Biographies Story Briefs

We may know about a famous person's accomplishments, but what do we know about THEM? What is the human-interest story in THEIR lives? This biography collection features the stories behind the lives of some famous (and not-so-famous) individuals.

Wishing to build a school on his property, Rabe had to join the Nazi party. Woods tells us why.

By 1904, when people begin to worry about the potentially addictive effects of coca leaves, John Pemberton has to change his Coca Cola formula.

President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, is a member of a famous acting family.

John W. Young, an American astronaut, flew to the Moon (during Apollo 10), landed on the Moon (during Apollo 16) and flew the first-ever shuttle missi...

Josephine Brunsvik von Deym was a very close friend of Beethoven. Some historians speculate that she may have been Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved."

Joseph Roulin was a good friend of Vincent van Gogh's when the artist lived in the yellow house at Arles.

Justice Joseph Story was one of America's most-famous jurists during his lifetime. He authored the decision freeing the Amistad captives.

Judge John Roll, a controversial and influential Arizona jurist, dies heroically protecting another after being shot in a politcally charged rampage a...

Until the 1960s, English translations were not completely faithful to Jules Verne's famous writings. How did this happen?

Julia Howe (1819-1910) was feeling discouraged when she visited the city of Washington, D.

Julie More, portrayed in "We Were Soldiers" by Madeline Stowe, changed the way family members were notified about the deaths of fallen Army soldiers d...

This 19th-century illustration, called Caesar Crossing the Rubicon, is an artistic rendering of Julius Caesar's famous decision to defy Roman law.

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