Download 5th Grade Biographies

5th Grade Biographies
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) CFW, 5C
Susan B. Anthony was a leading force in the women's suffrage
movement for 50 years. Born in Massachusetts to a Quaker
family, she taught school and became convinced that society
needed to be reformed and freed from slavery and alcoholism.
She met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1851 at an antislavery rally.
They organized the Women's State Temperance Society of New
York. Anthony supported the cause of women's suffrage and
equal rights. She remained committed to the cause for the
remainder of her life, contributing to the effort to gain equal
rights for women.
*John Adams (1735-1826) Unit 4, 2B-Founding Father
John Adams was the second president of the United States,
was born in Massachusetts, and was educated at Harvard. He
was a representative to the First and Second Continental
Congresses. He led the debate, which ratified the Declaration
of Independence, served as ambassador to England, and
served eight years as vice president to Washington before his
election as president. He managed to make more enemies
than friends, promoting legislation, which was not favored by
either political party. His support of the Alien and Sedition Acts
angered many citizens. He was defeated by Thomas Jefferson
in 1800 and retired from public life. Both he and Jefferson died
on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the
Declaration of Independence.
*Samuel Adams (1722-1803) Unit 4, 2B-Founding Father
Samuel Adams was opposed to British taxation in the colonies
and believed that the colonial government was capable of
self-rule without intrusion by the British monarchy. Adams
encouraged cooperation among the colonies. Adams played
a role in many of the events which contributed to the
Revolution, including the organization of the opposition to the
Stamp Act, protests waged by the Sons of Liberty, and the
Boston Massacre. He participated in the Continental Congress
and supported the Constitution if there would be the addition
of the Bill of Rights.
Horizons 3rd Grade edition, p, 68-71
Jane Addams (1860-1935) CFW, 5C
Jane Addams was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace
Prize. She is widely known for her role in the establishment of
Hull House in Chicago and the Settlement House movement in
the United States. The Hull House offered medical care, legal
aid, language classes, music, and drama to more than two
thousand needy people each week. Addams’ support of the
poor, immigrants, and women involved her in politics. She
became the first vice president of the National American
Woman Suffrage Association in 1911. She campaigned for
Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party in 1912. To ensure
peace and freedom, she helped found the American Civil
Liberties Union in 1920 and served as the first president of the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
Neil Armstrong (1930-2012 ) Unit 7, 23A
Neil Armstrong earned degrees from Purdue University and the
University of Southern California, served in the United States
Navy as a fighter pilot during the Korean War, and worked in
aeronautical research before joining NASA (National
Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1962. He was the first
civilian astronaut accepted. He commanded the Apollo 11,
completed the first manned lunar landing in history, and was
the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969. He worked
with NASA, taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati,
served on the boards of major corporations, and was active in
the commission which explored the Challenger disaster in 1986.
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) Unit 6, 23A
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Bell sought a
greater understanding of deafness by studying sound and the
mechanics of speech. Bell understood the concept of the
telephone but was not successful in transmitting a voice
message until March 10, 1876. He and his partners formed Bell
Telephone Company in 1877. He assisted in founding the
National Geographic Society and supported experiments in
aviation.
*William Bradford (1590-1657) Unit 3, 1B
William Bradford came to New England on the Mayflower in
1620. In 1621, he was chosen leader of the Pilgrims. He
remained governor for most of his life, being re-elected 30
times. Although Bradford was firm, there were few complaints
about his leadership. He maintained friendly relations with the
American Indians and struggled hard to establish fishing, trade,
and agriculture. He stressed the obligations of the colonists to
their London backers. Bradford was more tolerant of other
religious beliefs than were the Puritan leaders of Boston. He was
largely responsible for keeping Plymouth independent of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
George Calvert (1579-1632) Unit 3
Calvert took an interest in the colonization of the New World, at
first for commercial reasons and later to create a refuge for
English Catholics. He became the proprietor of Avalon, the first
sustained English settlement on the island of Newfoundland.
Discouraged by its climate and the sufferings of the settlers,
Calvert looked for a more suitable spot further south and
sought a new royal charter to settle the region, which would
become the state of Maryland. Calvert died five weeks before
the new charter was sealed, leaving the settlement of the
Maryland colony to his son Cecilius. His second son Leonard
Calvert was the first colonial governor of the Province of
Maryland. Historians have long recognized George Calvert as
the founder of Maryland, in spirit if not in fact.
