Charles Louis was born in Shreve, Ohio back in 1910. Can’t tell you who his parents were however, for this post it is not necessary. He received his B.S. degree in 1934 and his M.A. in Mathematics from George Washington University and his PhD in Physics in 1939. Can you tell he is way beyond me after kindergarten?Anyway, after graduation he taught optics at the University of Rochester. In 1940, he was awarded a National Research Council fellowship working at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.He moved around to a few universities teaching and honing his skills. BTW his main concentration was that of ballistics. In 1943, he went to work for the U.S. Government which of course is the rest of the story. He received three patents for sabot designs due to his ballistic studies mad... 04/23/2017

Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright was born in Melbourne, Australia back in 1859 to John and Isabel. Her family moved several times when she was young ending up in Dublin, Ireland. She was schooled in Germany where she had a talent as an artist and linguistics. Her mother died when she was 14 so she moved to New York where she married Henry however, that marriage ended in divorce just a year later.After the marriage dissolved she had a brief romance with Knut inspiring her to write. In 1899, she married Egerton who was a second-rate minor novelist she returned to rural Ireland and as they say the rest is history. I’m writing about her today not because of her failed marriages but for her writing. You see she was a true pioneer in her day.Maybe her name doesn’t ring a bell but you may know her ... 04/03/2017

Tabitha Ann was born in 1854 to Quinton and Harriet. Sorry I do not know where she was born or about her early childhood. What I can tell you is the rest of the story so let’s get to it.She graduated from Greensboro Academy in 1878. She trained under AAlbion Winegar Tourgee (more on that shortly). On January 8th, 1878, she went to the North Carolina Supreme Court in Raleigh. Because she was the first woman to do this the court decided to have her argue her case the next morning. She was represented by her teacher AAlbion, it only took the court 10 minutes of deliberation to grant her request.For you see without any formal education she aced the exam and was the first woman to obtain her license as an attorney in the State of North Carolina. Sadly, she died of tuberculosis in 1886. You c... 03/10/2017

Frank Nelson was born in Ashland, Massachusetts back in 1861. Sorry again I do not know who his parents were however, holding to what you expect I can tell you the rest of the story, so let’s get to it shall we...Educated at Harvard he lectured on mathematics from 1885 to 1887. He went on to lecture at the University of Michigan and Columbia University. He also published several important papers. One of his papers were read at the International Mathematical Congress in 1893. While at the Mathematical Congress he approached the chalkboard. In complete silence, he calculated the value of M67, the value of which is 147,573,952,589,676,412,927. The calculation is for the Mersenne number which is 2(to the 67th power -1). For you mathematicians I’m writing about Frank Nelson Cole. Name doesn’... 02/22/2017

Roger was born circa 1603 to James and Alice in London, England.  As a teen, he apprenticed under the eye of Sir Edward Coke a famous jurist.  He continued his education at Charterhouse and Pembroke College in Cambridge receiving his B.A. in 1627.  By all reports he was fluent in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Dutch and French.  After graduation, he became a chaplain to the Puritan faith. He moved to America in 1631 to become a teacher in the Plymouth colony. In 1632 he wrote a letter claiming the British or anyone else had the right to claim land that belonged to the Native Americans without first buying it.  He went on to accuse that King James uttered a “solemn lie” in claiming he was the first Cristian monarch to have discovered the land. This of course did not set well and he moved to Salem... 02/08/2017

Earle Lewis was born in Illinois back in 1879. Sorry I do not have any information as to his parents, childhood or education. However, what I do have I found is interesting and thus is the rest of the story.He married Adelaide in1911 and built a home in the Samarkand area of Santa Barbra, California. Interesting in that he also built an airstrip that was used as the municipal airfield until his death in 1936. For you see he was not only an aviator he was also an aeronautical engineer and inventor. He worked for Thomas Edison as a lab assistant.However, what he did on September 23, 1911 will forever place him in the history books. For on that day he left Nassau Boulevard aerodrome in New York and flew to Mineola, New York. Flying at 500 feet he dropped a bag from his craft and it burst o... 02/07/2017

Vinton was born in New Haven, Connecticut back in 1943 to Vinton and Muriel.  He attended Van Nuys High School.  while in high school he worked at Rocketdyne on the Apollo program.  He went on attending Stanford University obtaining his B.S. degree in mathematics (can you tell he is way beyond me).  He worked at IBM for two years and left to attend graduate school at UCLA earning his M.S. degree in 1970 and his PhD in 1972.  After receiving his doctorate, he became an assistant professor at Stanford.  He moved to DARPA in 1976 and stayed until 1982.  In 1982 me moved again to MCI Digital Systems and stayed until 1986.  At last count, he holds 21 doctorates from various University’s.  For all you tech people I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now but I’m writing about Vinton Gray Cerf.  H... 01/27/2017

