FACTFILE: NORTH AMERICAFIND OUT MORENorth America is a continent of enormous diversity, with vast mountain ranges, huge, flat, grassy plains, hot deserts, and frozen ice caps. In the south lie the…
Bastille DayThe French celebrate their Fourth of July
by Ricco Villanueva Siasoco Marie Antoinette, wife of King Louis XVI, is often mistakenly credited with the quote, "Let them eat…
Emiliano Zapata is the Mexican rebel leader who said "It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." A former sharecropper, he organized and led peasants during the battles of the…
inventor, publisher, statesmanBorn: 1/17/1706Birthplace: Boston, Mass. Though best remembered for his services as a diplomat and statesman during the American Revolution, this “wisest American”…
(Sybil Ogden)American Revolution heroineBorn: 4/5/1761Birthplace: Fredericksburg, N.Y. (now called Ludingtonville) Ludington, the daughter of a New York militia colonel, is often called the “female…
Name at birth: Hassan FeridonHassan Rouhani took office as Iran's 7th president on 4 August 2013, succeeding President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rouhani has a clerical background, but has been politically…
James Monroe was president of the United States from 1817-1825 and is best known for establishing the aggressive foreign policy stand known as the Monroe Doctrine. James Monroe served one term as…
18th century inventor James Watt was a Scottish instrument maker whose improvements on the steam engine helped advance the Industrial Revolution. After an apprenticeship in England, Watt returned to…
director, screenwriterBorn: 3/16/1940Birthplace: Parma, Italy Known for his strong visual style, he established himself at the age of 24 with the political drama Before the Revolution (1964). He…
Robert Fulton is popularly, if inaccurately, considered the inventor of the steamship. Born in Pennsylvania, he began his career as an artist, painting mostly portraits (Benjamin Franklin sat for him…
