars, equal to them in magnitude . . . When on January 8th, led by some fatality, I turned again to look at the same part of the heavens, I found a very different state of things, for there were three little stars all west of Jupiter, and nearer together than on the previous night."

"I therefore concluded, and decided unhesitatingly, that there are three stars in the heavens moving about Jupiter, as Venus and Mercury around the Sun; which was at length established as clear as daylight by numerous other subsequent observations. These observations also established that there are not only three, but four, erratic sidereal bodies performing their revolutions around Jupiter."

Galileo may also have made the first recorded studies of the planet Neptune, though he didn't recognize it as a planet. While observing Jupiter's moons in 1612 and 1613, he recorded a nearby star whose position is not found in any modern catalogues.

"It has been known for several decades that this unknown star was actually the planet Neptune," University of Melbourne physicist David Jamieson told Space.com. "Computer simulations show the precision of his observations revealing that Neptune would have looked just like a faint star almost exactly where Galileo observed it."

In Galileo's lifetime, all celestial bodies were thought to orbit the Earth. Supported by the Catholic Church, teaching opposite of this system was declared heresy in 1615.

Galileo, however, did not agree. His research - including his observations of the phases of Venus and the fact that Jupiter boasted moons that didn't orbit Earth - supported the Copernican system, which (correctly) stated that the Earth and other planets circle the sun.

In 1616, he was summoned to Rome and warned not to teach or write about this controversial theory. But in 1632, believing that he could write on the subject if he treated it as a mathematical proposition, he published work on the Copernican system. He was found guilty of heresy, and was placed under house arrest for the remaining nine years of his life.

"And yet it moves."

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."

"You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself."

"It is a beautiful and delightful sight to behold the body of the Moon."

"Wine is sunlight, held together by water."

- Find other quotes at GoodReads.com.

Additional resources

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Galileo Galilei: Biography, Inventions & Other Facts

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Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei provided a number of scientific insights that laid the foundation for future scientists. His investigation of the laws of motion and improvements on the telescope helped further the understanding of the world and universe around him. Both led him to question the current belief of the time - that all things revolved around the Earth.

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Easy Science for Kids All About Galileo Galilei. Learn exciting fun facts about Galileo with our Kids Science Online Site on the world around us.

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So who was this man called Galileo and what did he do? Read on to find out more about this amazing man!

His full name was Galileo Galilei and he was an Italian scientist who opened the eyes of the world to a new way of thinking about how our solar system works and astronomy in general.

For many years scientists believed that the solar system revolved around the Earth. But Galileo was the first scientist to prove that this wasn't actually correct, in fact the solar system revolved around the sun. Pretty clever man he was indeed. He also invented an improved telescope so that he could gaze far into space. He was the first to see Jupiter's moons and then realised that our moon was covered full of craters. He was brilliant, but besides this, his life wasn't easy.

Galileo's Life and Inventions

He was born in Pisa, Italy, on the 15th of February 1564.

Besides inventing the improved telescopes, he also invented the compass and a thermometer.

Galileo decided that he wanted to be a doctor and started to do a medical degree at the University of Pisa but never finished. He ran out of money, and decided that maths was what he was most interested in.

We say he invented the improved telescope but what do we mean? Originally telescopes only had 3 x magnifications, and he built one that had about 30 x magnifications. Wow, that's a big difference. No wonder he could gaze far off into space.

With these telescopes, he could see the skies like they'd never been seen before. In 1610 he saw 4 objects that surrounded Jupiter but he knew they weren't stars. They actually turned out to be Jupiter's four largest satellite moons.

Galileo and Kepler's Theory

No one actually believed him about his discovery and he just couldn't convince people that he'd found these moons. Every time he discovered something new, people never believed him and they were debated a lot at the time.

Galileo would absolutely not believe Kepler's theory that the moon caused the tides, instead he believed that it was because of how the Earth rotated. So this one was wrong, even super smart people can make mistakes!

The Geocentric model of the universe, where Earth was believed to be the centre of the universe, with everything moving around it, was quashed by Galileo's work along with other scientists. They came up with the heliocentric model. Heliocentric was more accurate and means that everything orbits around the sun. The Catholic Church was not happy at all, as it was so different to their beliefs. They felt so strongly about it that they made him withdraw many of his ideas and put him under house arrest, which meant he was a prisoner in his own home for the rest of his life. That is not cool!

Galileo - Musician, Teacher, Scientist!

Did you know that he was a very good musician and a brilliant student too!

As we said he went to medical school to become a doctor, but wasn't all that keen on it. From there he went and got a job as a teacher.

During his time, there weren't really scientists as we know them today, they didn't run tests or experiments to test out their new ideas. But Galileo was different, he wanted to test all the principles and try and see them happening in the real world. He basically started what is now known as the scientific method, test, test and test again.

Galileo's Experiments

He decided to run an experiment on the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He went to the top and dropped two items that were different weights, but were the same size and shape. He believed that the heavier item would land first, but it didn't. They both landed at the same time. However, no one really knows if he did this as the only person who really knew was his secretary.

Some people weren't keen on his experiments at all and wanted all their views to be just as they believed in them. In 1592, he moved the University of Padua, and here he was allowed to experiment and talk about his new ideas. Cool for him.

Galileo still carried on writing while he was under house arrest, and later on in life he became blind. He died on January 8, 1642. Poor thing!

After Galileo died, the Catholic Church decided that Galileo wasn't all that bad after all and said that they regretted how he was treated. That was a bit late!

A year before his death he came up with a pendulum design, which was used for keeping time.

Galileo never got married.

The middle finger of Galileo's right hand is currently on exhibition at the Museo Galileo in Florence, Italy. Not sure we want to see that!

Word Meanings

Revolve - circle around.

Telescope - a device which allows you to see things in the distance really clearly, like stars and moons.

Crater - a large, bowl-shaped hole in the ground or on the surface of a planet.

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Galileo Facts For Kids So who was this man called Galileo and what did he do? Read on to find out more about this amazing man! His full name was Galileo Galilei and he was an Italian scientist who opened the eyes of the world to a new way of thinking about how our solar system works and astronomy in general.

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Kids learn about Galileo Galilei's biography. Scientist who improved the telescope and made many discoveries and experiments.

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THE VERITABLE QUANDARY AND GYRO SCREWLOOSE ARE NOT AND NEVER WILL BE MONETIZED. A Hero is a person that is noted for courageous acts or nobility of character. This series will tell you about some of the most recognized heroes in history. I do not own this series.

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Louis Pasteur helped resolve the mysteries of several deadly diseases like chicken cholera, anthrax, rabies and silkworm diseases. He also contributed to the development of the very first vaccines. Louis Pasteur's research and work gave birth to several branches of science and he was responsible for many of the theoretical concepts and applications that are still used today.

