Ammi Burnham was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire back in 1798 to Samuel and Rebecca. He was way beyond me as he showed an exceptional talent for mathematics and drawing. At 14 he worked in his father’s trade. In 1830, he opened his own office in Burlington, Vermont. In 1850, he entered a competition, but lost out to Thomas U. Walter.He was awarded honorary degrees (M.A.) from the University of Vermont (1839) and Dartmouth College in 1841. He died in Washington, D.C. in 1864 at 75.What you may not know about Ammi Burnham Young is that he was an architect. In 1852, he was the first Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department during the Fillmore administration. Some of his designs was the First Congregational Church in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Wentworth Hall at Dartmouth College, t... 11/29/2018

I was at home Friday when the mailman came a calling. He handed me a package I had been waiting for.  When I opened it up, I was delighted. The good thing is, he doesn't eat anything, never barks, no house training and is forever watchful.  So, what do you think about him?  i know we will enjoy him for decades to come.  When we are no longer above ground I have some kids that I know will enjoy him as much as we do.Thank you  Sheila Anderson, we will treasure him for a long time.  11/25/2018

Abel Wolman was born in Baltimore, Maryland back in 1892. He attended Baltimore City College receiving is B.A. in 1913 and his B.S. in engineering in 1915 from John Hopkins University. After graduation, he worked for the Maryland State Department of Health. He was the Chief Engineer from 1922 to 1939. He served as the Chairman of the Advisory Council for planning Israel’s National Water Carrier from 1950 to 1956. In his spare time, he taught at John Hopkins where he established the Department of Sanitary Engineering in 1937. He was Editor of the American Water Works Association in 1919, it became a monthly publication under his leadership in 1924. He died in 1989 at a young 96.What you may not know about Abel is that he standardized the methods used to chlorinate Baltimore’s drinking-wa... 11/13/2018

Jonathan Williams was born in Boston, Massachusetts back in 1751.  He attended Harvard University, and was the grandnephew of someone you may have heard about Benjamin Franklin.  From 1770-1785 he spent a lot of time in England and France assisting Franklin.  Back in the United States he joined the American Philosophical Society in 1788.He was appointed by President Jefferson to command the Corps of Engineers.  From 1807 to 1811 he designed and completed two fortified gun emplacements on the East and West side of New York Harbor.  Those were the first batteries constructed in the United States.  In 1814, he was elected to the Fourteenth United States Congress but died from gout in Philadelphia before the Congress was assembled.What you may not know about Jonathan is that he was the firs... 11/10/2018

William Anderson was born in Walla Walla, Washington back in 1928 to Otto and Audrey. His father was a farmer while his mother had been an opera singer. His parents divorced when he was 15, he went to live with his mother moving to Seattle. He graduated from Lakeside School. Continuing his education, he graduated from Whitman College in 1949. He was drafted into the United States Army serving as an announcer on the American Forces Network. After he was discharged he worked as a milkman before moving to Hawaii. It was there he found work on a local TV program. In 1857, he moved back to further his career as an actor moving to Hollywood.For two years he stared in a series, more on that in a moment. While he did have some success IMHO, he really never made it big-time. Sadly, he died in 20... 10/30/2018

Harry Ward, Jr., was born in Chiswick, England back in 1873 to Harry Sr., and Fanny.  His father was a Methodist minister.  During his early years Harry was employed by his father as a wagon-driver.  In 1878, he was sent to a boarding school that did not turn out well for young Harry.  In 1891, he emigrated to the United States in pursuit of a higher education.That same year he arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah where he found employment as a horse driver, a farmhand, and a part time lay minister, preaching to passersby on street corners.  In 1893, he entered the University of Southern California.  He continued his education at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he was active in intercollegiate debates.  In 1898, he graduated with a master’s degree in philosophy.By 1913, h... 10/21/2018

James Tubbs was born in London, England to William (sorry I could not find his mother’s name).  he worked with his father until around 1860, sorry again as I could not find out what he actually did while working there.  However, that is not the basis for this blog.In 1860, he worked with William Ebsworth Hill where he honed his skills for what he is most noted for.  That relationship ended around 1870, when James opened up his own business building his own form of his work.  If you can find one of his works which is stamped “J. TUBBS” you are a rich person.In 1885, he won a Gold medal at the inventions Exhibition in London, after winning that medal he was by Special Appointment to make them for the HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.  In 1995, one of his works was sold by Sotheby’s for an astoun... 09/27/2018

