February 2024

On this day in 1792, Italian composer Gioachino Rossini was born. Rossini gained fame for his 39 operas and is remembered as one of the most significant Italian composers of the first half of the nineteenth century. Image: Gioachino Rossini / Wikimedia Commons Rossini was born on February 29, 1792 to Giuseppe Rossini, a trumpeter, and Anna Guidarini, a singer. He began to compose by the age of 12 and studied at Bologna’s Philharmonic School…. Read the full story

On February 28, 1901, chemist Linus Pauling was born. Considered one of the most influential chemists in history, Pauling is often recognized as one of the founders of quantum chemistry and molecular biology. Image: Linus Pauling / Library of Congress Pauling was born in Portland, Oregon to Herman Henry William Pauling and Lucy Isabelle “Belle” Darling. He was named “Linus Car” after his maternal grandfather, Linus, and his paternal grandfather, Carl. Over the course of… Read the full story

Today we remember star Elizabeth Taylor, who was born February 27, 1932. Image: Elizabeth Taylor / Wikimedia Commons Taylor was born in Hempstead, London to American parents, Francis and Sara Taylor. From her early years as a child star, she became one of the greatest actresses of Hollywood’s Gold Age. Remembered for her stunning beauty and sometimes scandalous love life, Elizabeth spent much of her life devoted to charitable organizations and became an outspoken advocate… Read the full story

Do you have cowboys or lawmen in your family tree? On this day in 1846, Buffalo Bill Cody was born in the Iowa Territory. Image: Buffalo Bill Cody / Library of Congress Though born in the U.S., Cody spent much of his childhood growing up in his father’s hometown in Canada before the family moved to the Kansas territory. Buffalo Bill’s life was filled with fascinating adventures, making him a legendary figure of the American Wild… Read the full story

Today we remember sociologist and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, who was born on February 23, 1868. Image: W.E.B. Du Bois / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, CC0 William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts to Mary Silvinia Burghardt and Alfred Du Bois. His mother’s family was a part of a small free black community in Great Barrington and they had long owned land in the area. His maternal second great… Read the full story

Today we celebrate what would have been George Washington’s 292nd birthday! Image: George Washington / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Washington was born on February 22, 1732 on his family’s plantation in Westmoreland County in the British colony of Virginia. He was the first of six children born to Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball. As a teen, Washington began a career as a surveyor and completed many surveying expeditions throughout the Virginia… Read the full story

In just one week Geni will be heading to RootsTech, the largest genealogy conference in the world. Each year, RootsTech offers a wide variety of classes perfect for the beginning family history enthusiast to more advanced genealogists. The conference will be held February 29 – March 2 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Once again RootsTech will be both in-person and virtual, so if you cannot make it to Salt… Read the full story

Today we remember actor Alan Rickman on what would have been his 78th birthday. Image: Marie-Lan Nguyen, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) Rickman was born on February 21, 1946 to Margaret Doreen Rose Bartlett and Bernard William Rickman, a factory worker. At the age of 8, Rickman’s father died of lung cancer, leaving his mother to raise Rickman and his three siblings alone. Although he had participated in school plays during high school, Rickman chose to… Read the full story

American photographer Ansel Adams was born on this day in 1902. Adams is perhaps best remembered for his stunning black and white images of the American West. He used his work to help promote the conservation of the American wilderness. Image: Ansel Adams / Wikimedia Commons Adams was born on February 20, 1902 in San Francisco, California to distinctly upper-class parents. Although his grandfather founded a prosperous lumber business, Adams would come to condemn the… Read the full story

Remember listening to the music of Sonny & Cher? Today we remember Sonny Bono on what would have been his 89th birthday. Image: Sonny Bono / Nationaal Archief, CC0 Salvatore Phillip Bono was born on February 16, 1935 in Detroit, Michigan. The son of Sicilian immigrants, Bono and his family moved to California when he was seven. After dropping out of school, Bono worked a series of odd jobs to support himself. He began his… Read the full story

