Kaspar Faber was born in the Langenzeen, Holy Roman Empire back in 1730.  After graduating from school, he trained as a carpenter.  In 1758, he moved from the town of Langenzeen to the municipality of Stein.  In 1760, he settled there working as a carpenter.  In 1761, he opened a small workshop where he produced pencils, which was a typical activity of the time for carpenters to do.In 1771, he made the first attempts to improve pencils by using ground graphite, mixed with sulfur, antimony and binding resins.  During his lifetime his pencil production remained on a small scale, but he laid the foundation to which his great-grandson Johann Lothar Freiherr von Faber expanded.  While you may not know Kaspar surely, you’ve heard and used some of his groundwork instruments.  His foundation la... 01/13/2021

Marguerite P. Lecesne was born in New Orleans, Louisiana back in 1921 to Albert and Louise.  She moved to Los Angeles, California in 1945 finding work as a seamstress.  In the early 50’s she became the private secretary to Linda Darnell.  She married William in 1954.  She became a well-known community activist in Los Angeles.  She formed the Southwest Sweethearts, supporting the Southwest Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics the Sweethearts set up a hospitality house for the police officers that ran around the clock, providing meals and showers for the officers. For her efforts she was given the Police Historical Society’s Jack Webb Award.  She died in2009, she was 88.What you may not know about Marguerite P. Justice is that she was the sec... 01/03/2021

Rebecca Nicole Johnson was born in Minlaton, South Australia.  The family moved to Sydney where she received her primary education at Barrenjoey High School.  After high school she received her Bachelor of Science degree with honor from the University of Sydney in 1996.  She was awarded her PhD in molecular evolutionary genetics through La Trobe University in 2000.In 2003, she joined the Australian Museum as laboratory manager.  What you may not know about Rebecca is that she is not Director and Chief Scientist of the Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney.  She is the first female to be appointed to the role since the establishment of the Australian Museum.  She is also head of the Australian Museums Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics.  She is a member of the Australian Acad... 12/24/2020

Eva Josephine Jellett was born in Dublin, Ireland back in 1868 to John and Dora.  Her father was a clergyman, mathematician and provost of Trinity College, Dublin.  She was first educated by a governess from Germany.  She started studying at Alexandra College.  She attended the Catholic University School of Medicine, St. Cecilia Street, Dublin.After graduation she began as a clinical clerk in the Coombe Hospital in Dublin.  In 1906, she moved to India to take a position in the Dublin University Mission in Hazaribagh.  Upon her arrival she ran the newly founded women’s hospital St. Columba’s.  In 1919, he was promoted to head associate giving her control over all the female staff in India.  She retired in 1923 and moved to Switzerland.  She died in 1958, she was 90.What you may not know ... 12/10/2020

Arthur S. Jefferson was born in Ulverston, Lancashire, England back in 1890 to Arthur and Margaret.  In his early years he spent much of his time living with his maternal grandmother Sarah Metcalfe.  He attended King James I Grammar School in Durham.  The family moved to Glasgow, Scotland where he completed his education at Rutherglen Academy.His parents were managers of the Metropole Theatre where he began working after graduation.  He gave his first performance at the age of sixteen.  By 1910, he was performing on the stage with a young Charlie Chaplin.  He moved to the United States shortly before WWI.  He registered for military service in 1917, but was not called up due to his deafness.  Around 1921, he was offered $75.00 a week to preform in two-reel comedies.  After those perform... 12/05/2020

William A. Jayne was born in Springfield, Illinois back in1826.  I don’t have any information about his early childhood, but I can tell you he attended the Illinois College in 1844, he was a founding member serving as first president of the Phi Alpha Literary Society.  He graduated from the University of Missouri with a medical degree in 1849.  He was elected mayor of Springfield in 1859 and then as a member of the State Senate in 1860.  He resigned in 1861 to become the first Governor of the Dakota Territory, appointed by President Lincoln.  In 1863 he served as a Delegate to the House of Representatives.  He was appointed the U.S. Pension Agent in 1869.  He was again elected as the mayor of Springfield serving three consecutive terms before retiring.  He died in 1916, he was 89.What y... 12/03/2020

Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu was born in Morelia, Mexico back in 1783 to Joaquin.  In his teens, he joined the royalist army, commissioned as a second lieutenant, by 1896 he was promoted to full lieutenant.  During the early 19th century political unrest in New Spain, he became a feared foe, his nickname was “The Iron Dragon”.He was successful in many engagements during the war, however after the war he was accused of cruelty and corruption.  In 1820, he switched sides and fought for the Spanish monarchy.  For him switching sides eventually he was caught and executed in 1824, he was 40.What you may not know about Agustín is that he is known as Augustine of Mexico, taking control in Mexico City in 1821.  He was the first Constitutional Emperor of Mexico, he also designed t... 11/08/2020

