Biblia

BANCROFT, GEORGE

(October 3, 1800–January 17, 1891), was a historian, diplomat and educator. He served as Secretary of Navy under President Polk, 1845–46, directing the establishment of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, as well as the Naval Observatory at Washington, D.C. He served as U.S. Minister to Great Britain, 1846–49; and later Germany. In 1834, he … Continue reading “BANCROFT,
GEORGE”

BROWN, JOHN

(May 9, 1800–December 2, 1859), was an abolitionist, reformer and northern martyr. In his efforts to free the slaves, he opened his barn in Pennsylvania as a station on the Underground Railroad, and even lived in a black community for a time. He also took extreme steps, most notably the killing of settlers who believed … Continue reading “BROWN,
JOHN”

FILLMORE, MILLARD

(January 7, 1800–March 8, 1874), was the 13th President of the United States, 1850–53; Vice-President under Zachary Taylor, 1848–50, assuming the Presidency upon Taylor’s death; sent Commodore Perry to Japan, opening the trade routes to the Far East; signed the Compromise Act of 1850; admitted California, which had just begun the Gold Rush, into the … Continue reading “FILLMORE,
MILLARD”

CHOATE, RUFUS

(October 1, 1799–July 13, 1859), was a lawyer, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 1831–34, and U.S. Senator, 1841–45. Before he was six years old, he had become so familiar with John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress as to repeat from memory large portions of it. Famous for his definition of a lawyer’s vacation being “the space between a … Continue reading “CHOATE,
RUFUS”