Benjamin Chew was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania back in 1821 to Benjamin Sr. and Anne. Educated at Bristol College and the University of Pennsylvania graduating with a law degree in 1839, though he never practiced that profession. When the American Civil Wars started he volunteered where he was appointed a Captain in the 26th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. He rose through the ranks to Colonel where he commanded the 29th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. By the end of the war he was a brevetted Brigadier General. Legend has it that while in a desert he noticed something that will forever place him in the history books. In 1870, he filed for a patent and was given patent number 108,408. In 1871, at the 40th Exhibition of the American Institute he was awarded the institute’s Great Mea... 09/14/2018

Edward Hutchinson was born in County Dublin, Ireland back in 1891 to Edward Sr. and Ellen. In 1908, he studied Mathematics at Trinity College in Dublin. In his third year, he came into a large in heritance and dropped out of college. In 1928, with the encouragement from Albert Einstein he started something that will place him in the history books for his research and forward thinking. From 1928 to 1932 he published his findings in the Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of science. He did all of this work alone without anyone helping and more importantly with the use of a laboratory. It wasn’t until 1956, was his theory was developed by another scientist. However, it really did not come to fruition until 1972. For it was Edward Hutchison Synge who published a theoretical descripti... 08/26/2018

Joel Solon was born in New York City, New York back in 1927. After his high school education, he enrolled at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1948. In the 1950’s he worked for an aerospace company where he was given the job of developing a reliable trigger for atomic weapons.While working on a solid-state semiconductor he had an epiphany so he set about working on his thought. His idea was not a new one, but he worked on his theory nonetheless. He resigned his position to devote his full attention to his soon to be invention. On July 15th, 1959, he received patent number 3,032,688 for his invention and as they say the rest is history.Joel Solon Spira made what we now call the light dimmer switch for home use. That invention alo... 08/13/2018

Francis Pettit was born in Hythe, Kent, England back in 1808. His father was postmaster for Hythe, being educated at a private school in Ashford. Of course, being from England the sea was always a fascination for him so he acquired a skill in the construction of model boats. He had an idea which in 1836 he received a patent for that of course will place him in the history books forever. In 1839, he helped organize a company which their sole means of income was building what Francis invented. Back before his invention ships were driven by a paddle wheel. What Sir Francis Pettit Smith invented was the screw propeller. Although his invention has been greatly improved upon the concept is still in use to this day. in 1871, he was conferred a knighthood, he died in 1874. Until tomorrow my wis... 08/05/2018

Harold Preston was born in Ontario, Canada back in 1912 to Alexander and Mabel. While I don’t have any information as to his education what I can tell you is apparently he excelled in athletics. In the 1930’s he played lacrosse in Rochester, New York, living in Buffalo. In 1938, he placed second in the Middleweight class of the Golden Gloves tournament. However, what happened to him in 1937, set him on a path that will forever place him in the history books. He was on a lacrosse touring team in Los Angeles when Joe Brown approached him and encouraged him to do a screen test, which of course led him to an acting career. His career in acting lasted some 43 years. He died in 1980 at 67.So, does the name Harold Preston Smith ring a bell, probably not, so how about his stage name Jay Silverh... 08/03/2018

No moon.I read two blogs today about the moon and the photos posted showed two different views of it. So, I went outside at 4AM to see what the moon looked like in my neck of the woods. What I saw was nothing, no moon and surprisingly no stars to boot. I stood outside for a good 10 minutes searching the skies for a glimpse of either the moon or at least one star.Don’t know about you but this was a first for me. Of course, with an 80% chance of rain I chalked it up to cloud cover. I’m waiting to see the forecast so I can determine if I can make my t-time or wait until next week…So what about you, were you able to see the moon or stars tonight? 07/29/2018