George Washington Carver (1864-1943) Unit 6, 23A
George Washington Carver was a slave who pursued an
education. He earned an M.S. in botany at Iowa Agricultural
College. Booker T. Washington recruited the talented Carver to
teach at Tuskegee Institute, a school where African-American
students could learn about agriculture and industry. Carver
expanded his offerings beyond the classroom. He outfitted
trucks as movable schools and took them out to the farms to
reach the farmers with his ideas about planting vegetables,
soybeans, and peanuts instead of concentrating on cotton.
Carver is noted for his work with agricultural chemistry, his
teaching, and research.
Cesar Chávez (1924-1997) Unit 7, 5C
Cesar Chávez was a migrant farm worker who sought to
improve the lives of other migrant workers. He served as
national director of the Community Service Organization before
resigning in 1962 to focus on organizing a union for farm
workers. He called for non-violent struggles for justice and used
strikes and boycotts to improve conditions for migrant workers.
Eventually the strikes and boycotts caused 26 grape growers in
California to recognize the United Farm Workers Union in 1970.
The growers continued to break contracts. Chávez provided
leadership for 30 years, protesting violence and urging
cooperation between growers and workers. The union
continues to protect the rights of migrant laborers from unfair
treatment on the part of employers.
John Deere (1804-1886) Unit 5, 23A
John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer
who founded Deere and Co., one of the largest agricultural
equipment manufacturers in the world. Deere settled in Illinois.
Since there were no other blacksmiths in the area, he had
plenty of work. As a young boy, Deere worked in his father’s
tailor shop. He polished and sharpened needles by running
them through water. This helped the needles sew through soft
leather. When Deere realized that cast-iron plows were not
working well in the tough prairie soil, he remembered the
needles. He came to the conclusion that a plow made out of
highly polished steel and a correctly shaped moldboard would
be better for handling the soil conditions of the prairie. In 1837,
Deere developed and manufactured the first commercially
successful cast-steel plow.
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) Unit 6, 23A
Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventors of all time,
received more than 1,300 patents. He invented the automatic
telegraph machine, the phonograph, improvements to the light
bulb, a modernized telephone, and motion picture equipment.
He concentrated on electrical inventions. He opened his lab in
Menlo Park where his workers developed and he patented the
incandescent light bulb, a transmitter for the telephone, and
the phonograph. The phonograph was his favorite invention.
Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) Unit 7, 5C
Dwight D. Eisenhower served his country as a military leader
and as president. He was born in Texas but grew up in Abilene,
Kansas. He graduated from West Point. Eisenhower served as
General Douglas MacArthur's senior assistant. MacArthur
considered him the most capable officer in the army. General
Eisenhower commanded Allied forces in Europe during World
War II. He commanded the Allied forces on D-Day. He was
appointed president of Columbia University and served there
until he was recalled to active military duty in 1950 to lead the
forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He
retired from the army in 1952 to run for president. He served two
terms. The Cold War throughout his administration. He ordered
troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to keep peace over
integration issues at Central High School. He signed the Civil
Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960.
*Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Unit 4, 2B-Founding Father, 23B-science & technology
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston but became a well-known
printer in Philadelphia and an active leader in the city. He
published Poor Richard's Almanac. In the Almanac he shared
bits of wisdom and sayings which helped shape the American
character. He founded the first circulating library in America.
Franklin was a member of the committee, which wrote the
Declaration of Independence. He spent most of the period of
the American Revolution in France negotiating the alliance
with France and then the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war.
He also participated in the U.S. Constitutional Convention in
1787, and earned the distinction as the oldest delegate in
attendance. Franklin's many talents earned him a reputation as
"the first civilized American." In addition to his political activities,
he supported education and was considered a gifted scientist.
He proved that lightning was a form of electricity. He also
invented bifocal glasses, lightning rods, and the Franklin stove.
*Nathan Hale (1755-1776) Unit 4, 2B-Patriotiuc Hero
Nathan Hale was an American soldier in the Revolutionary War.
