James Verlin Kimsey was born in Washington, D.C. back in 1939.  He grew up in Arlington, Virginia.  He was dismissed from Gonzaga College High School, and attended St. John’s College High School followed by Georgetown University for one term.  He then attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in 1962.He served in the U.S. Army where he saw action in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam.  He served three combat tours as an Airborne Ranger, two in the Vietnam War.  He was discharged in 1970 after serving eight years.  After being discharged, he opened a bar in Washington. D.C., it was so successful that he opened several more.  In 1983, he was brought in as a consultant for Control Video Corporation, by one of his West Point friends. By 1985, he was CEO... 02/06/2021

Joseph Atkins was born in Fayette County, Kentucky back in 1888 to Solomon and Evaline. He early childhood was spent at Miss Collier’s Private School. He continued his education at Transylvania University, the University of Iowa and finally Exeter College. At the outbreak of WWI, he joined the United States Army.Commissioned as a First Lieutenant of the Marine Corps Aviation. Sorry but I do not have the information on when he was mustered out of the military. What I do have is some very interesting information about his contribution to the military, so let’s get to it.Prior to the 1900 Census his family changed his name to Solomon Lee Van Meter, Jr. Seven years prior to him joining the military he invented something that has saved countless lives of our military heroes. Now I know you’r... 10/02/2018

Badri Teymourtash was born in Iran back in 1908. She was the daughter of Iran’s second most powerful political family during that time. She was sent to Belgium in the late 1920’s to attend school. After graduating she was reported to have considered moving to the Belgian Congo to begin humanitarian work.In 1932 her family fell from grace when she returned to Iran where she endured eight years of house arrest and exile. After the fall of Reza Shah in 1941 pursuant to a general amnesty, all political prisoners were released. She moved to Mashad where he practiced her trade. Well now by this time I’m sure you’re wondering what here trade was so now is the time to tell you. Badri was the first female Iranian to practice dentistry. She is considered as the Mother of Dentistry in Iran. In the... 09/04/2018

Ruth Cheney was born in Brookline, Massachusetts back in 1895. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1918. In 1917, she married Thomas, the couple had four children living in Morristown, New Jersey. When she was 47 she earned her commercial pilot’s license. Later that same year she joined the United States Marine Corps Women Reserve’s. She retired just two years later. She was appointed to the New Jersey Constitutional Convention in 1947. She died in 1990 at a young 94 and is buried in Peterborough, New Hampshire.What you may not know about Ruth Cheney Streeter is that she was the first director of the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve the first woman to attain the rank of Major in the United States Marine Corps retiring as a lieutenant colonel. When she was given the command... 08/22/2018

Margy Reed was born in Butte, Montana back in 1916 to Peter and Maybelle. Her parents were performing in vaudeville acts. Two days after her birth her mother was back on the stage. At three she was also put into the act. In the 1930’s, she sang in a band, making her first picture appearance in 1934. She had supporting roles in many other films but not as a star.This gave way for her own television series from1954-1956. When her show was cancelled she attempted suicide. She often appeared as a guest on other programs. She was a devout Methodist teaching Sunday school classes. By 1993 she had lost both of her legs due to poor circulation, she died of pneumonia in 1994. So, does the name Margy Reed ring a bell? If not surely you know her by her stage name of Martha Raye. She was a regular ... 04/07/2018

Lewis Edson was born in Decatur, New York back in 1837.  Sorry but that is all the informationI have, nothing about his childhood, parents, schooling and so on.  So now we get to the  rest of the story.By 1883, you could find hi working as an insurance broker.  He was getting ready to sign a document and the fountain pen leaked and the docket was ruined.  He rushed out to buy another one and while he was gone a competing broker had already closed the deal.  That set in motion his quest, which of course is the rest of the story. That set in motion his determination for that to never happen again.  It took him 10 years to develop a fountain pen that was to his liking, one that is highly coveted today.  For you see when Lewis Edson Waterman lost that contract he started the Waterman Pen Co... 12/12/2017

Harry Brearley was born in Sheffield, England back in 1871 to John and Jane.  At the tender age of 12 he went to work at his father’s steelworks.  He moved up the ladder to being a general assistant in the companies chemical laboratory.  He spent several years in the laboratory, at home and formal evening classes studying  production techniques associated with chemical analysis methods, to specialize in steel production.With the knowledge he gained by his early 30’s his reputation for being a professional as well as astute in the metallurgical problems of the day led companies to seek him out.  This of course made him wealthy so he set up a charitable trust.  The foundation is still in operation to this day providing the opportunity of people born into modest circumstances to further th... 12/09/2017