Childhood, Career and Personal Life

On December 27, 1822, Louis Pasteur was born in the town of Dole, situated in Eastern France. His father was a tanner. In 1840, Louis earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and in 1842, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Ecole Normale. In the year 1848, he took a job teaching physics at Dijon Lycee.

Before long, Pasteur became the professor of chemistry at the University of Strasbourg. This is where he met and married Marie Laurent. The couple had five kids out of which only two survived into adulthood. Typhoid was the reason for his children's death. Pasteur's personal loss led him study the cause for incurable diseases.

Tartaric Acid and Pasteurization

When he was 26 years old, Pasteur resolved a subject that had been baffling the chemists of that time. He discovered that when light was passed through a dissolved solution of tartaric acid (found in wine-dregs), it created an unusual effect. He demonstrated that this was because the tartaric acid is actually not just one acid but a combination of different acids. This particular find amazed the scientists and established Louis Pasteur's reputation.

During Pasteur's period, the souring of wine and beer caused huge loss of money for wine producers in France. Pasteur, along with other scientists, found that heating up the sugar solutions to high temperatures eliminated an ample amount of the bacteria to avoid spoilage. Then he applied the same concept to other products like milk, cheese, and other foods. This is how he came up with pasteurization. Having the name of the inventor, the entire process of pasteurization is still extensively used throughout the world today.

Vaccine Discovery

Pasteur's first vaccine discovery was in 1879 with a contagious disease called chicken-cholera. After unexpectedly exposing chickens to the weakened form of a disease, he proved that they became immune to the actual virus. Pasteur continued to extend his "germ theory" to formulate vaccinations for various diseases including anthrax, smallpox and cholera.

In 1882, Pasteur made a decision to emphasize his efforts and research on the subject of rabies disease which was proven to attack the central nervous system. In 1885, he vaccinated Joseph Meister, a nine-year-old boy who had previously been bitten 14 times by a rabid dog. The effective results of Pasteur's vaccine for rabies brought him instant fame. This set off a worldwide fundraising campaign to construct the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, which was inaugurated on November 14, 1888.

Pasteur's Later Life and Death

Pasteur suffered from brain-strokes which started in 1868. He passed away on September 28, 1895, at Saint Cloud. He was buried in Notre Dame Cathedral. Later, his body was placed in a crypt just below the Pasteur Institute, Paris. Many of his techniques are still in use today.

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Louis Pasteur helped resolve the mysteries of several deadly diseases like chicken cholera, anthrax, rabies and silkworm diseases. He also contributed to the development of the very first vaccines. Louis Pasteur's research and work gave birth to several branches of science and he was responsible for many of the theoretical concepts and applications that are still used today.

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Hundreds of years ago, people knew little about diseases or why they got sick. Sometimes people thought sickness was caused by evil spirits or spells. Illness might occur when the planets lined up or if a person had sinned. People believed bad blood might also cause illness. Doctors used a lot of odd remedies. Sometimes they put leeches on a patient's body. The leeches sucked out the bad blood. At other times, a doctor might cut open the skull to let evil spirits out of the brain. Hot pokers were inserted in the body to treat illness. Yikes! No wonder most people didn't get better.

Louis Pasteur was a scientist who was born in France in 1822. Some scientists had discovered that germs actually cause many illnesses, but most people didn't believe this idea. Pasteur proved that germs can cause milk to sour or juice to become wine. He proved that germs can make people sick too.

Fun Facts about Louis Pasteur for Kids

Louis was an average student, but he liked to draw and paint.

Later, he received a doctorate degree.

Louis became a chemistry professor at colleges in France. He did research on germs in food and drinks.

He discovered that if you heat milk, you can kill the germs in it. This process is known as pasteurization. It makes many of our foods safer today.

Louis Pasteur invented vaccines for cholera, anthrax, small pox and rabies.

Louis Pasteur Vocabulary

Learn More All About Louis Pasteur and His Discoveries

Find out all about Louis Pasteur in this video:

A video biography of Louis Pasteur.

Louis Pasteur Q&A

Question: What was Louis Pasteur's personality like?

Answer: Louis took his work very seriously. He believed that to be a good scientist, one must test and retest theories.

Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Louis Pasteur info? Take the FREE & fun Louis Pasteur quiz and download FREE Louis Pasteur worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.

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Hundreds of years ago, people knew little about diseases or why they got sick. Sometimes people thought sickness was caused by evil spirits or spells. Illness might occur when the planets lined up or if a person had sinned. People believed bad blood might also cause illness.

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Louis Pasteur Facts, Quotes, Germ Theory of Disease, Rabies, Vaccine, Information

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Many of Pasteur's experiments supported the germ theory of disease, they helped show that microorganisms are the true cause of many diseases. In earlier times people believed that diseases were spontaneously generated, over time this theory was superseded thanks to the work of Pasteur and many others.

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Scientist Louis Pasteur came up with the food preparing process known as pasteurization, where bacteria is destroyed by heating beverages and then allowing them to cool. His work in germ theory also led to vaccinations for anthrax and rabies.

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THE VERITABLE QUANDARY AND GYRO SCREWLOOSE ARE NOT AND NEVER WILL BE MONETIZED. A Hero is a person that is noted for courageous acts or nobility of character. This series will tell you about some of the most recognized heroes in history. I do not own this series.

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Biography for Kids: Scientist - Louis Pasteur

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Kids learn about Louis Pasteur's biography. He was a scientist who studied microorganisms like bacteria. He discovered pasteurization, vaccines, and proved that germs cause disease.

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For such a tiny woman, Mother Teresa had big
dreams. She set out to change the world, one person
at a time. Her work with the people she called "the
poorest of the poor," her advocacy for human rights
and her tireless faith and gentle demeanor made her
savior to thousands. But her grand goals were based
on a simple commitment to give.
"Before you speak, it is necessary for you
to listen, for God speaks in the silence of
the heart."
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bajaxhiu on Aug. 26,
1910. She was the youngest child of a humble Albanian family
in Skopje, Macedonia. Her father passed away when she was
8, and by the time she turned 12, she knew her calling was to
be a missionary. She left home at 18 to join the Institute of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Sisters of Loreto, in Ireland. She
chose the name Sister Mary Teresa after St. Therese of Lisieux,
and a few months later, left for Calcutta, India, to join the
sisters there working as missionaries.
"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has
not happened because God did not take care
of him or her. It has happened because neither
you nor I wanted to give that person what he
or she needed."
She set out to establish a community dedicated to serving
the poorest of the poor. After two years of planning and prayer,
she received permission from the Catholic Church to leave the
convent school and devote herself full time to her calling. She
dressed in a white sari with a blue border-what would become
her daily costume for the rest of her life.
"Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes,
in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting.
Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give
your care, but give your heart as well."
In 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from Pope Paul VI
to establish the new congregation of the Missionaries of Charity in
Calcutta. Under her guidance, the sisters traveled to other parts of
India, spreading a message of hope to people in need, regardless of
religious affiliation.

