Louis Sockalexis, athlete

Oct. 24, 1871-Dec. 24, 1913

Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer by Bill Wise, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth (Lee & Low, 2007)

Sockalexis, the first Native American major league baseball player, won the hearts of fans with his incredible skill, but the prejudice he faced on the field and off was intense. A note in the Afterword mentions that almost fifty years after Sockalexis’ rookie year, African American Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the major leagues.

Visit the Official Site of the Cleveland Indians, Sockalexis’ team, then known as the Cleveland Spiders.

Alexandra David-Neel, explorer

Oct. 24, 1868-Sept. 8, 1969

Far Beyond the Gate: Alexandra David-Neel’s Journey to Lhasa by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin, 2002)

David-Neel did not represent the norm. This intrepid Victorian traveler and opera singer gloried in journeying to remote parts of the world. She became and the first Western woman to enter Lhasa, Tibet in 1924.

Alexandra David-Neel’s bio on Wikipedia offers additional info.

Sarah Hale, author

Oct. 24, 1788-Spr. 30, 1879

Thank you, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Matt Faulkner (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002)

It took thirty-eight years of letters to U.S. presidents from Sarah Hale before Thanksgiving became a national holiday. Lincoln made the day official in 1863. “Pick up your pen. Change the world.”

Take a tour of the Plymouth Plantation and learn about the first Thanksgiving.

Visit WomenWriters.net to read more about Hale’s contributions as editor and writer.