James Anthony McGinnis was born in Detroit, Michigan back in 1847.  I do not have any information about his parents only that he was orphaned at an early age.  He began working as a bellhop in Pontiac, Michigan when he was approached by Frederic who gave him a job as his assistant, and as they say the rest is history.  The pair travelled together for many years. They were apparently close as later James took Frederic’s last name as his own.James married Ruth McCaddon of Zanesville, Ohio.  He died in 1906 at the age of 58 and is buried in Mount Vernon New York. Now if I may tell you the rest of the story for you see James Anthony McGinnis changed his last name to Bailey.  As for his job, well he worked for the Cooper and Bailey circus which later became known as the Barnum & Bailey Circu... 01/07/2017

Zach was born in Searcy Arkansas back in 1997. He lost his father due to a motorcycle accident. He now lives in Valrico, Florida with his mother and sister. Interesting as his mother is a real estate agent and investor. He takes classes on the internet through the K12 Florida Virtual Instruction Program and wants to attend either Harvard or Yale and het his degree in law. He hasn’t made up his mind if he wants to be a prosecutor or practice family law.In 2007 he started his three-stage “My House to the White House” project. His purpose was to raise money and awareness of homeless children. He walked a total of 3,718 miles ending up in Washington DC. In 2006 he was given the Presidential Service award from President George W. Bush, he was also honored by then Governor Jeb Bush for this v... 12/22/2016

Good morning everyone. Today I’m going off the beaten path, that’s right I’m not going to write about anyone, instead I’m going to write about something else. Grab hold of your seat an off we go.Mound Cemetery is in Marietta, Ohio. It was developed around the base of a prehistoric Adena burial mound. The city fathers established it around 1801. The City of Marietta was developed in 1788 by pioneers soon after the Revolutionary War. The Adena mounds was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In 1900 a portion of the mound was excavated and it was determined that the mound was definitely constructed by the people of the Hopewell Culture. Marietta was a magnet for people after the American revolutionary War veterans after being given land grants for their military serv... 12/15/2016

 Usually each morning I’m up early and after letting the dogs out, making coffee I boot up the computer. I let the dogs back in give them their treat pour my first 20 ounces of coffee and start by opening ActiveRain to start reading all the wonderful posts by those I follow, and sometimes those I don’t.Anyway around 05:00 AM CST you can find me typing away making a comment on a post I’ve read. At 05:00 AM sharp the National Anthem is played. I stop everything and stand facing the TV with my right hand over my heart while I’m watching the images and listening to it being played. I wonder when you are alone (no witnesses) do you stand to honor our anthem and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for you to be an American and enjoy the freedoms they gave you? Sorry I’ll get off my soapbox ... 12/05/2016

Thaddeus was born in Iowa (sorry I don’t know what area) back in 1867. I have no information as to who his parents were however, it is not relevant to this story, so we’ll continue. What I can tell you is that he studied physics at Oberlin Conservatory (now George Washington University) in Oberlin, Ohio. During the summer, he worked as a clerk in Washington, D.C. to pay for his college.He graduated in 1889 with a degree in law. However, as far as I can find he never was admitted to the board or practiced law turning his attention to an invention that he felt would revolutionize something he was interested in. His invention was first shown in 1902, later that year he established a laboratory to continue his work. His invention was successful however, only three were built and he died in ... 11/26/2016

One more thing about the Shippen’s and Livingston’s then we’ll move on. Remember Anne and William Livingston were married and that produced down the line Robert R Livingston. Robert became an American Lawyer, politician, diplomat from New York and a Founding Father of the United States.He was affectionately known as “The Chancellor”, having served in the New York State legal office, an office which he held for 25 years. He was also a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. The five members included himself along with some people you may have heard of like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Roger Sherman.From 1781 to 1783 he was the U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Articles of Confederation. One other note he also administ... 11/12/2016

Hubert Booth was nor in Paris, France back in 1871. His family moved to Gloucester when he was two months old. Educated at Gloucester College and Gloucester County School. In 1889 he entered Central Technical College completing a three-year course in civil engineering and mechanical engineering.In 1892 he started working for the office of Maudslay Sons and Field in Lambeth, London as a civil engineer. His work involved designing bridges and large ferris wheels for amusement parks. He also worked on designs of engines for the Royal Navy battleships.It was during a demonstration of at the time a cleaning system for railway carriages at St. Pancras station a thought suddenly hit him and with that he changed the way things were cleaned. What you may ask was the inspiration for this epiphany... 09/30/2016