Mary Michael was born in Evansville, Indiana back in 1925. Sorry but I do not know who her parents were or anything about her early education, what I can tell you as always is the rest of the story. She grew up in Texas City, Texas, where she was raised up as a Methodist but in her senior year she became an Episcopalian. She entered the New York School for Deaconesses graduating in 1949. She spent 6 years as a missionary to Liberia. In 1956, she was appointed heard of a girls’ school in the United States. She remained there for a decade. She was assigned to several other posts. In 2011, she died at 85.What you may not know about Mary Michael Simpson is that she was one of the first women to be ordained a priest by the American Episcopal Church and the first woman to hold the office of c... 07/28/2018

Radhanath Sikdar was born in India back in 1813. I don’t have any information of who his parents were, his upbringing or much of anything that is until 1831. In 1831, the Surveyor General of India George was looking for a mathematician for a particular individual who was proficient in spherical trigonometry. Radhanath’s teacher recommend him to tackle the rather large issue.He spent almost 20 years surveying for the Surveyor General, when he was transferred to Calcutta in 1851. He served as the Superintendent of Meteorological department. While there he developed a formula for conversion of barometric readings taken at different temperatures. He retired in 1862, later to be appointed as the teacher of mathematics at the General Assembly. He died in 1870.What you may not know about Radan... 07/25/2018

Gyorgy Schwartz was born in Budapest back in 1930 to Tivadar and Erzebet. There is so much to write about him that I will only hit some of the highlights. If you want to know more you’ll need to look him up. Anyway, the family changed their name in 1936 to avoid the wrath from when Nazi Germany occupied Hungary.The family emigrated to England in 1947. He attended the London School of Economics graduating with a master’s in philosophy. He worked as a railway porter and a waiter while attending college. After graduating he was a traveling salesman for a wholesaler to the Welsh seaside resorts. He finally landed a job as a clerk at a bank later moving on to the arbitrage department. He moved several times before founding a fund management of his own and as they say the rest is history.What... 07/14/2018

Herbert Norman was born in Newark, New Jersey to Julius and Agnes. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1917. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the cavalry.Shipped off for duty in Europe he was part of the American Expeditionary Force. He served as provost marshal because of his organizational skill and because he was fluent in German. After the war, he put in charge of the New Jersey State Police. He was involved in a kidnapping case you may have heard of. A kid named Charlie was kidnapped from his home Charlie Lindbergh, that is. In 1936, he was fired from the New Jersey Police, returning to the Army he was stationed in Iran in 1942. Promoted to brigadier general he was sent to Germany to serve as provost marshal, he retired in 1953 with the r... 07/13/2018

Samuel Breese was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts back in 1791, to Jedidiah and Elizabeth. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover before moving on to Yale College where he studied religion, philosophy and mathematics, graduating in 1810 with honors.To support himself he was an accomplished painter. In 1811, he traveled to England to learn more about his art. There he learned a great detail as he practiced life drawings absorbing anatomical demands made from him. From 1815-1825 he sought to capture the essence of America’s culture and life. From 1830-1832 he traveled again back to Europe where he honed his skills. In his spare time, he also worked on something that he received a patent on in 1847. He died in New York City on April 2, 1872. His estate was valued at 500,000.00 which is... 07/01/2018

Juan Rodriques was born in Santo Domingo, date unknown to a Portuguese sailor and an African woman, both names have been lost to history. Being raised in a diverse culture he learned to speak several different languages. He was hired by a Dutch captain to act as a translator on a voyage to the Native American island of Manhattan arriving in 1613. He married a Lenape woman staying there when the ship left to return to the Netherlands. He set up his own trading post with goods left by the captain. The last known writings about him was in 1624. What happened to him after that has been lost to history.Try to keep up with me on this one. What you may not know about Juan is that he is considered to be the first non-native resident of what would eventually become New York City, the first immig... 06/15/2018

George Ronan was born circa 1783 in New York. I have no data as to who his parents were, his early upbringing or much of anything until he attended the United States Military Academy. From 1808 to 1811. West Point was only 16 years old when he graduated as an Ensign in the United States Army.His first station was at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, a fort called Fort Dearborn. The fort was commanded by Captain Nathan Heald, George and Nathan did not get along. On August 15, 1812, the fort was ordered to be abandoned so Captain Heald ordered George to take the lead column to Fort Wayne, Indiana. The column was ambushed by a band of Potawatomi Indians about 2 miles from Fort Dearborn. A fierce battle ensued in which Ensign Ronan was killed in action.What you may not know about Ensign Ge... 06/13/2018