People of all nationalities soon joined her cause, and international
media began to acknowledge her remarkable sacrifice. Over the
years, other branches of the order, including lay missionaries, were
added, and the society became an International Religious Family.
Today, foundations on every continent serve as hospices and homes
for the destitute and those suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis,
alcoholism and leprosy. The society's members oversee orphanages,
schools and children's and family counseling services, as well as
provide relief work and aid to refugees in times of natural disaster.
"Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in
little things is a great thing."
Mother Teresa believed no act of kindness too small to have
impact. She encouraged people to look for the needy in their neighborhoods,
even in their own homes: "There is a terrible hunger for
love. We all experience that in our lives-the pain, the loneliness.
We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have
right in your own family. Find them. Love them."

She received numerous awards over her lifetime, including
the Indian Padmashri Award, the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize,
the Kennedy Prize, the Nehru Prize, the Balzan Prize, the Nobel
Peace Prize, the United
St a t e s P r e s ident i a l
Med a l o f F r e e dom
and the Congressional
Gold Medal.
"Holiness is not the
luxury of the few;
it is a simple duty,
for you and for
me..."
Despite her public
image as a heroic figure,
Mother Teresa suffered
decades of inner turmoil.
Letters and journal entries
released after her death
reveal her periodic bouts of doubt and emotional agony. In 1957,
after she founded the Missionaries of Charity, she wrote to the
archbishop of Calcutta about her personal crisis: "I find no words
to express the depths of the darkness." These periods of doubt and
perceived disconnectedness continued until her death.
"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we
do, but how much love we put in the action that
we do."
The government of India honored her with a state funeral, and
today her tomb remains a place of pilgrimage and prayer for thousands
of visitors.

In October 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa,
bestowing on her the title of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, thrilling
a crowd of 300,000 gathered in St. Peter's Square. Beatification
is the third step in the four-step process of canonization in the
Catholic Church.

Mother Teresa's life serves as a lesson in how one can accomplish
great things by working diligently and selflessly on small things
daily. "As I often say to people who tell me that they would like to
serve the poor as I do," Mother Teresa said, " 'What I can do, you
cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together we can do something
beautiful for God.' "

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For such a tiny woman, Mother Teresa had big dreams. She set out to change the world, one person at a time. Her work with the people she called "the poorest of the poor," her advocacy for human rights and her tireless faith and gentle demeanor made her savior to thousands.

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Questions and Answers on Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje*, Macedonia, on August 26**, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. At the age of twelve, she felt strongly the call of God. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. After a few months' training in Dublin she was sent to India, where on May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. From 1931 to 1948 Mother Teresa taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta, but the suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the convent walls made such a deep impression on her that in 1948 she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Although she had no funds, she depended on Divine Providence, and started an open-air school for slum children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and financial support was also forthcoming. This made it possible for her to extend the scope of her work.

On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy See to start her own order, "The Missionaries of Charity", whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. In 1965 the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI.

Today the order comprises Active and Contemplative branches of Sisters and Brothers in many countries. In 1963 both the Contemplative branch of the Sisters and the Active branch of the Brothers was founded. In 1979 the Contemplative branch of the Brothers was added, and in 1984 the Priest branch was established.

The Society of Missionaries has spread all over the world, including the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. They provide effective help to the poorest of the poor in a number of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and they undertake relief work in the wake of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and famine, and for refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe and Australia, where they take care of the shut-ins, alcoholics, homeless, and AIDS sufferers.

The Missionaries of Charity throughout the world are aided and assisted by Co-Workers who became an official International Association on March 29, 1969. By the 1990s there were over one million Co-Workers in more than 40 countries. Along with the Co-Workers, the lay Missionaries of Charity try to follow Mother Teresa's spirit and charism in their families.

Mother Teresa's work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards.

From Nobel Lectures, Peace 1971-1980, Editor-in-Charge Tore Frängsmyr, Editor Irwin Abrams, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1997

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.

* Former Uskup, a town in the Ottoman Empire.

** Mother Teresa's date of birth is disputed: "So unconcerned was she about accuracy in relation to the chronicling of her own life, and so disinclined actually to read anything written about her, that for many years and in a succession of books her birthdate was erroneously recorded as 27 August 1910. It even appeared in the Indian Loreto Entrance Book as her date of birth. In fact, as she confided to her friend, co-worker and American author, Eileen Egan, that was the date on which she was christened Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. The date which marked the beginning of her Christian life was undoubtedly the more important to Mother Teresa, but she was none the less actually born in Skopje, Serbia, on the previous day." (Spink, Kathryn: Mother Teresa: A Complete Authorized Biography, HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.
Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997. Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1979

To cite this page MLA style: "Mother Teresa - Biographical".
Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 1 May 2018. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-bio.html>

Recommended:

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Questions and Answers on Mother Teresa Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje*, Macedonia, on August 26**, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. At the age of twelve, she felt strongly the call of God. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ.

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When many people hear the name Mother Teresa, the first thing that usually pops into their head is an elderly nun that helped the poor. Although that may be somewhat true there is plenty more to her story that many are unaware of.

Mother Teresa, whose birth name is Agnes Gnoxha, was born August 26,1910 in Skopje. Gnoxha was born and raised as a Catholic, strong in her faith, by her parents, Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu. Unfortunately her dad passed away while she was still very young, but at the age of 18 she decided that she wanted to become a missionary!

She left her home in 1928 to join The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is when she joined the Sisters of Loreta and given the name, Sister Teresa.

Sister Teresa started her mission work by going to Calcutta, India and teaching the students there, but one day she claims to have gotten a calling from God, saying to dedicate her service to the poor. Teresa was determined and set out to do God's will. Although it took her 2 years, Sister Teresa was finally granted permission to go and help the poor. From there she stayed in Calcutta and nursed, sheltered, and fed the poor. She continued her remarkable works of compassion until her unfortunate death on September 5,1997.

Mother Teresa is an amazing inspiration to people all over the world, even after her death her legacy still carries on to this day. Orphanages, school, and shelters have been placed in honor of her selfless acts.

People everywhere, regardless of race, gender, and age can be a part of something special just as Mother Teresa has done. Whether it be something small such a donating clothes, or volunteering at a soup kitchen, or something big such as traveling to a third world country to do mission work, we can all make a difference in our community.