Diego Marin was born in Coruna del Conde back in 1757.  I don’t have much to offer other than after the death of his father he became head of the household.  He worked in the fields tending his sheep while also working as an agricultural laborer.Diego was also an inventor, one of them helped the functionality of watermills, another one which helped the process of threshing are just two examples.  Sadly, he died in 1799 at 44.What you may not know about Diego Marin Aguiler.  On the night of May 1793 with the help of a blacksmith and one of his sisters placed a glider he had made on top of the castle Coruna del Conde and off he went.  He flew 5-6 feet off the ground for about 300-400 yards crossing the river Arandilla. Sad part about this is the inhabitants of the town believed he was a l... 12/07/2017

Josephine Shaw was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts back in 1843 to Francis and Sarah. Her parents encouraged her to get an education. They moved to France and Italy before coming back to settle in Staten Island.She married Charles in 1863, they moved to Virginia. Charles was called into service when the Civil War started, she followed him tending to the wounded. He was killed in battle less than a year later while she was pregnant, she never remarried.She returned to Staten Island where in 1876 Governor Samuel Tiden appointed her Commissioner of the New York State Board of Charities. For you see Josephine Shaw Lowell was the first female to ever hold that position where she served until 1889. One more thing. The Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain is in Bryant Park behind the New Yor... 11/25/2017

Guy Louis was born in Los Angeles, California back in 1926. At 10 you could find him shining shoes on Skid Row. When he was 12 he moved out and lived with the Nakano family who were of Japanese-American heritage.On his 17th birthday he joined the United States Marine Corps., assigned to the 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division as a scout and observer. He was there during the invasion of Saipan. He began to bring back prisoners during the night. He was reprimanded by his superior and threatened with a court-martial for leaving his post. However, he went out the next night and did it again, returning with 50 Japanese prisoners. After that he was permitted by his commanding officer to act as a “lone wolf” operator.As a result, more than 800 Japanese surrendered to him. He continued his... 09/18/2017

Wilbert Lee was born in Meridian, Ohio back in 1912. He held degrees in chemical engineering and physical chemistry from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. After graduation, he was employed at American Smelting and Refining Company, Remington Arms and then onto DuPont Company.In 1957, he left DuPont to pursue an idea he had, which of course is the rest of the story. he began working on the project in the basement of his home in Newark, Delaware in 1958.Under his leadership the company grew from a modest business to an international corporation. He served as president until stepping down in 1976. He died in 1986 from a heart attack, he was 74.Now, you may be asking yourself who in the world is James writing about today, if so I’m so glad you did. You may not know Wilbert Lee but y... 08/11/2017

Daniel Dardis was born in Endicott, New York in 1922. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade and at sixteen he lied about his age to enlist in the United States Army. During WWII, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. His crew in twelve hours shot down four German aircraft. For his crew’s action, he was awarded the Silver Star. By the end of WWII, he had been awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.After leaving the Army, he became a police officer at Endicott. In 1950, he was police chief of North Bay Village, Florida. In the 1960’s he was an investigator for the Florida Attorney General. In 1964, he went to work for the Dade County state attorney, there is where we will begin the rest of the story.It was during his time for the Dade County state attorney that Daniel set th... 07/25/2017

Ervin Somogyi was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1944.  His family moved several times before winding up in the United States when he was 15.  He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in English.  Joining the Peace Corps, he worked in a mental hospital while attending graduate school.He began building something as a hobby, which of course is the rest of the story.  He started by reading a few how-to-books on the subject.  He also got his hands on some of the high-end objects to study them.  He has been quoted as saying “it was a very oddball activity.”  Now, he is considered as one of the “grand old men” giving lectures at shows and exhibitions.The list of people who has purchased his hobby is some of the better-known people for their profession.  Now you may be asking yourself what is... 06/19/2017

Pleasant Crump was born in St. Clair County, Alabama back in 1847. In 1864, he and a fried left home and joined the 10th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He saw battle at the Battle of Hatcher’s Run, the Siege of Petersburg and witnessed the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.After the war he returned to Alabama, at the age of 22 he married Mary, she died in 1901. He later married Ella in 1905 and she died in 1942. Sadly, he died in 1951 at 104. You may find his grave in Lincoln, Alabama. What you may not know about him is that he is the last verifiable veteran who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. There are others who claimed to have fought in the war and lived longer however, those have been subsequently debunked. He remains offi... 06/03/2017

