... speaker. Douglass became involved with many important abolitionist causes, both through his literary works, and also through activities such as the Underground Railroad, and also his role in organizing a regiment of former slaves to fight in the Civil War for the Union army. Due to the Fugitive Slave Laws, Douglass became in danger of being captured and returned to slavery. He left America, and stayed in the British Isles. There he lectured on slavery, and gained the respect of many people, who raised money to purchase his freedom. In 1847, Douglass relocated to Rochester, New York, and became the person in c ...

... he moved to Amsterdam. He became the leading portrait painter in Holland and received money for portraits as well as for paintings of religious subjects. For the first time, he was a wealthy, respected citizen. He then met the beautiful Saskia van Uylenburgh, which he married in 1634. She modeled for many of his paintings and drawings. In addition to portraits, Rembrandt gained fame for his landscapes, while he is one of the most famous sketchers of all time. When he had no other model, he painted or sketched his own image. Rembrandt painted or sketched over fifty portraits just of himself! During the ne ...

... of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and as United States Ambassador to Great Britain. During John's childhood, his family often moved. Some of these moves sent the family into New York. All of the Kennedy children developed a strong competitive spirit. The boys enjoyed playing touch football together. John Kennedy's education included elementary schools in Brookline and Riverdale. By the age of thirteen his father sent him to the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. He then transferred to Choate Academy in Wallingford, Connecticut, and graduated in 1935 at eight-teen years old. In 1936, after ...

... the author of the generally accepted definition of "revisionism," "Revisionism means nothing more or less than the effort to correct the historical record in the light of a more complete collection of historical facts, a more calm political atmosphere, and a more objective attitude." (2) Barnes had discovered that a more nearly accurate version of the history of the First World War was only possible after the fighting had ended and the emotional excesses had lessened. He was unable to predict that similar corrections of Allied propaganda and popularized conceptions of the methods of warfare in the Second World War ...

... natives, and forced them to mine gold for him. Ponce de Leon left Puerto Rico and returned again in 1508 this time he brought with him only fifty men. On this voyage his ship went through a terrible storm that caused him to run onto the rocks on two occasions. The crew was forced to throw over much of their supplies in order to keep the ship from sinking. After Ponce de Leon finally arrived in Puerto Rico he became the governor of the island. This caused him to become very wealthy, and the most powerful man on the island, who only received orders from the kind himself! In 1511 King Ferdinand ordered Ponce de Leon ...

... as a youngster. Throughout his life, Haigh suffered from a recurring dream. He spoke of a forest of crucifixes in the dream that would gradually turn into trees that dripped blood. He would see a man collecting the blood into a cup. The man would offer the cup to Haigh, but he always awakened before he could take a drink. It was the dream, Haigh would confess to the police after his arrest, that made him believe he needed blood in order to live. Early adulthood was a problematic time at best for Haigh. He was imprisoned several times for fraud and forgery. But his true criminal nature began to manifest i ...

... and his law plans, sold his books, and entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. The decision surprised his friends and appalled his father. Later in his life, Luther explained his suprising decision by recollecting several brushes with death that had occurred at the time, making him aware of the fleeting character of life. In the monastery he observed the rules imposed on a novice but did not find the peace in God he had expected. Nevertheless, Luther made his profession as a monk in the fall of 1506, and his superiors selected him for the priesthood. Ordained in 1507, he approached his first celebration of th ...

... in this arrangement, Johann Sebastian won a scholarship to study in Luneberg, Northern Germany, and so left his brothers tutelage. A master of several instruments while still in his teens, Johann Sebastian first found employment at the age of 18 as a violinist in a court orchestra in Weimar. Soon after, he took a job as an organist at a church in Arnstadt (1703-1707). Here, as in later posts, his perfectionist tendencies and high expectations of other musicians – for example, the church choir – rubbed his colleagues the wrong way, and he was embroiled in a number of hot disputes during his short tenure. ...

... for the family when he died, and his sister would need a dowry soon. Galileo had other plans, and in early 1583 he began spending his time with the mathematics professors instead of the medical ones. When his father learned of this, he was furious and traveled 60 miles from Florence to Pisa just to confront his son with the knowledge that he had been "neglecting his studies." The grand duke’s mathematician intervened and persuaded Vincenzio to allow Galileo to study mathematics on the condition that after one year, all of Galileo’s support would be cut off and he was on his own. In the sprin ...

... war, in which he had important diplomatic duties, Franklin was one of the key framers of the Constitution. By then, Franklin was a ripe 81 years old, in the twilight years of his life. During his youth, he was an important author, contributing to one of the first papers, and also writing the Poor Richard’s Alamack. His autobiography is also a very important work to this day. Franklin was also an important scientist of his time. His personality influenced many of the leaders of the baby American government. This coupled with his exceptional achievement made Franklin a great inspiration to the people of his tim ...