People Who Have Made A Difference

George Washington

Jul 4, 1776

Signed the Declaration of Independence.

Abraham Lincoln

Jan 1, 1863

Emancipation Proclamation

Thomas Edison

Oct 8, 1877

Thomas Edison invents the phonograph, which recorded sound on a cylinder wrapped in tinfoil. However, tinfoil proved too fragile for repeated use and Edison momentarily gave up on the device to work on his greatest achievement, the light bulb..

Pablo Picasso

Nov 15, 1902

Picasso's show opens at the Berthe Weill gallery.

Mahatma Gandhi

Jul 31, 1907

The Boer Republic Transvaal, now under the control of the British, attempts to register all Indians as members; Gandhi and others refuse to register. Their resistance efforts mark the first use of nonviolent non-cooperation by the Indian minority in South Africa, soon calledsatyagraha, or "soul-force.

Albert Einstein

Feb 14, 1919

A solar eclipse proves Einstein's General Theory of Relativity

Walt Disney

Oct 8, 1923

Walt Disney signed a contract with M.J. Winkler to produce a series of Alice Comedies, beginning the Disney company under its original name Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, with brothers Walt and Roy Disney, as equal partners

Martha Graham

Apr 18, 1926

Graham presents her first independent concert on 18 April at the 48th Street Theater in New York City, assisted by the Martha Graham Concert Group. The New York Herald Tribune noted "Miss Graham gave a successful performance, showing ability to present a mood or a picture, with the assets of grace, agility, effective poses and well chosen costumes."

Amelia Earhart & Bernt Balchen

Oct 8, 1931

Due to his reputation as a polar, transatlantic and aviation expert, Balchen was hired in 1931 by Amelia Earhart as a technical adviser for a planned solo transatlantic flight. In an attempt to throw off the press, Earhart turned over her repaired Lockheed Vega to Balchen who was assumed to be planning an Antarctic flight.

Amelia Earhart

May 21, 1932

Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, taking 15 hours 18 minutes, flying a Lockheed Vega 5B. In August she then became the first woman to fly non-stop across USA. She flew coast to coast, Los Angeles to Newark, in 19 hours 5 minutes in a Lockheed Vega 5B and broke the previous speed record. She is awarded the Army Air Corps Distinguished Flying Cross and the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society, presented by President Hoover and also wins the Harmon Tro

Frank Lloyd Wright

Oct 8, 1940

Wright founds the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

Maria Callas

Dec 7, 1951

Callas opens the seasons at La Scala, Milan in "I Vespri Siciliani" to great acclaim. During the next seven years La Scala will be the scene of her greatest triumphs in a wide range of roles.

Buckminster Fuller

Oct 8, 1953

The Ford dome, the first practical application of the geodesic dome, is completed. First commercial dome had a 93-foot diameter and was built for the Ford Rotunda building in Dearborn, Michigan.

Alfred Hitchcock

Jun 16, 1960

Psycho was released, starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin. It is often mentioned as Hitchcock’s most well-known film, even when it was taken in black and white on a spare camera set. The shower scene spawned many parodies and became a legacy. Psycho is the film the average person will know if asked about a Hitchcock film. A 1998 remake was a box office failure, even when it copied the original frame-by-frame.

Jim Henson

Oct 8, 1960

The Muppets appear for the first time on the Today Show, beginning regular appearances in 1961.

Martin Luther King, Jr..

Aug 28, 1963

King led the March on Washington and gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. Almost 250,000 people listened to his speech in the nation's capital.

Muhammad Ali

Oct 30, 1974

Regains the heavyweight title in the "Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire after knocking out champion George Foreman in the eighth round. He successfully uses his "rope-a-dope" strategy—Ali allowed Foreman to get him against the ropes and swing away until he tired himself out. Then Ali attacked.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Jan 8, 1975

John and Yoko are reunited after being separated for 18 months. The Beatles’ final dissolution takes place in London.

Ted Turner

Jun 1, 1980

Launches CNN (Cable News Network).

Richard Branson

Oct 8, 1984

Branson forms Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Bob Dylan

Oct 8, 2008

Bob Dylan is awarded a Pulitzer Prize, making him the first rock and roll musician to be accorded this high journalistic honor.