Beatrice was born in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England back in 1871 to Edward and Sarah. She attended the Notting Hill High School for Girls entering University College Wales in 1891. Her focus was philosophy, earning a Bachelor of arts in Mental and Moral sciences from the University of London in 1894.From 1894 to 1897 she taught high school in Sunderland. In 1898, she began teaching at Bedford College in London retiring after 35 years in 1933. She died of cancer in 1948, she was 75. Of course, I’m writing about Beatrice Edgell. What you may not know about her is: she was the first British woman to earn a PhD in psychology and the first British woman to be named a professor of psychology. If that wasn’t enough she was also the first female president of the British Psychological Soci... 05/27/2017

Abel Buell was born in Killingworth, Connecticut back in 1742. Sorry I don’t have any information about his upbringing however, I do believe you’ll enjoy the rest of the story. He apprenticed with a goldsmith and by the age of 19 he was financially secure.He gained notoriety as a counterfeiter by altering five-pound note engraving plates into larger denomination plates. He was found guilty and branded above the forehead under the scalp, loss of a portion of his right ear and life in prison. He spent little time in prison and the authorities allowed him to have the portion of his ear to be sewed back on.So now comes the rest of the story. Hang on here we go. In 1765, he received a patent making him the first Connecticut resident to receive a patent. In 1770, he moved to New Haven, Connec... 04/27/2017

David was born in Selma, Alabama back in 1826. At 17 he moved to Upshur County, Texas. After the American Civil War, he moved to Marshall, Texas. He was elected in 1874 to the Firth District of the Texas House of Representatives as part of the Fourteenth Texas Legislature.In 1869 a convention was called to rewrite the Texas State Constitution. He was one of the three delegates who was elected to the convention from the Senatorial District that made-up Harrison and Rusk Counties. He was the only Republican at the convention who voted for a clause which prohibited the state from spending money on encouraging immigration.After the convention, he served as the vice president of the 1876 Republican State Convention. In 1881 he helped establish Bishop College. David died in 1902 in Marshall, ... 02/18/2017

John Nelson was born in Tremont, Pennsylvania back in 1906.  Sorry I do not have any information about who his parents were or his education however, what I can tell you of course is the rest of the story, so let’s get to it shall we.While working as a welder in Tremont, he began making something that would serve him well throughout his remaining years. What that is of course we will get to shortly.   He retired from being a welder in 1965 and moved to Burbank, California with his nephew George.  Noticing some issues with his traditional methods of making what he did he set about developing a new method of construction to overcome the issues.  His research resulted in him getting two patents, one in 1967 number 3481038 and another one in 1971 number 3595104.  So, you may be asking yours... 02/15/2017

Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas back in 1892 to George and Susan. BTW I lived in Texarkana, Texas about 20 miles north of Atlanta.   That has nothing to do with this post however, I found it interesting. So, when Coleman was 2 the family moved to Waxahachie, Texas. Attending school Coleman had to walk four miles to get to classes.Coleman attended Langston, University in Langston, Oklahoma. At 23 Coleman moved to Chicago working in various jobs. Wanting to become a pilot due to WWI veterans talking about flying.   Due to the lack of funds and other issues (we’ll get to that shortly) Coleman moved to Paris to earn a pilot license. In 1926 Coleman was in Jacksonville, Florida having just recently purchased a Curtis JN-4 in Dallas. The plane had issues however Coleman ignored putting on ... 11/30/2016

Abraham Bradley Jr. was born in Litchfield, Connecticut back in 1767. His father Abraham was a Yale College graduate. Junior (which is what I will call him in this post) graduated with a degree in law. He moved to the Wyoming Valley of frontier Pennsylvania in 1788. He established a private law practice, briefly serving as county judge in Wilkes-Barre. He was described by those who knew him as “an unassuming man, modest and retiring almost to diffidence, yet a lawyer of competent learning, with a clear and discriminating mind.”When President George Washington appointed a local judge Timothy Pickering as postmaster general Junior moved to Philadelphia in 1791. He was the first assistant postmaster general of the United States. However, can you tell me what else he accomplished during his... 07/23/2016