Hardy Murfree was born in Murfreesboro, North Carolina back in 1752 to William and Mary. He was a lieutenant in the Hertford County militia when the Revolutionary War began. In 1775 he served as a captain in the 2nd North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army. He saw action at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.In 1779 he led a successful diversionary attack in the Battle of Stony Point. The infamous British leader Banastre Tarleton attacked Maney’s Neck on the Meherrin River in 1781, Murfree led the militia that repulsed the attack at Skinner’s Bridge.After the war he migrated to Williamson County, Tennessee living on land granted to him after the American Revolution where he remained until his death in 1809. However, can you tell me what else he will be written into the history books ... 09/25/2016

Catlin Sanchez was born in Englewood, New Jersey in 1996. She was talented playing the piano at four, in fact she won the Yamaha Corporation’s Young Composer’s Award in 2004 for her original jazz composition. In 2005 and 2007 she won the prestigious Tito Puente Musical Scholarship Award twice. She is a multiple-winner and presenter at the Hispanic Youth Showcase competition held in New Jersey.As you can guess she is an avid jazz fan, (never could get into the music myself). Anyway onward we go in 2008 she auditioned for a part among 600 other girls. She has appeared in several national commercials. She had roles in an episode of Law & Order: SUV, she also appeared as Celia, the daughter of Carlos Ponce’s character on Lipstick Jungle. Her film work was appearing in the film Phoebe in Won... 09/05/2016

Caesar Rodney was born in Kent County, Delaware back in 1728 to Caesar and Elizabeth. He was educated only when he turned 13 or 14 years old, the records are not clear. Anyway onward we go and so did he. He was tormented throughout his life by asthma, during his adult years to top that he was treated for facial cancer. It was so bad he was known to wear a green scarf to hide his disfigured face.He remained a bachelor most likely because of the treatment to his face for the cancer. At twenty-seven he was elected Sheriff of Kent County where he served three years, the limit then. Afterwards he held several appointed positions including Justice of the Peace. He served as a captain during the French and Indian War. After the war he was appointed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court ... 09/03/2016

Venetia Katharine Douglas Phair Burney was born as far as I can tell in Oxford, England in 1918. She was the daughter of Charles and Ethel. She was educated at the Downe House School in Berkshire and Newnham College at Cambridge where she studied mathematics.After graduation she became a chartered accountant. In later years she was a teacher of economics and mathematics at a girl’s school in southwest London. She died in 2009 at the age of 90 in Banstead in Surrey. There are no surprises her except for a few. Come on now knowing me you knew there would be a hitch. So here it is: when she was 11 years old on March 14th 1930 Falconer Madan read the story of a new planet’s discovery in The Times, and mentioned it to his granddaughter Venetia. She mentioned a name to her grandfather and he ... 08/27/2016

Philip Danforth was born in Stockbridge, New York back in 1832 to Danforth and Juliana. He was one of eight children growing up on the family farm. He was educated at Cazenovia Academy in New York, that is until he was caught riding in a buggy with a girl. The institution promptly expelled him.One of his first jobs was that of a Driver along the Chenango Canal. At 19 he left with 30 other people for the California Gold Rush. While in California he started his own business employing out-of-work miners to construct sluices that controlled the water flow through the mined rivers. By the age of 24 he had earned a handsome sum of $8,000.00.He moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin the 1859 and worked there three years before starting up another company. he predicted the Confederate loss and the price ... 08/04/2016

William Penn was born in New Echota, Georgia back in 1830 to George and Martha.  He attended Cherokee schools in Indian Territory, studying law.  He was described as being 6’2”, magnetic, logical and frankly agreeable, the ablest and most brilliant of all Cherokees.  He moved to Adair, Oklahoma and married Sarah.  During the Civil War he served in the Confederacy in the First Regiment of Cherokee Mounted Volunteers.  He rose in rank to colonel and organized the Second Cherokee Mounted Volunteers.After the war he served in the Cherokee Nation as a senator, a justice of the Cherokee Supreme Court and assistant principal chief.  He was an advocate for the rights of the Texas Cherokees and affiliated Bands.  The Cherokee Nations sought compensation from Texas for lands lost in 1839.  The Re... 07/20/2016