March 2015

Today is the 126th anniversary of the public opening of the Eiffel Tower. Have you ever visited the iconic structure? Designed by architect and engineer Gustave Eiffel, the famous tower was originally built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, France. Critics were initially skeptical about the tower in the early days of its construction. Remarkably, the tower was completed under budget in just two years and with only one fatality during construction. On March 31,… Read the full story

Judith (Judi) Elaine Mckee Burns was born in Bloomington, Indiana. Retired, she spends much of her time these days working on preserving her family history. She first became interested in family history after the movie Roots had come out. “My parents had never talked of the family – but when we would go ‘home’ as they called it [Lyons, Green County, Indiana] there were people always around that seemed to be tightly connected to each… Read the full story

On this day in 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León sighted present-day Florida. The famous explore was the first to lead a European expedition to the peninsula. According to legend, Ponce de León was on a quest for the Fountain of Youth, the mythical water source said to bring eternal youth to those who drank from it. Ponce de León was born in the village of Santervás de Campos, Spain in 1460. Born to a noble family, he sought fame and… Read the full story

Happy birthday, Diana Ross! Today the singer turns 71. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Diana was the second eldest child of Ernestine, a schoolteacher, and Fred Ross, a former Army soldier. As a teen, she began singing with a group of friends and eventually, they formed the successful music group, The Supremes. The group became the first all-female music group to have a number one selling album on the Billboard charts. The success of The Supremes skyrocketed… Read the full story

Today we’re excited to announce that Geni has reached an amazing milestone – 150 million profiles! From the very beginning, our goal has been to create the definitive family tree of the entire world. Our collection of profiles has grown steadily over the years, with millions of lineages intersecting, overlapping and culminating into a World Family Tree of over 89 million people and their ancestors. Nowhere else will you find such a large, high-quality single… Read the full story

On March 20, 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was published. The second best-selling novel of the 19th century, Stowe’s book is often credited with helping to change public opinion on slavery and fuel the abolitionist cause in the 1850s. It is said that after the start of the American Civil War, Stowe paid a visit to the White House. President Abraham Lincoln reportedly greeted her by saying, “so you are the little… Read the full story

Fifty years ago, the award-winning musical The Sound of Music premiered on the big screen. Even today, the musical story based on the real von Trapp family, continues to delight and entertain audiences. The real von Trapp family / Library of Congress The film starred Julie Andrews as the governess, Maria, and Christopher Plummer as Captain Georg von Trapp. The filmmakers took some creative liberties with the story, changing some facts to dramatize the family’s eventual flight from… Read the full story

Are you searching for your Irish ancestors? With millions of vital historical records destroyed and droves of Irish immigrants settled all over the world, many people researching their Irish heritage may find it to be a frustrating and challenging pursuit. In the U.S. alone, there are over 36 million people with Irish ancestry. That’s over eight times the population of Ireland! Here are a few tips to help you with your Irish genealogy research: Talk to your relatives – The… Read the full story

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The lively Irish holiday takes place every year on March 17, the traditional day of death for Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. In honor of St. Paddy’s Day, here are some surprising things you may not know about St. Patrick: He was kidnapped by pirates at the age of 16 from his home in Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland. He lived there for six years before… Read the full story

Yesterday, renowned fantasy author Terry Pratchett died at the age of 66 after a battle with early onset Alzheimer’s. Best known for his Discworld series of about 40 volumes, Pratchett had sold more than 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages. Born in Beaconsfield, England on April 28, 1948, Pratchett was the only child of David and Eileen Pratchett. He developed an early interested in astronomy, however, since he lacked the mathematical skills to become an astronomer, Pratchett… Read the full story

The Global Family Reunion is only a few months away! Will you be there? We’re excited to let you know that the Global Family Reunion has launched a crowdfunding campaign with two very important goals in mind: unite the world and battle Alzheimer’s. Throwing the epic family get-together is best-selling author A.J. Jacobs, and he’s inviting all 7 billion of his cousins to come to what will be the largest, most inclusive family reunion in history. The event… Read the full story

Do you have Russian roots? On March 10, 1845, Alexander III, tsar of Russia, was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The second son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Maria Alexandrovna, Alexander became heir apparent when his older brother Nicholas died suddenly in 1865. On his deathbed, Nicholas expressed the wish that his fiancée, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, should marry his successor. Alexander and the Princess wed in 1866, and the union proved to… Read the full story

Today we are delighted to announce a long awaited new feature on Geni – adoption! We are releasing a great enhancement to the family tree that will allow you to show adoptive, foster and biological parent relationships when viewing your family on Geni. There are three changes you will notice in the tree view: You can now add parents to a profile that already has parents. A profile with multiple sets of parents will now… Read the full story

Did you have any Barbie dolls growing up? On this day in 1959, the first Barbie doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York. The famous doll was created by Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel, Inc with her husband in 1945. After watching her daughter, Barbara, play with her paper dolls, Handler noticed that her daughter would pretend that her paper dolls were adults. Realizing a gap in the market, Handler envisioned a plastic, adult-figured… Read the full story

Have you read Love in the Time of Cholera? Today we celebrate the life of Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez, who was born on this day in 1927. Raised by his maternal grandparents, Márquez grew up listening to his grandmother’s fantastical and magical stories, which were told to him as if they were real. His grandmother’s storytelling style greatly influence his own writing style, which would become known as “magical realism.” Known affectionally as Gabo throughout… Read the full story

Are you a fan of Old Hollywood movies? Today we celebrate the life of Jean Harlow, who was born on this day in 1911 in Kansas City, Missouri. She was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter to Mont Clair Carpenter, a dentist, and Jean Poe Harlow, the daughter of a wealthy real estate broker. The unhappy marriage had been arranged by her maternal grandfather, Skip Harlow. During the 1930s, Harlow had become one of the biggest movie… Read the full story

On February 27, 2015, the world lost beloved actor Leonard Nimoy. He was 83. With a career that spanned over 60 years, Leonard will perhaps always be remembered for his iconic portrayal of Mr. Spock on Star Trek. In honor of his memory, here are some things about his life you may not have known: Image: Wikimedia Commons 1. Leonard was born on March 26, 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Boston’s West End and sold newspapers… Read the full story