The Newberry Library
Newberry Library: Historic Maps: Revolutionary Boston: Old North Church
"One if by land, two if by sea." This famous quote was the direction Sexton Robert Newman was to follow by shining a lantern from the Old North Church steeple to warn the patriots that the British were coming. The church is the oldest in...
Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society: The Battle of Bunker Hill: Biographies Mercy Otis Warren
These biographies includes a very short bio on Warren (1748-1814 CE), a spirited female author who published a three-volume history of the American Revolution.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Bob Hayes
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Bob Hayes, an American sprinter who, although he was relatively slow out of the starting block and had an almost lumbering style of running, was a remarkably powerful sprinter with as much...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Bill Russell
Biographical information on Bill Russell, an American basketball player who was the first outstanding defensive center in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one of the sport's greatest icons.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Dennis Rodman
Biographical account of Dennis Rodman, an American professional basketball player who was one of the most skilled rebounders, best defenders, and most outrageous characters in the history of the professional game. He was inducted into...
Black Past
Black Past: Walters, Bishop Alexander
In this encyclopedia entry, you can read about Bishop Walters, a minister and one of the founders of NAACP.
Black Past
Black Past: Muhammad Ali
In this brief encyclopedia entry, you can read about Muhammad Ali, famous as a boxer, but, perhaps more so, as an ambassador of good will. There are links to other websites for more information.
Black Past
Black Past: Attucks, Crispus
This encyclopedia article, which includes the famous engraving of the Boston Massacre, recounts Crispus Attucks' participation in that event.
Black Past
Black Past: White, George Henry
In this encyclopedia entry, the story of George Henry White is told. He was a congressman from North Carolina during Reconstruction.
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry was an American scientist who pioneered the construction of strong, practical electromagnets and built one of the first electromagnetic motors. During his experiments with electromagnetism, Henry discovered the property of...
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Klaus Von Klitzing
Klaus von Klitzing is a Nobel laureate who won the award in 1985 for his discovery of the quantized Hall effect, sometimes referred to as the quantum Hall effect. Von Klitzing's discovery resulted from his work exploring a phenomenon...
University of St. Andrews (UK)
University of St. Andrews: Winifred Merrill
The first American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, Winifred Merrill made many contributions to the world of mathematics. Her life and accomplishments are documented in this short biography.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: "Massive Resistance" and the Little Rock Nine
Read about the famous civil rights protest in Little Rock, Kansas in 1957 when nine African American students attempted to enter Central High School on the first day of school. Despite the presence of federal troops at the school for the...
Alabama Humanities Foundation
Encyclopedia of Alabama: Selma to Montgomery March
One of the most famous events in Civil Rights history, this report covers the Selma to Montgomery March for voting rights.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Ru Paul
Learn about RuPaul, the American entertainer who carved out an idiosyncratic place in popular culture as perhaps the most famous drag queen in the United States in the 1990s and early 21st century.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Howard Thurman
Biographical account of Howard Thurman, an American Baptist preacher and theologian, the first African American dean of chapel at a traditionally white American university, and a founder of the first interracial interfaith congregation...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Augustus Tolton
Summarizes the life and career of Augustus Tolton, an American religious leader who is regarded as the first African American ordained as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Carl Rowan
Learn about the life and career of Carl Rowan, an American journalist, writer, and radio and television commentator, who was one of the first African American officers in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Carl Stokes
Biographical sketch of American lawyer and politician, Carl Stokes, who became the first African-American to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city, having been elected to that office in Cleveland, Ohio (1967-71).
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Maggie Lena Draper Walker
Summarizes the life of Maggie Lena Draper Walker, an American businesswoman, who played a major role in the organizational and commercial life of Richmond's African-American community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin
Biographical sketch of Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, an American community leader who was active in the women's rights movement and particularly in organizing African American women around issues of civic and cultural development.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Doc Rivers
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Doc Rivers, an American basketball player and coach who, as the head coach of the Boston Celtics, led the team to a National Basketball Association (NBA) championship in 2008.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Don King
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Don King, an American boxing promoter known for his flamboyant manner and outrageous hair styled to stand straight up. He first came to prominence with his promotion of the 1974 "Rumble in...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Percy Ellis Sutton
Brief account of the life of Percy Sutton, a prominent civil rights attorney who represented Malcolm X as well as some 200 people arrested in the 1960s during protests against racial segregation in the American South.