July 2023

On this day in 1929, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was born. Image: Library of Congress Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born on July 28, 1929 in Southampton, New York. Her father, John Vernou Bouvier III, was a wealthy Wall Street stockbroker whose family had come from France in the early 1800s. Her mother, Janet Norton Lee, was a socialite and accomplished equestrian with Irish heritage. In 1961, she became First Lady of the United States… Read the full story

Today we remember Bob Hope, who passed away on this day in 2003 at the age of 100. A comedy legend, Hope entertained audiences all around the world in almost every entertainment medium, from vaudeville and Broadway, to radio, television, and film. Image: Bob Hope / State Library of New South Wales, Flickr He was born Leslie Townse Hope on May 29, 1903 in Eltham, near London, England. He was the fifth of seven sons born… Read the full story

Remember reading Brave New World? On this day in 1894, author Aldous Huxley was born. Image: Aldous Huxley / Archivo Historico Sinaloa, Flickr Huxley was the third son of Leonard Huxley, a writer and school master, and Julia Arnold, founder of Prior’s Field School. The Huxley family was a prominent and well-educated family in Britian. Huxley’s paternal grandfather, Thomas Henry Huxley, was a biologist and specialist in comparative anatomy. He was instrumental in developing scientific education in Britain and became… Read the full story

Did your ancestors fight in the American Revolutionary War? On this day in 1750, American Revolutionary War General Henry Knox was born. Image: Henry Knox / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, CC0 Knox was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 25, 1750. To help support his family, he left school at the age of 9 and began working at a bookstore. He educated himself by reading the books in the store and eventually was able to open… Read the full story

Today we celebrate the 126th birthday of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart! Image: Amelia Earhart / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas in the home of her maternal grandfather, Alfred Gideon Otis. Since she was a child, Earhart had a strong sense of adventure. During World War I, she trained as a nurse’s aide in Toronto. On December 28, 1920, Earhart took her first plane ride that… Read the full story

Today we remember singer Tony Bennett, who has passed away at the age of 96. Image: Tony Bennett / Nationaal Archief, CC0 Bennett was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926 to John Benedetto and Anna Suraci, who were first cousins. His father was from Calabria, in Southern Italy, and immigrated to the United States in 1906. His mother was born in the U.S.; her family had emigrated from the Calabria region in 1899…. Read the full story

Who are the adventurers in your family tree? On this day in 1919, explorer and mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary was born in Auckland, New Zealand. Image: Sir Edmund Hillary / Wikimedia Commons Before gaining fame as a mountaineer, Hillary worked as a beekeeper like his father before him. He joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II, but was badly burned during a boat accident. After the war, he decided to pursue his love… Read the full story

On this day in 1834, French painter and sculptor Edgar Degas was born. Degas is often regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism. Image: Edgar Degas / Wikimedia Commons Degas was born in Paris, France to a moderately wealthy family. His father, Augustine De Gas, was a banker, and his mother, Célestine Musson, was from New Orleans, Louisiana and came from a prominent Creole family. Through his mother, Degas was a first cousin once removed to inventor Norbert… Read the full story

On this day in 1867, American socialite and philanthropist Margaret Brown was born. A survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, Brown was dubbed “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” by historians for her legendary tales of heroism during the disaster. Image: Margaret Brown / Library of Congress She was born Margaret Tobin in Hannibal, Missouri in a two-room cottage to John Tobin and Johanna Collins. In 1886, she married James Joseph “J.J.” Brown, a self-educated entrepreneur… Read the full story

Today we remember comedian Phyllis Diller, who was born on July 17, 1917 in Lima, Ohio. Image: Phyllis Diller / Allan Warren, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) The only daughter of Perry Marcus Driver and Frances Ada Romshe, Diller studied the piano for many years but decided against pursing a career in music. In 1939, she eloped with Sherwood Diller and together, the couple had six children (one died in infancy). She got her start in comedy… Read the full story

At a recent press conference for her latest film Golda, Helen Mirren was presented with a surprising discovery from the researchers at MyHeritage – she is in fact distantly related to Golda Meir, the former Israeli Prime Minister! In the film, Mirren stars as the iconic politician and follows the enormous responsibilities and decisions Meir faced during the Yom Kippur War. The film is set to premier at the opening of the 40th Jerusalem Film… Read the full story

Today we remember folk singer Woody Guthrie on what would have been his 111th birthday.  Image: Woody Guthrie / Library of Congress He was born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie on July 14, 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma. His parents named him after Woodrow Wilson, who had become the Democratic candidate for president just weeks before his birth.  The Great Depression hit his family hard. In 1935, he join the thousands of “Okies” migrating West in search for… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Harrison Ford! Today the actor turns 81. Image: Harrison Ford / Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) Ford was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois to John William “Christopher” Ford, an advertising executive and former actor, and Dorothy Nidelman, a radio actress. In college, Ford discovered a fascination for acting and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actor. However, frustrated with his lack of success,… Read the full story

Did your family own a Kodak camera? On this day in 1854, inventor George Eastman was born in Waterville, New York. Image: George Eastman / Library of Congress He was the youngest child of George Washington Eastman and Maria Kilbourn. After the death of his father in 1862 and the death of his older sister in 1870, a 16 year old Eastman left school to start working to help support his family. In 1888, he received a… Read the full story

On this day in 1767, John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, was born. Image: John Quincy Adams / Library of Congress Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts on July 11, 1767. He was the eldest son of the second U.S. President, John Adams, and his wife, Abigail, and was named after his mother’s maternal grandfather, Colonel John Quincy. As a young boy, Adams witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill from a hill… Read the full story

Happy birthday to Nikola Tesla! Today marks what would have been the inventor’s 167th birthday. Image: Nikola Tesla / Library of Congress Tesla was born on July 10, 1856 in the village of Smiljan in the Austrian Empire (modern-day Croatia) to Serbian parents. His father and his maternal grandfather were Orthodox priests. Although his father wished for him to also enter the priesthood, Tesla was firmly interested in the sciences. After arriving in American in 1884, Tesla worked briefly as an… Read the full story

On this day in 1861, geneticist Nettie Stevens was born. The pioneering geneticist changed the way the world looked at the human chromosome. Stevens is recognized as the first researcher to discover that sex is determined by X and Y chromosomes. Image: Nettie Stevens / Wikimedia Commons She was born on July 7, 1861 in Cavendish, Vermont. A brilliant student, Stevens graduated at the top of her class and studied at Stanford University, before obtaining her Ph.D at… Read the full story

On this day in 1907, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was born. Known for her many self-portraits, Kahlo is often regarded as one of Mexico’s greatest artists. Image: Frida Kahlo / Library of Congress Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacán, Mexico in her family home known as La Casa Azule (The Blue House). She would spend much of her childhood and adult life in the home. Her father, Willhelm “Guillermo” Kahlo, was a… Read the full story

On this day in 1810, showman P.T. Barnum was born. Known for founding the famous “Barnum & Bailey Circus,” Barnum found huge success with his strange menagerie of performers. Image: P.T. Barnum / Library of Congress He was born Phineas Taylor Barnum in Bethel, Connecticut to Philo Barnum, an innkeeper and tailor, and Irene Taylor. Barnum showed a gift for selling at an early age, peddling cherry rum to innkeepers by the age of 12…. Read the full story