Nathan Hale volunteered to spy on the British on Long Island.
He was captured and hanged on September 22, 1776. His last
words were, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my
country." These words quickly became an inspiration for Patriots
during the Revolution and remain part of the story of American
independence.
*Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) Unit 3, 1B
Anne Hutchinson believed that inner faith was more important
than the way one acted. Hutchinson's knowledge of church
doctrine and her behavior earned her quite a following of
women and men in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The clergy
viewed this as a threat to their Puritan faith and a challenge to
their authority. They brought her to trial before the colony's
court and banished her, or sent her away from the colony. She
moved with her family to Rhode Island and helped found the
settlement of Portsmouth. Then she moved to the New
Netherlands colony after her husband's death in 1642. She and
most of her children were killed by Algonquians in 1643.
*Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Unit 4, 2B-Founding Father
Thomas Jefferson was a Founding Father and the principal
author of the Declaration of Independence. He was the third
President of the United States. He also approved the Louisiana
Purchase, which nearly doubled the area controlled by the
United States. He became an effective leader in the American
Revolution. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress in
Philadelphia and in 1776; he was a member of the committee
that wrote the Declaration of Independence. His plan to bar
slavery from the territories was incorporated into the Northwest
Ordinance of 1787, but Jefferson owned slaves until he died. In
1785, he replaced Benjamin Franklin as minister to France and
was in France when the U.S. Constitution was drafted. Jefferson
served as secretary of state under President George
Washington. In 1800, Jefferson was elected president and
served two terms. He maintained peace and encouraged
westward expansion during his first term. Jefferson and John
Adams both died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence.
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) Unit 7, 5C
Martin Luther King was an African-American concerned with gaining
equal rights for all people. He was called to minister at Dexter Avenue
Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Despite opposition from his
father, King moved to Montgomery in 1955. This was just before Rosa
Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. King
assisted in coordinating the bus boycott which gained national and
international attention. He gained visibility as a black leader. He was
instrumental in organizing the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC). The SCLC supported sit-ins, boycotts, and protest
marches in Birmingham, Alabama. In August, during the March on
Washington in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, King gave his "I
Have a Dream" speech. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in
Memphis, Tennessee.
*James Madison (1751-1836) Unit 4, 3B
James Madison played a role in most of the significant political events
over a 40-year period. He was the fourth president of the United
States. He participated in the Continental Congress. He is considered
the "Father of the Constitution” because of his leadership role in
writing and ratifying the U.S. Constitution. He supported a strong
central government. He wrote the first 12 amendments to the
Constitution. Ten of these were ratified as the Bill of Rights. One of the
other two, regarding congressional pay raises, was later ratified as the
27th Amendment in May 1992. He presided through the War of 1812
and fled Washington, D.C. in August 1814, when the British invaded
and set the public buildings, the Capitol, and the White House on fire.
George Mason (1725-1792) Unit 4, 3B
George Mason did not seek glory in public service, but his
writings influenced those working to develop a new
government. He believed in the need to restrict governmental
power and supported protection of human rights. His Virginia
Declaration of Rights was a model for other Bills of Rights in the
United States and in France. Mason concentrated his political
activities to the state of Virginia until 1787. Then he served as a
delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. He
delivered 139 important speeches at the convention, making
him one of the most influential of the Founding Fathers. He
became disgusted as delegates chose to exclude a Bill of
Rights from the document. He refused to sign the Constitution
at the end of the convention and he did not support its
ratification. The passage of the Bill of Rights and the adoption of
the 10th Amendment, which supported the powers of the
states, relieved most of his concerns.
Rosa Parks (1913-2005) Unit 7, 5C
Rosa Parks grew up on her grandparents' farm near
Montgomery, Alabama and attended high school and college
in the city. She and her husband were both active members of
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP). During a time when public transportation was
legally segregated, she was arrested for refusing to give up her
seat on a bus to a white man. Her actions prompted black
church and business leaders to conduct a boycott of the
Montgomery Bus Company. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
segregation on city buses was unconstitutional.