So get your family, friends, teachers, church members and neighbors and make a difference! Together we can all carry out Mother Teresa's legacy one step at a time and help those who are not as fortunate as many of us are.
"Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997),
Biography." Mother Teresa of
Calcutta (1910-1997), Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2012.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_madre-teresa_en.html.
"INDIA - Calcutta: The Legacy of Mother Teresa." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 9 Dec. 2012.

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Mother Teresa's Influence On Our Generation

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When many people hear the name Mother Teresa, the first thing that usually pops into their head is an elderly nun that helped the poor. Although that may be somewhat true there is plenty more to her story that many are unaware of. Mother Teresa, whose birth name is Agnes Gnoxha, was born August 26,1910...

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Mother Teresa was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor. Considered one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century, she was canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016.

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Kids learn about Mother Teresa's biography. A great humanitarian from India.

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In French, Joan of Arc is also known as Jeanne d'Arc or as la Pucelle d'Orléans (the Maid of Orleans). She was born at Domremy, France on or about January 6, 1412. Her family were peasants. She took care of the animals on the farm, and she was good at sewing and spinning. Joan never went to school, and she was very religious.

When Joan was about 12 years old, she began to hear voices of different saints: St. Michael the Archangel, St. Catherine and St. Margaret. St. Michael told her, "Daughter of God, go save France!" She felt it was her divine mission to free her country from the English and to help the Dauphin become King. Dauphin is the title of the oldest son of the king of France, the one who should inherit the throne.

In May, 1428, she went to Robert Baudricourt, who commanded troops for Charles, the Dauphin. She asked for permission to join Charles and his cause. Baudricourt told the kinsman who came with her, "Take her home to her father and give her a good whipping." They returned home.

Joan's voices continued. She responded, "I am a poor girl; I do not know how to ride or fight."

The voices said, "It is God who commands it."

She returned to Baudricourt and made a prediction that the French would be defeated in a battle near Orléans. This came true, so Baudricourt took her to see the Dauphin. She dressed in men's clothing and cut her hair short so she would not be recognized as they travelled through hostile Burgundian territory. Joan asked Charles for permission to travel with the army and dress as a knight. Armor, horses, swords, a banner, and other items were donated to her and her brothers, Jean and Pierre. Her standard was painted with an image of Christ, and the banner had the name of Jesus.

People at this time were very superstitious. They wanted to make sure Joan was not a sorceress or a heretic (someone who challenges the authority of the Church). She had to pass an examination by church representatives before she was given the rank of captain and troops to lead. After she passed, Joan began to lead the French. They captured the fortress of Saint Loup on May 4. The next day they took the fortress of Saint Jean le Blanc. On May 7, they lay siege to Les Tourelles. During the battle, Joan was shot through the neck with an arrow, but she returned to the fight. The French were inspired by her bravery and defeated the English. Next she convinced the commanders that they should take the city of Reims where coronations of French kings were held. Reims was taken on July 16, and the Dauphin was crowned King Charles VII on July 17. At the coronation Joan was given a place of honor next to the king.

The French tried to take Paris on September 8, and Joan's leg was wounded by a crossbow. Once again, she continued the fight. In May of 1430, during the battle of Compiègne, Joan was captured by the Burgundians. They put her to prison. She tried to escape several times. Once she jumped sixty feet from the top of her prison tower into the moat. She was knocked unconscious and bruised, but not seriously hurt. She was sold to the English for 10,000 pounds (several hundred thousand
dollars today).The English wanted to prove that Joan had used witchcraft to beat them. She was brought to trial for sorcery and heresy. Representatives of the Church wanted her to deny that she had heard the voices of saints and to remove her soldier's clothes. They said this violated Church rules. Joan refused to do what they wanted.

Charles did not try to rescue her. The authorities promised Joan that she could go to church and confession if she signed a statement of her faults and put on women's clothes. Joan finally ageed, but they had lied to her, so Joan put her soldier's clothes back on. For this disobedience to the Church, she was sentenced to death. On May 30, 1431, she was burned at the stake in the marketplace of Rouen. She was nineteen.

In 1456, Pope Calixtus III declared that Joan had been not guilty, and condemned the verdict against her. In 1920, the Catholic Church declared Joan to be a saint. She is the patron saint of France and soldiers. Catholics celebrate her feast day on May 30. The French consider her a national heroine.

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In French, Joan of Arc is also known as Jeanne d'Arc or as la Pucelle d'Orléans (the Maid of Orleans). She was born at Domremy, France on or about January 6, 1412. Her family were peasants. She took care of the animals on the farm, and she was good at sewing and spinning.

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Martyr, saint and military leader Joan of Arc, acting under divine guidance, led the French army to victory over the British during the Hundred Years' War.

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THE VERITABLE QUANDARY AND GYRO SCREWLOOSE ARE NOT AND NEVER WILL BE MONETIZED. A Hero is a person that is noted for courageous acts or nobility of character. This series will tell you about some of the most recognized heroes in history. I do not own this series.

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Biography

Occupation: Military Leader

Born: 1412 in Domremy, France

Died: May 30, 1431 Rouen, France

Best known for: Leading the French against the English in the Hundred Years War at a young age

Biography:
Where did Joan of Arc grow up?

Joan of Arc grew up in a small town in France. Her father, Jacques, was a farmer who also worked as an official for the town. Joan worked on the farm and learned how to sew from her mother, Isabelle. Joan was also very religious.

Visions from God

When Joan was around twelve years old she had a vision. She saw Michael the Archangel. He told her that she was to lead the French in a battle against the English. After she drove the English out she was to take the king to be crowned at Rheims.

Joan continued to have visions and hear voices over the next several years. She said they were beautiful and wonderful visions from God. When Joan turned sixteen she decided it was time to listen to her visions and take action.

Journey to King Charles VII

Joan was just a peasant farm girl. How was she going get an army to defeat the English? She decided she would ask King Charles of France for an army. She first went to the local town and asked the commander of the garrison, Count Baudricourt, to take her to see the king. He just laughed at her. However, Joan did not give up. She continued to ask for his help and gained the support of some local leaders. Soon he agreed to provide her with an escort to the royal court in the city of Chinon.

Joan met with the king. At first the king was suspicious. Should he put this young girl in charge of his army? Was she a messenger from God or was she just crazy? Eventually, the king figured he had nothing to lose. He let Joan accompany a convoy of soldiers and supplies to the city of Orleans that was under siege from the English Army.

While Joan waited on the king, she practiced for battle. She became a proficient fighter and an expert horse rider. She was ready when the king said she could fight.

Siege of Orleans

News of Joan's visions from God reached Orleans before she did. The French people began to hope that God was going to save them from the English. When Joan arrived the people greeted her with cheering and celebrations.

