William (Bill) H. Gates III is co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, the world's leading provider of software for personal computers. Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955. He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Mary Gates, their late mother, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent and chairwoman of United Way International. Gates attended public elementary school before...

Thomas Edison Biography One of the outstanding geniuses in the history of technology, Thomas Edison earned patents for more than a thousand inventions, including the incandescent electric lamp, the phonograph, the carbon telephone transmitter, and the motion-picture projector. In addition, he created the world's first industrial research laboratory. Born in Milan, Ohio, Edison was an inquisitive child. By the time he was 10 he had set up a small chemical laboratory in the cellar of his home...

Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia on 15th January, 1929. Both his father and grandfather were Baptist preachers who had been actively involved in the civil rights movement. King graduated from Morehouse College in 1948. After considering careers in medicine and law, he entered the ministry. While studying at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, King heard a lecture on Mahatma Gandhi and the nonviolent civil disobedience campaign that he used successfully against British...

John Adams: America's Second President Adams was born in the village of Braintree (Quincy), Massachusetts, on Oct. 30, 1735. His father, also named John Adams, was a farmer, a deacon of the First Parish of Braintree, and a militia officer. His mother, Susanna Boylston Adams, came from a family of Brookline and Boston merchants and physicians. Adams attended dame and Latin school. Besides wanting to become a farmer, his school prepared him for college and a career in the ministry. With some...

Following the Career of Jeff Atkins aka Ja-Rule A native of Hollis, Queens, 21-year-old Ja-Rule, otherwise known as Jeff Atkins began his career guesting on Mic Geronimo's "Time To Build," the b-side to "Masta I.C." in 1995. From that Blunt/TVT Records appearance, the gravel-voiced MC was able to land a deal for his group, the Cash Money Click, on the same label. Unfortunately, the trio, which also featured MCs Nemesis and Chris Black, only dropped one single, "4 My Click/Get The Fortune,"...

The Life and Death of Edgar Allen Poe The Early Years Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19, 1809 to two struggling actors, David and Elizabeth Poe. When his father died at the age of 36, Edgar was left alone with his pregnant mother. He traveled with his mother and sister from theatre to theatre, often sleeping backstage. When his mother died of Tuberculosis on December 11, 1811 at the young age of 24, Edgar and his sister, Rosalie, were orphaned. Edgar was only two years old. His sister...

Michael Jordan Biography Michael Jordan was born on January 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York and was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. He has two brothers, is married, and has three kids. He is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time (Kornbluth). My focus will be on his hardships, accomplishments, and people who influenced him. First, I would like to touch on some general information about Michael. He wears number 23 on his jersey because he considered it to be...

Biographical Synopsis of Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber was born on March 22, 1948 to William and Jean Lloyd Webber. In 1951 his younger brother Julian was born. Even at a young age, Andrew loved to make his own music. Andrew also had a great interest in inspecting ancient monuments around England. It and history were what many thought he would choose to do for a career. However, his Aunt Vi introduced him to the theatre, and under her advice started writing music of his own. In 1956,...

Biography of Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the greatest composers in Western musical history. More than 1,000 of his compositions survive. Some examples are the Art of Fugue, Brandenburg Concerti, the Goldberg Variations for Harpsichord, the Mass in B- Minor, the motets, the Easter and Christmas oratorios, Toccata in F Major, French Suite No 5, Fugue in G Major, Fugue in G Minor ("The Great"), St. Matthew Passion, and Jesu Der Du Meine Seele. He came from a family of...

Frederick Douglas's Life and Accomplishments Frederick Douglass was an emancipated slave who passed from one master to another until he finally found the satisfaction of being his own. He went through almost as many names as masters. His mother's family name, traceable at least as far back as 1701 was Bailey, the name he bore until his flight to freedom in 1838. His father may have been a white man named Anthony, but Douglass never firmly validated or rejected this possibility. During transit...