by Anne on February 20, 2009
Joshua Slocum, navigator
Feb. 20, 1884-Nov. 14, 1909
Born in the Breezes: The Voyages of Joshua Slocum by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop (Orchard, 2001)
Sail the high seas with this story about Slocum’s life and his love of it.
The Joshua Slocum Society International website attempts to “maintain a complete record of all single-handed circumnavigators, to popularize the legendary first solo circumnavigator, Captain Joshua Slocum.”
by Anne on February 12, 2009
Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth, social activist
Feb. 12, 1884-Feb. 20, 1980

What to Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove her Father Teddy Crazy! by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham (Scholastic Press, 2008)
Alice Roosevelt had an appetite for life. She had spark. And verve. Because her father was the president of the United States, her enthusiasms were well documented. Thank goodness. Among other things, young readers will love knowing she had a snake named Emily Spinach and that she interrupted her father’s second term swearing in ceremony.
Learn more about Alice Roosevelt at the Theodore Roosevelt Association.
Robert Leroy Johnson, musician
May 8, 1911-Aug. 16, 1938
The Blues Singers: Ten Who Rocked the World by Julius Lester, illustrated by Lisa Cohen (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, 2001)
Johnson, a gifted guitar player and singer died young. However, his legacy lives on in the likes of Dylan, the Stones and Clapton.
A web site about Johnson contains a bio, compositions, sounds, lyrics, and photos about this bluesman.
Harry Truman, U.S President
May 8, 1884-Dec. 26, 1972
Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt (Harcourt, 1998)
The sign on Truman’s desk read “The Buck Stops Here.” This piano-playing 33rd president held watermelon spitting wars in the White House.
The Truman Presidential Museum & Library is the source for Truman research.
by Anne on February 20, 2008
Joshua Slocum
Feb. 20, 1884-Nov. 14, 1909
Born in the Breezes: The Voyages of Joshua Slocum by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop (Orchard, 2001)
Sail the high seas with this story about Slocum’s life and his love of it.
The Joshua Slocum Society International website attempts to “maintain a complete record of all single-handed circumnavigators, to popularize the legendary first solo circumnavigator, Captain Joshua Slocum.”