Joan had to wait for the rest of the French army to arrive. Once they were there, she launched an attack against the English. Joan led the attack and during one of the battles was wounded by an arrow. Joan didn't stop fighting. She stayed with the troops inspiring them to fight even harder. Eventually Joan and the French Army repelled the English troops and caused them to retreat from Orleans. She had won a great victory and saved the French from the English.

King Charles is Crowned

After winning the Battle of Orleans, Joan had only achieved part of what the visions had told her to do. She also needed to lead Charles to the city of Rheims to be crowned king. Joan and her army cleared the way to Rheims, gaining followers as she went. Soon they had made it to Rheims and Charles was crowned King of France.

Captured

Joan heard that the city of Compiegne was under attack by the Burgundians. She took a small force to help defend the city. With her force under attack outside the city, the drawbridge was raised and she was trapped. Joan was captured and later sold to the English.

Trial and Death

The English held Joan as prisoner and gave her a trial to prove that she was a religious heretic. They questioned her over the course of several days trying to find something that she had done that deserved death. They couldn't find anything wrong with her except that she had dressed as a man. They said that was enough to deserve death and announced her guilty.

Joan was burned alive at the stake. She asked for a cross before she died and an English soldier gave her a small wooden cross. Witnesses said she forgave her accusers and asked them to pray for her. She was only nineteen years old when she died.

Interesting Facts about Joan of Arc

When King Charles first met Joan he dressed as a courtier to try and fool Joan. Joan, however, immediately approached the king and bowed to him.

When Joan traveled she cut her hair and dressed to look like a man.

King Charles of France, who Joan had helped to reclaim his throne, did nothing to help her once she was captured by the English.

In 1920, Joan of Arc was proclaimed a Saint of the Catholic Church.

Her nickname was "The Maid of Orleans".

It is said that Joan knew she would be wounded in the Battle of Orleans. She also predicted that something bad would happen at the city of Compiegne where she was captured.

More women leaders:
Works Cited

Back to Biography for Kids >> Middle Ages

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Biography Occupation: Military Leader Born: 1412 in Domremy, France Died: May 30, 1431 Rouen, France Best known for: Leading the French against the English in the Hundred Years War at a young age Biography: Where did Joan of Arc grow up? Joan of Arc grew up in a small town in France.

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Joan of Arc is a name that many people are familiar with, however very few realize just how big of an influence her actions and words made during her time period. Through both her involvement in the Hundred's Year War, and also through the words of her trial she helped bring about radical social change....

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"I've always found that the best workers in a political party frequently are graduates of the League of Women Voters" - Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 -1962) is commonly hailed as one of the most influential American women of the 20th century. In addition to serving as the First Lady of the United States from 1933-1945, she was a newspaper columnist, an author, a diplomat and a seasoned politician. She was also a formative leader of the League of Women Voters.

Deeply involved in social justice work, Eleanor Roosevelt believed strongly that women deserved a place at the table when it came to politics. Prior to her husband's presidency, she worked with and helped lead a number of women's groups, including the International Congress of Working Women, the Woman's Trade Union League and the Women's International League of Peace and Freedom. After the League of Women Voters was founded in 1920 - the same year that Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for Vice President - she helped establish its policy agenda. As the League's Vice President of Legislative Affairs, she lobbied for reforms in Congress and worked tirelessly to strengthen women's role in politics, helping mobilize women voters through the League's nonpartisan training and lobbying work. "I've always found that the best workers in a political party frequently are graduates of the League of Women Voters," she wrote in 1953. "Members learn how to find out what they really want to know on a wide variety of subjects. The League...trains good citizens who have a sense of responsibility about what goes on in their locality, in their state and in their nation." Even after she resigned as League Vice President in 1924, she remained an active League member and continued to promote the League's platforms and ideals, including regularly writing for the League of Women Voters of New York's newsletter.

Eleanor Roosevelt's work to empower women's participation as voters and political leaders only strengthened after her husband assumed the presidency in 1933. She consistently campaigned for the Roosevelt administration to hire women for executive level appointments, supported anti-lynching campaigns and fought for fair housing for minorities. Throughout these efforts, she held press conferences to inform women voters, including urging them to speak their minds and engage on policy issues.

After she left the White House in 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt continued to promote women's equality through her work not only with the League, but also with groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). As chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations (now the Human Rights Council), she strengthened the League's involvement with the UN and its role as player and partner in global democracy. In acknowledgement of her invaluable work around women's and human rights, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by President Kennedy, among others. Though she was never awarded the prize, she received countless other honors.

Decades after her death, she continues to epitomize the powerful role that women, including League members, have played - and continue to play - in furthering equality, strengthening our government and Making Democracy Work®.

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Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady, League Leader, Pioneer

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"I've always found that the best workers in a political party frequently are graduates of the League of Women Voters" - Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 -1962) is commonly hailed as one of the most influential American women of the 20th century.

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The First Ladies seen on this page have all been great contributors to the public's views of First Ladies. Each of them, in their own way, has been able to redefine the role of a First Lady through her various efforts. They are, to be sure, not the only First Ladies who have impacted the role of First Lady; however, they are the most recent, and, we feel, some of those who have made the longest strides toward changing the traditional views of the First Lady of the United States. They have influenced the public in ways which are still being discovered, particularly in the case of Hillary Clinton. The four women featured here are strong, independent women who can be seen as appropriate role models for any age-they found their passions, and used them to help the world.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt was a defining First Lady. Unlike many other First Ladies, she did not care about the appearance of the White House. She did social work as a teenager in New York, worked with the Red Cross, and volunteered in Navy hospitals. After her husband contracted polio, she helped maintain his political interest by working with the League of Woman Voters, Women's Trade Union League, and worked for a division of the New York State Democratic Committee, according to her biography from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

One of the most active First Ladies, Eleanor traveled extensively around the United States, reporting any hardships that she saw to her husband. She gave talks about anything she felt strongly about; from the rights of African-Americans to the issues working women had, according to the National First Ladies' Library. She was involved in relief efforts in other countries as well, particularly after Pearl Harbor.

Eleanor headed the Human Rights Commission as chair, and she was also appointed by JFK in 1961 as a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps as well as chair of the President's Commission on the Status of Women (FDR Library).

