James Baldwin is presented in this biography as a great African American contributor to the literary world during the civil rights movement. See "James Baldwin Activities" for more information.

Before the Civil War, West Virginia was part of Virginia. What happened? Find historical facts and other lore from the Library of Congress.

Encyclopaedia Britannica provides a biography of Zora Neale Hurston, a famous novelist and first African American graduate of Barnard College.

There seems to be some confusion around the various legends of the Yeti. Usually the "sightings" refer to a large ape-man that wanders in the snowy heights of the Himalaya Mountains. Fact or fiction? This site offers some thoughts.

In the early decades of the 1800s, the southern Piedmont's gold mines attracted prospectors, investors, and miners. Tar Heel gold had first been found in 1799 on John Reed's farm in Cabarrus County, several miles west of the Uwharrie...

A stylized relief map of Africa, showing the Sahara, major rivers and lakes, mountains, "wild country," and other features. The Sahara is labeled as "The Great Desert that No Man Could Cross." with pyramids and temples drawn along the...

A map from 1912 of the British colony on Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong was ceded to the British from the Qing Dynasty of China in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking. The map shows the Hong Kong Harbor and Man of War anchorage around the city...