Notable People in History

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Sarah Livingston Jay, wife of American Founding Father John Jay. Considered one of the first socialites in the United States, she was exposed to American politics at an early age.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Plutarch. Born in Boeotia, educated in Athens, and made a priest at Delphi, Plutarch wrote over 200 works, among them Parallel Lives and the Morals.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Martha Jefferson, wife of James Madison. She is often credited with saving the portrait of George Washington when the British attacked the Capitol in 1814 when 4,000 British troops began landing in Maryland during the War of 1812.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of James Madison. He was the fourth American president, and the chief author of the Bill of Rights.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Martha Jefferson, wife of the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. During the Revolutionary War, she raised money and made clothing for the soldiers of the Continental Army in Virginia at the suggestion of Martha Washington.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of James Madison. He was the fourth American president, and the chief author of the Bill of Rights.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Martha Washington, the first First Lady. As first lady, she initiated a weekly reception, held on Friday evenings hosting members of Congress, visiting dignitaries, and men and women from the local community.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Thomas Jefferson. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States, he also delivered the first inaugural address.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Elizabeth Hamilton, wife of Alexander Hamilton, American Founding Father and 1st U.S Secretary of the Treasury. She helped found New York's first private orphanage in 1806. 

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of American Founding Father, George Washington. He was the first American president, commander of the Continental Army, president of the Constitutional Convention, and a farmer. 

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Abigail Adams, the first woman to serve as Second Lady of the United States and the second woman to serve as First Lady. She was also the mother of the sixth President, John Quincy Adams.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Alexander Hamilton, American Founding Father and the 1st U.S Secretary of the Treasury. 

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Zora Neal Hurston. During her lifetime, Zora Neale Hurston published four novels; Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934), Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), Seraph on the Suwanee (1948) and more than 50 published short stories, plays, and essays.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of American Founding Father and the 2nd President of the United States, John Adams. He served as the first Vice President under President George Washington.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Marian Anderson. Considered one of the best contraltos of the 20th century, Marian Anderson was still subject to the racial bias of the time. Denied the opportunity to perform in DAR Constitution Hall because of her race, she performed at the Lincoln Memorial to a crowd of 75,000 on Easter Sunday 1939 in Washington, D.C.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Medgar Evers, World War II veteran, civil rights leader, and NAACP's first field officer in Mississippi. He filed lawsuits and led initiatives to break down barriers of segregation, becoming a significant voice in fighting for civil rights and social justice before being assassinated at the age of 37.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Susan B. Anthony. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, Susan B. Anthony honed her speaking and organizing skills, continuing her involvement with the temperance movement, fighting for equal wages, abolition of slavery and suffrage.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Malcolm X. Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, he was a major voice for Black Nationalism in the 1960s. 

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life Indira Ghandi, India’s third prime minister and the first woman to lead the nation’s millions from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Yuan Mei. One of China’s most influential poets and painters, he was an advocate for women's education and helped publish their poetry at a time when it was suppressed.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Madeleine Albright, the 64th U.S Secretary of State. The journey to her confirmation spanned two continents and 20 years of government service. 

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid activist and the country’s first black president.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Florence Kelley, the first woman factory inspector in the United States. She fought for government regulation to protect working women and children.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of a successful Wall Street businessman and advisor to various US Presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Emily Dickinson, regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Some time after her death, her sister Lavinia found a locked box containing more than 1,700 short poems. 

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. His presidential administration coped with two of the most important events of the 20th century... the Great Depression and World War II. 

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Mary Riddle. She felt that public opinion was that women would never be successful pilots. She made her first solo flight on May 10, 1930 then earned her commercial pilot’s license in 1933. 