Lady Bird Johnson

A lady concerned with the importance of preserving our environment, no first lady before her had done so much for nature. She created a First Lady's Committee for a More Beautiful Capital, then expanded her program to include the entire nation. She took a highly active part in her husband's war-on-poverty program, especially the Head Start project for preschool children (White House History). She also served on the Board of the National Geographic Society as a trustee emeritus.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Jackie O., as she is now commonly known, was a huge social hit in the White House. She was able to entertain gracefully, and was possibly even more well-received than her husband, President John F. Kennedy. According to the White House website's biography on Jackie, "her interest in the arts, publicized by press and television, inspired an attention to culture never before evident at a national level" (White House official website). Throughout her lifetime, she was an active participant in preserving anything associated with the arts and history, including the Metropolitan Museum's Egyptian exhibit, the American Ballet Theater, and Broadway's theater district, according to the National First Ladies' Library.

Her first project was essentially a continuation of Lou Hoover's project of restoring the White House to preserve the historical value; again according to the White House biography, "[s]he devoted much time and study to making the White House a museum of American history and decorative arts as well as a family residence of elegance and charm" (White House official website).

Perhaps what Jackie is best known for is her dedication to caring for her husband and children. She was very vocal about the role of a First Lady being that of a traditional wife-to take care of her husband.

Jackie was sitting alongside husband JFK when he was assassinated in 1963. Her manner in the public eye after the horrifying event helped mark her as a favorite of the people.

Bellow: Part One and Part Two of a short film on Jackie O's enthusiasm for preserving public history.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is not a First Lady who the public is likely to forget; she is one of the few who has been able to completely redefine the role of First Lady in the White House. Before coming into the White House with husband Bill Clinton, she was an extraordinarily successful lawyer, and a member of the board of the Legal Services Corporation. She was a full partner at a law firm in Arkansas, and while her husband was Governor of Arkansas, she was the chair of the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, as well as other ventures, according to the National First Ladies' Library.In 2000, Hillary was elected to the U.S. Senate as a representative of New York State, and sworn in on January 1, 2001. For 20 days, she was a part of both the legislative and executive branches of government. She is a member of several committees in the Senate as well.
After Bill was elected President, Hillary was named as the head of the President's Task Force on Health Care Reform, and raised awareness of the issues with the nation's health care system. She was able to make headway in children's issues as well as the health care issues. For more information, visit the National First Ladies' Library biography on Hillary.
Further redefining the public's views on First Ladies, Hillary is planning on running for President in the election of 2008. First Ladies, it seems, do not have to just sit back and live out the rest of their lives in quiet solitude. Hillary is proving that women can be the equals to men of considerable political power, and changing the definition of women as well as First Ladies.
Hillary was a very political First Lady, unlike many of her predecessors, and discussed political issues with the president. She was almost as much President as he was-she was informed of all legislations, and was often utilized as a means of knowing what Bill might be thinking.
In addition, Hillary upheld many of the traditional roles of First Lady-she restored the Blue Room, started the White House Sculpture Garden, and hosted receptions which raised money for charities.

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The First Ladies seen on this page have all been great contributors to the public's views of First Ladies. Each of them, in their own way, has been able to redefine the role of a First Lady through her various efforts.

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It is difficult to overstate the impact of Eleanor Roosevelt on the history of twentieth-century women-not only in America, but also in the world. Historians consistently rank her the most significant First Lady, and in a recent poll the public even named her the most influential American woman of the 20th century.

Ann Eleanor Roosevelt was born into a wealthy, but dysfunctional family and her childhood was notoriously painful. Her mother, Anna Hall Roosevelt, died young; her alcoholic father, whom she adored but rarely saw, died a few years later. Her maternal grandmother only made her life more miserable with by constantly attacking Eleanor's looks and lowering her self-esteem. Timid and awkward, she found it difficult to compete with other girls. She became happier when she was allowed to attend a finishing school in London for three years and her headmistress, the liberal-minded French woman by the name of Marie Souvestre became one of her few positive role models. Despite her conviction that she was unattractive, Eleanor gained the admiration of her distant cousin, Franklin Roosevelt. They wed in 1905, and Eleanor was escorted down the aisle by her favorite Uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt. After an extended European honeymoon, the Roosevelts settled in New York City. While Franklin focused on establishing his career, Eleanor bore their children--an average of one every other year for the first decade of their marriage. During this time Eleanor was constantly under the scrutiny of her mother-in-law, Sara Delano Roosevelt, who was overly protective of her son, and disapproving of Eleanor. She once told Eleanor's children that "I am your real mother, Eleanor merely bore you." A political and social conservative, Sara Roosevelt spent her life trying to return her family to the days of nineteenth century, upper-class privilege, and she particularly objected to Eleanor's involvement with settlement houses and other charitable work.

Franklin went his own way as a reformist Democrat -- and Sara Roosevelt was as indulgent with him as she was with her grandsons. When he was elected to the New York Senate in 1910 it was fitting that a dutiful wife accompany him to political events. However, Eleanor, at this time, viewed politics as a chore. She opposed the suffrage movement, and remained shy. When Democrat Woodrow Wilson was elected in 1912, Franklin became Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and the family moved to Washington. This change in setting would have a monumental impact on Eleanor's life. Like other women at the time, Eleanor found l purpose and a boost in self-esteem in participating in wartime activities outside the home. Still, she remained so politically naive that when a newspaper asked her to comment on the difficulties of coping with wartime food shortages, she replied that her ten servants were managing just fine.

Franklin Roosevelt was the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee in 1920; however their ticket was easily defeated. The following year, Franklin was struck with polio, a personal and familial crisis that ultimately enabled Eleanor to realize her full potential.

The disease rendered Franklin's legs almost useless, so Eleanor learned how to act as his 'legs and ear's' for him, and visit and communicate with all the constituents he was no longer able to meet with himself. Beginning in 1932 she traveled tens of thousands of miles every year, observing the political and economic state of the country. No wife of any presidential candidate had ever been as publicly active or vocal as Eleanor, and in just under a decade, she had become one of the country's most astute political strategists. When FDR ran for president for the first time in 1932, he won the election by the widest margin in history, thanks in large part to Eleanor. While FDR's administration set out to solve the nation's ills on a broad front, she developed a niche as the protector of those most likely to be left on the margins- particularly women, African-Americans, and children. Eleanor argued, successfully, that at least a small percentage of New Deal programs be directed at women. Her office was in daily contact with Ellen Woodward, the head of the Women's Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and she paid particular attention to the National Youth Administration, an agency that was more inclusive in regards to gender and race. As her reputation grew, she received unprecedented amounts of mail, and she responded to literally thousands of letters with small personal checks to help individuals and families stay afloat. She also received hate mail, in large part due to her concerns and involvement with the African-American community. She repeatedly publicized the unique plight of African-Americans during the Great Depression, an act which was largely responsible for African Americans leaving the party of Lincoln and voting primarily as Democrats. She continued this focus despite vitriolic objections from white Southern Democrats; she cheerfully accepted their outrage when she invited the young black women of Nannie Burroughs' school to the White House. In March of 1941 - before America entered the World War II - she helped dispel racial stereotypes by flying with black (male) pilots whose capabilities were being undermined by Army officials. Ten days later, the African-American pilots of the Tuskegee, Alabama Air base had their program fully funded, and they would go on to shoot down some four hundred Nazi planes.