Frederick Ingersoll was born in New Jersey back in 1876.  The family moved to Glenfield, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh in 1900.  The census from that time described his occupation as a “Coin machine proprietor.  He founded the Ingersoll Construction Company, with one producing one thing.  More on that in a moment.By 1905, his business was booming.  From the East to the West coast his company was in the building stage, some of his structures are still standing and in operation.  His oldest structure is in Melbourne, Australia.  Sadly, he took his own life in 1927, he was 52.What you may not know about Frederick is that he created the world’s first chain of amusement parks, commonly known as “Luan Parks”.  His specialty was building roller coasters.  It’s like Wayne Martin's trivia questio... 10/29/2020

John Adams Hyman was born near Warrenton, North Carolina back in 1840.  He received no formal education.  In 1861, he was working as a janitor for a jeweler.  The jeweler taught him how to read and write.  After the American Civil War, he returned to North Carolina where he worked as a farmer pursuing elementary studies.He was recognized for his leadership being elected as a Republican for the North Carolina Senate serving from 1868 to 1874.  In 1874, he was elected to the 44th United States Congress from North Carolina 2nd congressional district.  He lost his reelection when he returned to his agricultural pursuits.  In 1877, he was appointed as a special deputy collector of internal revenue for the 4th district of North Carolina.  Later he moved to Washington D.C. where he worked for ... 10/17/2020

William Ambrose Hulbert was born in Burlington Flats, New York. At the age of two the family moved to Chicago, Illinois.  He married into a family of a successful grocer and helped expand the business into the coal trade.  He died in 1882, he was 49.What you may not know about William is that he was one of the founders of the National Baseball League, recognized as baseball’s first major league.  He was also the president of the Chicago White Stockings franchise.  During his term, he took steps to insure league integrity and compliance with league rules.  He was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.  Now. Brian England, did you know that trivia?Your day is worthwhile when you make someone smile, so give the free gift of a smile today 10/14/2020

Joseph Hudson was born in Birmingham, England back in 1848.  Finding out any information about his is downright hard to do.  What I can tell you is in 1870 he founded the J Hudson & Co.  He entered into a competition held by the Metropolitan police force in London.  Needless to say, he won the competition.  His company is still in operation to this day.What was the competition you may be asking yourself, well I’m so glad you did?  He invented the first whistle used by police, he later invented the first referee whistle for football matches.  Prior to that referee’s used handkerchiefs.  He invented the “Acme Thunderer”, the first pea whistle which remains the most used whistle in the world.  He died in 1930.Your day is worthwhile when you make someone smile, so give the free gift of a sm... 10/05/2020

James Howell Howard was born in Canton, China back in 1913.  In 1927, the family moved back to the United States settling in St. Louis, Missouri.  He graduated from John Burroughs School, before entering Pomona College in Claremont, California.  After graduating with a Bachelor of arts degree in 1937, he enlisted in the United States Navy as a naval aviation cadet.In 1941, he joined the Flying Tigers in Burma, flying 56 missions he is credited with shooting down 6 Japanese airplanes.  In 1942, when the Flying Tigers was disbanded he was commissioned as a captain in the Army Air Force.  The next year he was given command of the 356th Fighter Squadron as a major.  In 1944, he flew his P-51 Mustang escorting B-17’s over Oschersleben, Germany.  After the war, he was transferred to the U.S. ... 09/29/2020

Harvey Hubbell was born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York back in 1857.  I could not find out any information about his childhood, what schools he attended. What information I can provide is that in 1888, at the age of thirty-one he was working as a manager of a manufacturing company.He quit that job and founded Hubbell Incorporated, a business that is still in operation to this day.  He started manufacturing consumer products. Through necessity he started inventing manufacturing equipment for his factory to keep it ongoing.  During his lifetime, he was granted at least 45 patents.  He died in 1927, he was 70.If the name doesn’t ring a bell no worries.  The two patents that made him a wealthy man was the electrical plug and the pull-chain light socket.Your day is worthwhile when you m... 09/25/2020

