Showing results for "J" in Biographies

Listeners will learn about the life and works of J.K. Rowling. The author’s life leading up to her success as the best-selling author of the Harry Potter series is discussed. Listeners will also learn about the author’s writing process and what inspires her. What’s next for this author and other interesting details are also included.

Madam C.J. Walker wasn't just an inventor. She was also a political activist and businesswoman. Young listeners will discover that she was not only fought for civil rights, but became one of the most successful African-American business owners ever.

Madam C. J. Walker invented a line of African American hair products and cosmetics that led her to become the first self-made female millionaire.

The idea that physical exercise is good for men and women alike is something we take for granted today, but people didn’t always believe this was true. There was a time when exercise was not considered proper or healthy for women. Thanks to athletes like Annette Kellerman, women have come a long way since then.

In 1949, Dorothy Vaughan became the first African American woman to lead a team at NASA's Langley Research Center. Her work as a mathematician was an important part of helping the United States explore space. Learn more about Vaughan's life as a famous mathematician!

A young readers edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus was the inspiration for the blockbuster film, Oppenheimer. This brand-new edition introduces the next generation to one of the twentieth century's most iconic and complex global figures...

Everyone loves Harry Potter. Now kids can learn about Harry's creator! In 1995, on a four-hour-delayed train from Manchester to London, J. K. Rowling conceived of the idea of a boy wizard named Harry Potter. Upon arriving in London, she began immediately writing the first book in the saga...

Although J. D. Vance hasn't been in the political sphere for long, the former US senator became the vice-presidential pick in 2024 and was elected alongside President Donald Trump.

In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, author Lauren Tarshis shines a spotlight on the story of the Normandy landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history and foundation for the Allied victory in World War II.

Madam C. J. Walker was beloved within her community for her philanthropy and expanding the local black YMCA, but she couldn't have done that if she weren't the first female self-made millionaire and one of the most successful African American business owners ever. Born Sarah Breedlove, she was the first person born free in her family. She married Charles Joseph Walker and became known as Madam C. J. Walker, the name she would later use on her haircare products.

Caitlin Clark has gotten more buzz than any other female basketball player in history. And for good reason. In 2024, the starting guard for the Indiana Fever scored more points than any other college women's player had ever scored in a season and led the Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA tournament. Clark broke many NCAA records before becoming the number-one draft pick in the WNBA. This sharpshooting player wants to be a role model to young people both on and off the court. Follow along on her journey from a childhood playing many sports to her college days focusing on her stellar basketball game.

Get ready to fight for what’s right with Stacey Abrams in this exciting middle grade nonfiction biography. Perfect for fans of the Who Was and Little Leaders series, the books in the VIP series tell the true—and amazing—stories of some of history's greatest trailblazers. Meet the VERY...

In her inimitable style, Jean Fritz tells us the story about the unique history of Plymouth Rock and the First Comers, or Pilgrims who first came ashore in 1620.

Peter Stuyvesant: legends abound about the character, temperament, and wooden leg of the last director-general of New Amsterdam, fueled primarily by Washington Irving's satirical A History of New York. Krizner and Sita set the record straight here and address other misconceptions about the early days of the colony. Indeed, historical evidence does not support the legend of the 24-dollar purchase of Manhattan Island. Stuyvesant did, however, rule with an "iron fist", but he loved New Amsterdam.

Nathan Hale was an American patriot and soldier. Educated at Yale, he volunteered for service in the Continental Army at the outbreak of the war for independence. He rose to the rank of captain, whereupon he volunteered for a mission to reconnoiter the British position on Long Island. He was captured by the British, quickly tried, and hanged. Before his hanging, he uttered the infamous last words, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

Have you ever dreamed of going to outer space? When Sally Ride was a little girl, she watched on TV as astronaut John Glenn launched into space. Twenty years later, she became the first American woman to go to space. Ride had loved science since she was young. Some of her teachers thought she was wasting her time studying science, but she went on to earn her PhD in astrophysics anyway. When NASA's astronaut training program opened to women, Ride quickly applied. Some people thought women couldn't handle space flight. But Ride worked hard and proved them all wrong.

This brilliant memoir-in-verse tells the moving story of how a nation learned to celebrate a hero. Through years of protests and petition, Kathlyn's story highlights the foot soldiers who fought to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday. Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me...

Over the course of history, famous people made mistakes that were so monumental they could never escape them, no matter how brilliant their successes! Ferdinand Magellan is credited as the first man to sail around the world...but he only actually made it halfway. His terrible treatment of everyone he met cut his life journey short. Queen Isabella of Spain is remembered for financing Columbus' expeditions - and for creating the Spanish Inquisition.

Learn about the record-breaking career of basketball superstar Caitlin Clark in this Who HQ Now biography featuring newsmakers and trending topics. Point guard Caitlin Clark took the world of college basketball by storm when she began playing for the University of Iowa in 2020, earning 27...

Historians tell the stories of tragic and untimely presidential deaths, but often forgotten are the near misses. JFK and his fellow servicemen spent six days on a desert island with only coconuts to eat after a deadly attack during WWII. Abe Lincoln was forced to take a train trip in disguise while America's first female detective worked to foil an early assassination attempt. And when Andrew Jackson was attacked by an upset citizen who had been stalking him for months, frontiersman Davey Crockett was the one to save him.