When the Daughters of the American Revolution refused in 1939 to allow African American contralto Marian Anderson to perform in Constitution Hall, Eleanor resigned her membership. Eleanor was known for maintaining intensely close female friendships and actively promoting the careers of many women. She held women-only press conferences and gave exclusive interviews with rising female journalists such as Bess Furman and Genevieve Herrick.

Needless to say, Eleanor Roosevelt understood the importance of "networking" long before the term was coined She also understood the potential power the First Lady and used it to reach beyond the confines of the White House. Early in the administration, she held the first press conference ever given by the President's wife. She began a syndicated newspaper column, "My Day," and wrote regularly for Ladies Home Journal and McCall's, with occasional pieces for Vogue and other women's magazines. Such an assertive woman challenged the foundation of the conservative world, for not only were her political and economic views radically modern, so was her personal life. Endless commentators scorned the First Lady in print and on radio, ridiculing not only her ideas, but especially her stout figure, toothy smile, dowdy dress, arrogant children, and negligence of social standards. Over their decades together, Eleanor and Franklin had come to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses; their relationship evolved into one that was perhaps more professional than it was personal. Eleanor relied on the comfort of her friends in handling Franklin's rumored infidelities, particularly Francis Perkins, Franklin's Secretary of Labor and one of Eleanor's closest confidants. When the President died on April 12, 1945, Eleanor immediately sought Francis' company.

Later that year, the new President, Harry Truman, appointed Eleanor a US Delegate to the United Nations. She received a standing ovation when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948.

Serving in the UN reinforced Eleanor's feminism. She regretted the small number of women in international delegations and the apathetic behavior of many of the men for the rights of women and minorities. After she came to understand that "all men are created equal" would be taken literally in many nations, she assisted the women's caucus in drafting gender-neutral language She delivered a now famous speech in 1948 to promote a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and received a standing ovation when such a declaration was adopted by the UN on December 10, 1948. Roosevelt remained active even after her UN service came to an end. She supported the new state of Israel, and spoke out against McCarthyism. At seventy-five, she even began teaching at the new Brandeis University, balancing lecture duties with television and event appearances. Soon after he took office, President Kennedy reappointed her to the UN, and the next year, she chaired his Commission on the Status of Women. A few weeks after celebrating her seventy-eighth birthday, Eleanor Roosevelt died of a rare form of tuberculosis. She was buried at Hyde Park on November 10, 1962, beside her husband. One of her friends honored her at her funeral by saying, "She would rather light a candle than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world."

Gail Collins. America's Women.

Archives.org. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/eleanor.html

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It is difficult to overstate the impact of Eleanor Roosevelt on the history of twentieth-century women-not only in America, but also in the world. Historians consistently rank her the most significant First Lady, and in a recent poll the public even named her the most influential American woman of the 20th century.

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Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady throughout her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office (1933-1945). She was an American politician, diplomat, and activist who later served as a United Nations spokeswoman.

A shy, awkward child, starved for recognition and love, Eleanor Roosevelt grew into a woman with great sensitivity to the underprivileged of all creeds, races, and nations. Her constant work to improve their lot made her one of the most loved-and for some years one of the most revered-women of her generation.

She was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, daughter of lovely Anna Hall and Elliott Roosevelt, younger brother of Theodore. When her mother died in 1892, the children went to live with Grandmother Hall; her adored father died only two years later. Attending a distinguished school in England gave her, at 15, her first chance to develop self-confidence among other girls.

Tall, slender, graceful of figure but apprehensive at the thought of being a wallflower, she returned for a debut that she dreaded. In her circle of friends was a distant cousin, handsome young Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They became engaged in 1903 and were married in 1905, with her uncle the President giving the bride away. Within eleven years Eleanor bore six children; one son died in infancy. "I suppose I was fitting pretty well into the pattern of a fairly conventional, quiet, young society matron," she wrote later in her autobiography.

In Albany, where Franklin served in the state Senate from 1910 to 1913, Eleanor started her long career as political helpmate. She gained a knowledge of Washington and its ways while he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When he was stricken with poliomyelitis in 1921, she tended him devotedly. She became active in the women's division of the State Democratic Committee to keep his interest in politics alive. From his successful campaign for governor in 1928 to the day of his death, she dedicated her life to his purposes. She became eyes and ears for him, a trusted and tireless reporter.

When Mrs. Roosevelt came to the White House in 1933, she understood social conditions better than any of her predecessors and she transformed the role of First Lady accordingly. She never shirked official entertaining; she greeted thousands with charming friendliness. She also broke precedent to hold press conferences, travel to all parts of the country, give lectures and radio broadcasts, and express her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column, "My Day."

This made her a tempting target for political enemies but her integrity, her graciousness, and her sincerity of purpose endeared her personally to many-from heads of state to servicemen she visited abroad during World War II. As she had written wistfully at 14: "...no matter how plain a woman may be if truth & loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her...."

After the President's death in 1945 she returned to a cottage at his Hyde Park estate; she told reporters: "the story is over." Within a year, however, she began her service as American spokesman in the United Nations. She continued a vigorous career until her strength began to wane in 1962. She died in New York City that November, and was buried at Hyde Park beside her husband.
The biographies of the First Ladies on WhiteHouse.gov are from "The First Ladies of the United States of America," by Allida Black. Copyright 2009 by the White House Historical Association.
You can learn more about Mrs. Roosevelt from The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library maintained by Marist College.

Learn more about Anna Eleanor Roosevelt's spouse, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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A shy, awkward child, starved for recognition and love, Eleanor Roosevelt grew into a woman with great sensitivity to the underprivileged of all creeds, races, and nations. Her constant work to improve their lot made her one of the most loved-and for some years one of the most revered-women of her generation.

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The wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt changed the role of the first lady through her active participation in American politics.

Who Was Eleanor Roosevelt?

Born in 1884 in New York City, Eleanor Roosevelt was the niece of one U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt, and married a man who would become another, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Redefining the role of the first lady, she advocated for human and women's rights, held press conferences and penned her own column. After leaving the White House in 1945, Eleanor became chair of the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission. The groundbreaking first lady died in 1962 in New York City.

Marriage to Franklin D. Roosevelt

After Eleanor Roosevelt became reacquainted with her distant cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1902, the two embarked on a clandestine relationship. They were engaged in 1903 and, over the objections of Franklin's mother, Sara, were married on March 17, 1905, a ceremony that featured President Theodore Roosevelt walking his niece down the aisle. The couple went on to have six children: Anna, James, Franklin (who died as an infant), Elliott, Franklin Jr. and John.