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Nat Turner. Deeply committed to his Christian faith, Nat Turner believed that he received messages from God through visions and signs in nature and led one of the bloodiest rebellions in American history. The rebellion, which took place on August 21, 1831 is said to have expedited the coming of the Civil War.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Ruth Elder. She held pilot license number 675 and was determined to become the female Charles Lindbergh... a title that went to Amelia Earhart wit her solo transatlantic crossing in 1932.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of American novelist Ernest Hemingway. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, Hemingway was a Nobel & Pulitzer Prize winner who almost died in 1954 after two plane crashes. In 1961, he died with his favorite shotgun lodged between his teeth, the top of his head blown off.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes. Born Florence Leontine Lowe, she went on to become Hollywood’s first female stunt pilot and was Lockheed’s first female test pilot. In 1930, she broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record and assumed the title of World’s Fastest Woman.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Andrew Carnegie. A Scottish-American industrialist who helped build the American steel industry, he believed that many of the world's problems came about because people didn't have enough education.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Ruth Rowland Nichols. Nichols set a transcontinental record in 1930, beating that of Charles Lindbergh's set earlier that year, flying from New York to Burbank, California in 16 hours, 59 minutes. On her return flight, she flew even faster: 13 hours, 22 minutes.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Fidel Castro, the polarized Cuban leader who improved education and health care for many Cubans and would deprive them of free speech and economic opportunity.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Joan of Arc. Patroness of soldiers and of France, honored for her role in the siege of Orléans, she was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Robert Frost. Four time Pulitzer prize winner, author of “The Road Not Taken.”

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Emily Greene Balch. She was a social worker, reformer, peace activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize of 1946 who founded the Women’s International Committee for Permanent Peace, later known as the Women’s International League for Peace of Freedom.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest minds of the Italian Renaissance. Among the many subjects Leonardo studied, the possibility of human mechanical flight held particular fascination, which may have stemmed from his work on military technology.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Autherine Lucy. On September 4, 1952, before the Brown v. Board of Education case, Autherine and Mollie Ann Meyers sent their applications to the University of Alabama. Realizing that Lucy and Myers were black, the university rescinded their decision saying that a mistake had been made and were not welcome.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Toussaint L’Ouverture. One of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution which was sparked in part by the French colonization of the West Indies, the plantation system on Saint-Domingue, its brutal slave regime, as well as its colonial social and racial hierarchy.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Pearl S. Buck. Author of over 80 books, she was the first woman to be awarded both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize in literature and active in American civil rights and women's rights activities.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Genghis Khan. He united Mongol tribes and carved out the largest contiguous land empire in world history, introduced writing to the Mongols, created their first law code, promoted trade and granted religious freedom by permitting all religions to be freely practiced.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Helena Rubinstein. Driven by courage, intelligence, and a will to succeed that would make her neglect her husbands, children and family, Helena Rubinstein built a beauty empire. She was born Chaja Rubinstein, and at the age of 24 set off to Australia aboard the Prinz Regent Luitpol with twelve jars of face cream.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Martin Luther who led the Protestant Movement with the publication of the 95 Theses, criticizing the Catholic church for allowing people to purchase a certificate of pardon for the punishment of their sins.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Mahalia Jackson. Born October 26, 1911 in the Black Pearl section New Orleans, she would perform for kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers and kept going back to sing in churches for the people who loved her voice first.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of one of America’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, whose inventions include bifocals, the lightning rod, a library chair, swim fins, a long-reach device, the Franklin stove, and the catheter.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Amelia Simmons. Believed to be the first American cookbook by a European American, titled American Cookery, or the art of dressing viands, fish, poultry, and vegetables, and the best modes of making pastes, puffs, pies, tarts, puddings, custards, and preserves, and all kinds of cakes, from the imperial plum to plain cake.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Charles Strite, credited with the invention of the pop-up toaster. In 1921, he received U.S. patent 1,394,450 for the device, he called it the "Toastmaster."

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Hetty Green, the lone woman among 19th century tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, her holdings ranged from real estate in New York to buildings in downtown Chicago; gold, copper, iron mines out west; diamonds and pearls.

In this week's Notable People in History podcast, we’ll take a look at the life of Reginald Fessenden, considered the “Father of Voice Radio.” On December 23, 1900, he became the first to transmit human speech over radio waves and is best known for discovering AM radio.