Historical Figures

This enslaved man taught an orphaned Daniel the secret of making the smoothest Tennessee whiskey. In turn, Green became the company's first master distiller.

By Stefanie Benjamin

The Mad Trapper of Rat River probably wasn't a trapper, and he most likely wasn't mad, but who was he and why did he lead the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on one its greatest chases ever?

By Nathan Chandler

He is famous for assassinating Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV. But what was his motive, other than to rid the world of the man who killed President John F. Kennedy days before?

By John Donovan

Nietzsche's prose is playful, but its meaning is often opaque. Though perhaps we should expect nothing less from a philosopher who wrote, "I am not a man. I am dynamite."

By Dave Roos

And he was still growing at the time of his death. But there was a lot more to Robert Wadlow than just his extraordinary height.

By Alia Hoyt

The brief and disturbing life of Tarrare is a fascinating study of perhaps the most bizarre and disgusting eating disorder ever known, and one that remains a medical mystery some 250 years later.

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

At 91, Dolores Huerta, the activist who inspired Barack Obama's "Yes, we can" campaign, continues to work tirelessly developing leaders and advocating for the working poor, women and children.

By Tara Yarlagadda

Brazenly ambitious, he became king of Scotland and won independence from the despised English to become a legendary figure of Scottish national pride, just like William "Braveheart" Wallace.

By Dave Roos

Some say his IQ was 50 to 100 points higher than Albert Einstein's. So why haven't you heard his name before? We'll tell you the sad tale of why this incredible genius flamed out.

By John Donovan & Zach Taras

Muir was personally involved in the creation of Yosemite, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon national parks and earned the title of "Father of Our National Park System."

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

The late Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska was the first woman to lead a dinosaur excavation expedition - into Mongolia's Gobi Desert no less. And her volumes of research provide most of what we know today about the evolution of modern mammals.

By Mark Mancini

Malcolm X was the leader of the Nation of Islam for more than a decade. His speeches were often militant in tone and he was labeled a firebrand. But was he simply misunderstood?

By Oisin Curran

Bugsy - nobody called him that to his face - Siegel was a shrewd mobster whose crew was dubbed "Murder, Incorporated" by the press. But that fast life got him killed by age 41.

By John Donovan

Frédéric Chopin gave only 30 public performances of his stunning piano works during his lifetime, but his influence on the soul of classical music was immeasurable.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

We may think of Thoreau as the Walden Pond hermit who penned profound books on nature and philosophy. But he was also funny and sociable and valued his friends deeply. What can we learn from some of his best quotes?

By Dave Roos

An intrepid world traveler, skilled mountaineer and noted archaeologist, Gertrude Bell broke all the rules at a time when women lived under the oppressive thumb of Victorian-era England.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Bass Reeves was no ordinary officer of the law. Over his three-decade career, this African American arrested more than 3,000 individuals and survived countless skirmishes with armed outlaws. In short, he was a real frontier hero.

By Dave Roos

She was the first woman to ride solo on a motorcycle across the United States, and was known as the 'Motorcycle Queen of Miami.' And that's just the beginning of her story.

By Sharise Cunningham

Sacagawea, at around 16 or 17, guided the Lewis and Clark expedition thousands of miles from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean, and in the process became a legend.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Happy birthday to Edgar Allan Poe, master of the macabre! The story of his life and mysterious death is as fascinating as his most suspenseful work of fiction.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Galileo Galilei made huge discoveries in physics and astronomy, helping to establish the modern scientific method of experiments and mathematics. Along the way, he fought for intellectual freedom and became the first celebrity scientist.

By Patrick J. Kiger

John Smith has been described as a tireless soldier, self-promoter and publicist. In today's speak, you might even call him an influencer.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

What did these two U.S. presidents, who were also father and son, have in common beyond their first and last names?

By Patty Rasmussen

Herodotus was a natural-born storyteller, whom scholars revere as the first historian ever, and critics dismiss as just a teller of tall tales. What's the real story?

By Dave Roos

We'll be blunt: Mary Edwards deserves mad respect. She was a feminist and abolitionist; the first female Civil War surgeon in the U.S. Army; and a Civil War POW. Plus she wore pants!

By Michelle Konstantinovsky