As her husband achieved success in politics, Eleanor found her own voice in public service, working for the American Red Cross during World War I. She also exerted herself more prominently after Franklin suffered a polio attack in 1921 that essentially left him in need of physical assistance for the rest of his life.

U.S. First Lady

When Franklin Roosevelt took office as president in 1933, Eleanor dramatically changed the role of the first lady. Not content to stay in the background and handle domestic matters, she gave press conferences and spoke out for human rights, children's causes and women's issues, working on behalf of the League of Women Voters.

Along with penning her own newspaper column, "My Day," Eleanor focused on helping the country's poor, stood against racial discrimination and, during World War II, traveled abroad to visit U.S. troops. She served in the role of first lady until Franklin Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945.

United Nations and Presidential Appointments

Following her husband's passing, Eleanor told interviewers that she didn't have plans for continuing her public service. However, the opposite would actually prove to be true: President Harry Truman appointed Eleanor as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, a position in which she served from 1945 to 1953. She became chair of the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission and helped to write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights-an effort that she considered to be her greatest achievement.

President John F. Kennedy reappointed her to the United States delegation to the U.N. in 1961, and later named her to the National Advisory Committee of the Peace Corps and as chair of the President's Commission on the Status of Women.

Young Eleanor Roosevelt

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, in New York City. Known as a shy child, Eleanor experienced tremendous loss at a young age: Her mother died in 1892 and her father followed suit two years later, leading to her being placed under the care of her maternal grandmother.

Eleanor was sent to Allenswood Academy in London when she was a teenager-an experience that helped draw her out of her shell.

Relationships and Sexual Orientation

Much has been made of the outside-the-marriage relationships cultivated by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, both before and after they became nationally known figures. For her part, Eleanor was said to be enamored of her personal bodyguard, Earl Miller. Additionally, her fondness for journalist Lorena Hickok was something of an open secret, the two engaging in extensive correspondence that produced some 3,500 letters.

Eleanor Roosevelt's Books

Outside of her political work, Eleanor wrote several books about her life and experiences, including This Is My Story (1937), This I Remember (1949), On My Own (1958) and Autobiography (1961).

Death and Legacy

Eleanor died of aplastic anemia, tuberculosis and heart failure on November 7, 1962, at the age of 78. She was buried at the family estate in Hyde Park.

A revolutionary first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most ambitious and outspoken women to ever live in the White House. Although she was both criticized and praised for her active role in public policy, she is remembered as a humanitarian who dedicated much of her life to fighting for political and social change, and as one of the first public officials to publicize important issues through the mass media.

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The wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt changed the role of the first lady through her active participation in American politics. Born in 1884 in New York City, Eleanor Roosevelt was the niece of one U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt, and married a man who would become another, Franklin D.

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Kids learn about the biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady to FDR and civil and human rights activist.

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Susan B. Anthony Dares to Vote! | Scholastic.com

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Arrested in 1872 for voting in the national election, Susan B. Anthony continued the struggle for women's suffrage for the rest of her life.

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1820 - Susan Brownell Anthony is born on February 15 in Adams, Massachusetts, the second of seven children.

1826 - The Anthony family moves to Battenville, New York.

1838 - Daniel Anthony takes daughters Susan and Guelma out of school. The 1837 depression causes him to declare bankruptcy and the family loses the Battenville house.

1845 - The Anthony family moves to Rochester, NY, on the Erie Canal. Their farm on what is now Brooks Avenue becomes a meeting-place for anti-slavery activists, including Frederick Douglass.

1846 - Susan B. Anthony begins teaching at Canajoharie Academy for a yearly salary of $110.

1851 - Susan B. Anthony travels to Seneca Falls, NY, anti-slavery convention. She visits Amelia Bloomer, hears William Lloyd Garrison and George Thompson, and meets Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

1852 - Anthony attends state convention of Sons of Temperance and is told to "listen and learn," which goes against her Quaker upbringing. She attends her first women's rights convention.

1854 - Anthony circulates petitions for married women's property rights and woman suffrage. She is refused permission to speak at the Capitol and Smithsonian in Washington. She begins her New York State campaign for woman suffrage in Mayville, Chautauqua County, speaking and traveling alone.

1856 - Anthony becomes agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society.

1857 - At a New York State Teachers' Convention in Binghamton Anthony calls for education for women and Blacks.

1861 - Anthony conducts anti-slavery campaign from Buffalo to Albany-"No Union with Slaveholders. No Compromise."

1863 - Anthony and Stanton write the "Appeal to the Women of the Republic."

1868 - Anthony begins publication of The Revolution and forms Working Women's Associations for women in the publishing and garment trades.

1869 - Anthony calls the first Woman Suffrage Convention in Washington D.C.

1872 - Anthony is arrested for voting in the front parlor of 7 Madison Street (now 17 Madison) on November 18 and is indicted in Albany. She continues to lecture and attend conventions.

1873 - Anthony is tried and fined $100 with costs after the judge ordered the jury to find her guilty. Anthony refuses to pay but is not imprisoned so cannot appeal the verdict.

1881 - Anthony, Stanton, and Matilda Joslin Gage publish Volume I of the History of Woman Suffrage, followed by Volumes II, III and IV in 1882, 1885 and 1902.

1898 - The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, A Story of the Evolution of the Status of Wome n is published. Anthony establishes a press bureau to feed articles on woman suffrage to the national and local press.

1900 - Anthony pledges the cash value of her life insurance to meet the University of Rochester's financial demands for the admission of women.

1902 - Anthony delivers the keynote address to the New York State Nurses Convention, advocating for the standardization of training and state registration of nurses. The Nurses Practice Act is passed in 1903.

1905 - Anthony meets with President Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., about submitting a suffrage amendment to Congress.

1906 - Anthony attends suffrage hearings in Washington, D.C., She gives her "Failure is Impossible" speech at her 86th birthday celebration. Anthony dies at her Madison Street home on March 13.

1920 - The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Susan B. Anthony amendment, grants the right to vote to all U.S. women over 21.

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1820 - Susan Brownell Anthony is born on February 15 in Adams, Massachusetts, the second of seven children. 1826 - The Anthony family moves to Battenville, New York. 1838 - Daniel Anthony takes daughters Susan and Guelma out of school. The 1837 depression causes him to declare bankruptcy and the family loses the Battenville house.

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Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15,1820 in Massachusetts. Her family were Quakers, who believed in the equality of men and women. Anthony's family supported major reforms, such as antislavery...

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Susan B. Anthony was a suffragist, abolitionist, author and speaker who was the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.