Do you have adventurers in your family tree? On this day in 1874, polar explorer Ernest Shackleton was born. Considered one of the principal figures of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, Shackleton’s expeditions to Antarctica pioneered routes into the continent’s interior. Image: Ernest Shackleton / Library of Congress Shackleton was born on February 15, 1874 in Kilkea, County Kildare, Ireland to Henry Shackleton and Henrietta Letitia Sophia Gavan. At 16, he joined the mercantile marine service and later became… Read the full story

Have you found your connection to abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass? Today we remember the inspirational social reformer, who chose to celebrate his birthday on February 14. Image: Frederick Douglass / Library of Congress Douglass had never known the exact date of his birth. He was born into slavery around February 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. He was separated from his mother as an infant and spent the early years of his childhood living with his grandmother on a plantation in… Read the full story

On this day in 1542, Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII, was executed on the grounds of treason for committing adultery. She was queen for only 16 months before her death at the Tower of London. Image: Catherine Howard / Rijksmuseum, Wikimedia Commons Howard was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper. She was also the first cousin of Anne Boleyn, who was King Henry VIII’s second wife and mother of… Read the full story

On this day 215 years ago, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born. Image: Abraham Lincoln / Library of Congress Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in a one-room log cabin at Sinking Spring Farm in Hardin County, Kentucky. He was the second child born to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. His paternal grandfather, Captain Abraham Lincoln, served in the American Revolutionary War and was a pioneer settler of Kentucky…. Read the full story

On this day in 1773, William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States, was born on the Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia. Image: William Henry Harrison / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, CCO The last U.S. president to be born a British subject, Harrison was the youngest son of Benjamin Harrison V and Elizabeth Bassett. A member of the Continental Congress, Harrison’s father was a signer of the Declaration of Independence… Read the full story

On this day in 1931, actor James Dean was born in Marion, Indiana. The Rebel Without a Cause star’s life was cut short when he died at the age of 24 in a car accident. Image: James Dean / Wikimedia Commons Dean was the only child born to Winton Dean and Mildred Marie Wilson. After his mother died of uterine cancer when he was nine years old, Dean was sent to live with an aunt and uncle on… Read the full story

Remember reading Little House on the Prairie? On this day in 1867, author Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in a log cabin outside of Pepin, Wisconsin. Image: Laura Ingalls Wilder / Missouri State Archives, Flickr Wilder was a descendant of the Delano family, the same ancestral family of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In fact, Wilder and President Roosevelt were fifth cousins once removed. Her life growing up with her pioneer family in the “Big Woods” became… Read the full story

Today marks what would have been Ronald Reagan’s 113th birthday! Image: Ronald Reagan / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan was the son of Nelle Clyde Wilson and John Edward Reagan. Reagan began his entertainment career in radio before landing roles on the silver screen during the 1930s. Over the course of his Hollywood career, Reagan appeared in over 50 films and served as President of the… Read the full story

Are you related to a Founder Father of the United States? On this day in 1723, John Witherspoon was born in Gifford, Scotland. A strong advocate for colonial independence, Witherspoon was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Image: John Witherspoon / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, CC0 The eldest child of the Reverend James Alexander Witherspoon and Anne Walker, Witherspoon was a minister in the Church of Scotland before immigrating to the colonies…. Read the full story

Have you read Ulysses? On this day in 1882, author James Joyce was born in Dublin, Ireland. Image: James Joyce / Wikimedia Commons James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born on February 2, 1882 to John Stanislaus Joyce and Mary Jane Murray. Joyce was the eldest of 10 surviving children. His father’s heavy drinking lead to great instability in the household and eventually, the family’s financial decline. A bright child, Joyce taught himself Norwegian so he could… Read the full story

Today we remember American poet and activist Langston Hughes, who was born on this day in 1902. Image: Langston Hughes / Library of Congress James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri to James Nathaniel Hughes and Caroline Mercer Langston. Like many African Americans, Hughes was a descendant of slaves. His maternal grandfather, Charles Henry Langston, was an abolitionist and political activist. Born free in Louisa County, Virginia, Charles Langston was the son of Ralph… Read the full story