Franklin Benjamin Hough was born in Martinsburg, New York back in 1822 to Horatio and Martha. He graduated with a degree from Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1843.  He continued his education receiving a M.D. from Western Reserve College, Cleveland, Ohio in 1848.  After graduation, he opened a medical practice in Somerville, New York.In 1854, he was appointed superintendent of the New York State Census Bureau, the first complete census of the state.  By 1861, he was an inspector for the United States Sanitary Commission, the next year you could find him as a surgeon in the 97th New York Volunteer Infantry. After the war, he returned to overseeing the 1865 state census.  While working there he noticed something that would change him for the rest of his life.  He died in 1885, h... 09/22/2020

Arthur Rose Eldred was born in Brooklyn, New York back in 1895.  He entered Cornell University in 1912, graduating in 1916.  In 1918, he enlisted in the United States Navy during WWI.  He served aboard the USS Henderson seeing action near France. Later he was transferred to Italy where he attended submarine school.He was discharged from the Navy in 1919.  After being discharged he worked for a dairy and an agricultural agent for the Atlantic County, New Jersey.  Later he served as the manager for the Eastern Railroad Association’s Motor Carrier Committee, the Camden County Council and the Clementon School District Board of Education.He died in1951 from colon cancer he was 55. What you may not know about Arthur is that he was the first Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America at 16.Your ... 09/17/2020

Leslie Townes was born in Eltham, London, England back in 1903 to William and Avis. In 1908, the family moved to the United States settling in Cleveland, Ohio.  He performed as a street performer to help the family financially when he was twelve.  He attended the Boys’ Industrial School in Lancaster. In 1919, he had a brief career as a boxer, with two wins and one loss.He also worked as a butcher’s assistant and a lineman. In 1921, while helping his brother Jim in clearing trees he fell which resulted in crushing his face. He had to undergo reconstructive surgery.  He finally decided to go into show business, as they say the rest is history.His career started in 1919 and ran through 1998, a total of 79 years.  It would take days to record his achievements, frankly I am going to cut it s... 09/03/2020

Homer Hadley Hickman Jr., was born in Coalwood, West Virginia back in 1943 to Homer Sr., and Elsie. He graduated from Big Creek High School in 1960.  He continued his education graduating from Virginia Tech in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering. He served in the 4th Infantry Division with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.After being discharged in 1970 he worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an aerospace engineer.  He left in 1971, working as an engineer for the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command until 1978.  He returned to (NASA) in 1981 where he retired in 1998.  In 2018, he was appointed by Vice President Mike Pence to serve as a member of the National Space Council.What you may not know about Homer is t... 08/31/2020

Albert Hofmann was born in Baden, Switzerland back in 1906 to Adolf and Elisabeth.  His grandfather paid for education due to his family’s low income.  He studied chemistry at the University of Zurich.  After graduation, he worked at the pharmaceutical/chemical department of Sandoz in Basel, Switzerland.His main interest was to derive from the plants a system to purify the active constituents for use in the pharmaceutical industry.  His work led to the discovery of several things, but they are way beyond me to understand, except one. We’ll get to that in a moment.  In 1962, he and his wife Anita traveled to Mexico in search of the plant “Ska Maria Pastora”.  While he was able to take some of them back to Switzerland, he was never able to identify the active compound to synthesize it.  H... 08/15/2020

Leah Hing was born in Portland, Oregon back in 1907 to Lee and Ah Sin.  When she was five her father bought a hoe in Ladd’s Addition in Portland, where she would live for the rest of her life.  She attended Atkinson Elementary School and then graduated from Washington High School.  After graduation, she continued her education at Northwester Business College.She was one of the first Chinese-American women to be hired as an elevator operator in Portland.  In 1927, her and five other young women founded the Portland Chinese Girl’s Orchestra.  The group toured American for three years.  When she returned to Portland she managed the Chinese Tea Garden restaurant. During WWII, she worked at the Portland Air Base repairing flight instruments.  She also sold insurance, had her own watch-repair... 08/09/2020

Beatrice Alice Hicks was born in Orange, New Jersey back in 1919 to William and Florence.  She graduated from Orange High School in 1935.  Continuing her education, she received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Newark College of Engineering in 1939.  After graduation, she stayed at Newark as a research assistant.In 1948, she married Rodney Chipp.  In 1960, the couple made a month-long trip speaking tour of South America which focused on international cooperation between America and South American engineers.  Rodney died in 1966, she never re-married.  She died in 1979, she was 60.What you may not know about Beatrice is that she was the first woman engineer to be hired by Western Electric, the first president and co-founder of the Society of Women Engineers.  She also inv... 08/04/2020