*William Penn (1644-1718) Unit 3, 1B
William Penn established a colony in Pennsylvania as a refuge
for Quakers and a place where they could create a
government based on their own standards. Penn joined the
Quakers, also known as the Religious Society of Friends. The
Friends believed in direct guidance from the Holy Spirit, did not
recognize the authority of an ordained ministry, believed in
simple dress, and opposed war. Penn secured a land grant
from the King of England. The King called the area
Pennsylvania or “Penn's Woodland.” Penn attempted to treat
American Indians and squatters from other colonies residing on
the land fairly. He rarely visited the colony and lived there only
a few years which caused residents of the colony to under
appreciate his role in the colony's development. He supported
freedom of worship, welcomed immigrants, and did not require
residents to serve in the militia.
Charles Pinckney (1757-1824) Unit 4, 3B
Charles Pinckney was an American politician who was a signer
of the U.S. Constitution, Governor of South Carolina, a senator
and a member of the House of Representatives. He worked
hard in Congress to ensure the U.S. would receive navigation
rights to the Mississippi River. President Thomas Jefferson
appointed him as Minister of Spain.
Colin Powell (1937- ) Unit 7, 5C
General Colin Powell became the first African-American
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first AfricanAmerican Secretary of State in U.S. history. He commanded the
2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division from 1976 to 1977 and
was the senior military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of
Defense. He served as a deputy assistant and then as an
assistant to President Ronald Reagan, advising him on National
Security Affairs. His autobiography, My American Journey, tells
about his experiences as a ranking military official and political
advisor.
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) Unit 7, 5C
Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States. He
was regarded as a key figure in the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the end of the Cold War. Reagan presided over a period
of economic growth in the 1980s and over the beginning of the
end of the Soviet Union. In his final year in office, however, he
visited Moscow for a summit meeting with the Soviet leader,
Mikhail Gorbachev. Prior to being president, Reagan was a
Hollywood movie star and governor of California.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) Unit 7, 5C
Franklin Roosevelt entered politics by winning a seat to the U.S.
Senate. In 1921 he contracted polio but struggled to overcome
the physical limitations and maintain a public and political
career. In 1932 he was elected President of the United States.
He began the New Deal in his first 100 days to counteract the
effects of the Great Depression. Some people worried that his
growing executive authority might undermine the checks and
balances of the three branches of government. American
support for Roosevelt was high, and he dominated the political
scene for four terms, the most of any U.S. president. The 22nd
Amendment, adopted in 1951 limited presidents to two terms.
Roger Sherman (1721-1793) Unit 4, 3B
Roger Sherman participated in most activities related to the
early governance of the United States. He was elected as a
delegate to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1755 and
remained involved in colonial and national politics until his
death. He was one of the Founding Fathers, serving in both the
First and the Second Continental Congresses. He was a
member of the committee which drafted the Declaration of
Independence and helped draft the Articles of Confederation.
He participated in the Constitutional Convention and signed
the U.S. Constitution, and the Treaty of Paris which ended the
American Revolution. He favored states' rights. He suggested
the establishment of two houses of Congress, one based on
population and the other on equal representation. He also
supported election of a president by an electoral college.
*John Smith (1580-1631) Unit 3, 1B
John Smith was born to a farm family in England. In 1606 he
enlisted in the colonization effort of the Virginia Company to
establish a colony in North America. Smith was one of the seven
men appointed to rule the colony. He ensured the survival of
Jamestown by forcing discipline into the colonists and providing
leadership. His rule was if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat. He led
expeditions along the coast and befriended Pocahontas, the
daughter of the chief of the American Indians along the
Virginia tidewater. In later life he wrote promotional literature
encouraging colonization.
*Sons of Liberty Unit 4, 2B-Patriotic Heroes
The Sons of Liberty was an organization that American colonists
formed in 1765 to oppose the Stamp Act. The name was taken
from a speech made in the British Parliament that referred to
American colonials who opposed unjust British measures as
“sons of liberty.” The group helped prevent enforcement of the
Stamp Act. After the act’s repeal, the organization continued
to oppose British measures against the colonists.
Tuskegee Airmen - Unit 7, 5C
The Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated and determined young
men who enlisted to become America's first black military
airmen. This was at a time when many people thought that
black men lacked intelligence, skill, courage and patriotism.
