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Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is one of America’s greatest heroes because of his unique appeal. His is a remarkable story of the rise from humble beginnings to achieve the highest office in the land; then, a sudden and tragic death at a time when his country needed him most to complete the great task remaining before the nation. His distinctively human and humane personality and historical role as savior of the Union and emancipator of the slaves creates a legacy that endures. http://www.biography.com/people/ -
Harriet Beecher
Harriet Beecher was born June 14, 1811, the seventh child of a famous protestant preacher. Harriet worked as a teacher with her older sister Catharine: her earliest publication was a geography for children, issued under her sister's name in 1833. In 1836, Harriet married widower Calvin Stowe: they eventually had seven children. Stowe helped to support her family financially.http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/stowe/StoweHB.html -
Thomas Edison
Edison began working at an early age, as most boys did at the time. At thirteen he took a job as a newsboy, selling newspapers and candy on the local railroad that ran through Port Huron to Detroit. He seems to have spent much of his free time reading scientific, and technical books, and also had the opportunity at this time to learn how to operate a telegraph. By the time he was sixteen, Edison was proficient enough to work as a telegrapher full time.http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventor -
Alexander Graham
In 1876, at the age of 29, Alexander Graham Bell invented his telephone. In 1877, he formed the Bell Telephone Company, and in the same year married Mabel Hubbard and embarked on a yearlong honeymoon in Europe. Alexander Graham Bell might easily have been content with the success of his telephone invention. His many laboratory notebooks demonstrate, however, that he was driven by a genuine.http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltelephone2.htm -
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872, in Dayton, Ohio, the son of two former slaves. Both of his parents enjoyed reading. His mother taught Dunbar to read when he was four years old. In 1886 Dunbar entered Central High School in Dayton as the only African American student in his class, and he made many Caucasian (white) friends. He received a formal education in high school, graduating in 1891. He excelled as a student, serving as editor. http://www.notablebiographies.com/De-Du/Dunbar-