The black airmen who became single-engine or multi-engine
pilots were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) in
Tuskegee, Alabama. The first aviation cadet class began in July
1941 and completed training nine months later. The Airmen's
success in escorting bombers during World War II is a record
unmatched by any other fighter group. They lost only a small
number of bombers to enemy fire in more than 200 combat
missions.
*George Washington (1732-1799) Unit 4, 2B-Founding Father
George Washington was the first President of the United States
and served two terms. He lived in Virginia and was a surveyor, a
planter, a soldier in the French and Indian War, a delegate to
the First and Second Continental Congresses, commander-inchief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution,
and the chairman of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
During his two terms, he started regular meetings of his cabinet
and supported Alexander Hamilton's plans to deal with war
debts and create a currency system for the new nation.
Washington was a Federalist who believed in a strong central
government and the responsibility of the wealthy to ensure the
wellbeing of all people. He remained open to the opinions of
others, especially fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson. His
plantation home was Mount Vernon. He is known as the "Father
of Our Country" and his likeness is one of four presidents carved
into the monument at Mount Rushmore. Presidents' Day, a
federal holiday, occurs on the third Monday in February, near
his birthday, February 22.
*Eli Whitney (1765-1825) Unit 5, 23A
Eli Whitney was an American inventor best known for inventing
the cotton gin and a pioneer in the mass production of cotton.
By April 1793, Whitney had designed and constructed the
cotton gin, a machine that separated the cottonseed from the
short-staple cotton fiber. This was one of the key inventions of
the Industrial Revolution and shaped the economy of the South.
Whitney's invention made short staple cotton into a profitable
crop, which strengthened the economic. Despite the social
and economic impact of his invention, Whitney lost his profits in
legal battles over patent infringement.
*Roger Williams (ca. 1603-1683) Unit 3, 1B
Roger Williams became a religious dissenter and founded the
colony of Rhode Island. He sailed to New England in 1630 to
escape persecution by the Puritans in England. He believed a
true church could not exist on earth until Christ returned and
founded it. Thus his beliefs also conflicted with the Puritan
teachings in Massachusetts. They eventually banished him, or
sent him away, from the colony in 1636. Williams sought a
colonial charter in 1643 to establish Rhode Island. Three of his
ideas were significant for the development of American
culture. He argued for separation of church and state in the
North American colonies. He believed in freedom of thought
and opinion, and he supported freedom of religion. He also
believed it was wrong to take land away from the Native
Americans.
*John Wise (1652-1725) Unit 4, 1B
John Wise was an American Congregational minister. He was a
political leader during the American colonial period. He was
once jailed because he protested against British taxation.
Years later, President Calvin Coolidge recognized him as one of
the inspirations for the Declaration of Independence.
The Wright Brothers – Unit 6, 23A
(Orville: 1871-1948 & Wilbur: 1867-1912)
The Wright Brothers were two Americans who are credited with
inventing and building the world's first successful airplane. They
made the first controlled, powered and heavier-than-air human
flight in 1903. Two years later, the brothers developed their flying
machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft. Although not
the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright
Brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made
fixed-wing powered flight possible.They invented a three-axis
control which allows the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively.
This method became standard on fixed-wing aircraft of all
kinds. From the beginning of their work, the Wright Brothers
focused on unlocking the secrets of control to conquer "the
flying problem", rather than developing more powerful engines
as some other experimenters did. Their careful wind tunnel tests
produced better data than any before. This helped them to
design and build wings and propellers more effective than
before.
442nd Regimental Combat Team - Unit 7, 5C
The 442nd Infantry, formerly the 442nd Regimental Combat
Team of the United States Army, was an Asian-American unit
composed of mostly Japanese-Americans who fought in
Europe during World War II. The families of many of its soldiers
were subject to internment. The 442nd was a self-sufficient
fighting force and fought with uncommon distinction in Italy,
Southern France, and Germany. The unit became the most
highly decorated regiment in the history of theUnited Stated
Armed Forces. This included 21 Medal of Honor recipients. The
motto of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was “Go for
Broke.” This meant they would risk everything on one big effort
to win. The soldiers of the 442nd needed to win big. They were
American-born sons of Japanese immigrants. They fought two
wars: the Germans in Europe and the prejudice in America.