- Biography & Autobiography
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Builders of United Italy
Holland 's provides us with an engaging history of the Unification ("Risorgimento") of Italy by exploring the lives of some of its most important figures: Alfieri, Manzoni, Gioberti, Manin, Mazzini, Cavour, Garibaldi, and Victor Emmanuel. -
Colored Cadet at West Point
Henry Ossian Flipper--born into slavery in Thomasville, Georgia on March 21, 1856--did not learn to read and write until just before the end of the Civil War. Once the war had ended, Flipper attended several schools showing a great aptitude for knowledge. During his freshman year at Atlanta University he applied for admittance to the United States National Military Academy at West Point. He was appointed to the academy in 1873 along with a fellow African American, John W. Williams. Cadet Williams was later dismissed for academic deficiencies.
Flipper and Williams were not the first African Americans to attend West Point, however. Two others came before them: James Webster Smith in July of 1870, and Henry Alonzo Napier in 1871. Cadets Napier and Smith were eventually dismissed for academic deficiencies.
In 1876, Johnson Chestnut Whittaker another African American, was admitted to the academy. But one day he was discovered beaten, bound and unconscious in his room. An investigation was conducted by a lengthy courts martial; however, this proceeding--tainted by racism--determined that Whittaker’s injuries were "self-inflicted" and that he had tied himself up. Secretary of War, Robert Todd Lincoln, later declared the court martial invalid, but this did nothing to save Cadet Whittaker's career as he was preemptively dismissed from the academy because of academic deficiencies.
Henry Ossian Flipper graduated from West Point as a Second Lieutenant in June of 1877 earning his place in history as the first African American to do so. No other men of color would accomplish the same for another decade. His first permanent duty assignment was to the famed 10th Calvalry Regiment.
Since the academy’s founding on March 16, 1802, it had been known for the “rigorous hazing” which all cadets had to endure. But certainly no cadet ever had to endure the open hostility and brutality experienced by those first African Americans to join the Corp of Cadets. The pain, humiliation and sacrifices that Flipper and others suffered then made the burden just a little easier for subsequent generations. -
Memoirs of the Distinguished Men of Science of Great Britain Living in the Years 1807-8
The early nineteenth century was a period of great discovery and advancements in science. Here we have a snapshot of some of those whose names have gone down in history, such as Brunel, Congreve, Davy, Telford and Jenner, along with some of those who made less of an indelible mark, but who were, nonetheless, pioneers of their time. -
Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis, A Colored Man, A
The object of the writer, in preparing this account of himself, is to
RAISE SUFFICIENT MEANS TO FREE HIS LAST TWO CHILDREN FROM SLAVERY.
Having already, within twelve years past, purchased himself, his wife,
and five of his children, at a cost, altogether, of over _four thousand dollars_, he now earnestly desires a humane and christian public to
AID HIM IN THE SALE OF THIS BOOK,
for the purpose of finishing the task in which he has so long and anxiously labored.
God has blessed him in an extraordinary manner, not only by granting freedom to him and so large a portion of his family, but by giving him the hope of the gospel, and permitting him to preach that gospel among his own people--in which calling he has been engaged for about twenty-five years. (Excerpted from the book)
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Robert Schumann, Tone Poet Prophet And Critic
[This is] the sketchiest outline of Robert Schumann’s short life but amazingly rich achievement. Together with Haydn and Schubert he was, perhaps, the most completely lovable of the great masters. It is hard, moreover, to think of a composer more strategically placed in his epoch or more perfectly timed in his coming. Tone poet, fantast, critic, visionary, prophet—he was all of these! And he passed through every phase, it seemed, of romantic experience. The great and even the semi-great of a fabulous period of music were his intimates—personages like Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Moscheles, Ferdinand David, Hiller, Joachim, Brahms. He won the woman he loved after a bitter struggle against a tyrannical father-in-law. He created much of the world’s greatest piano music, many of its loveliest songs, four great symphonies, superb chamber compositions and a good deal else. -
Mendelssohn And Certain Masterworks
In the compass of the present pamphlet it is impossible to give more than a cursory survey of Mendelssohn’s happy but extraordinarily crowded life. He was only slightly less prolific a composer than such masters as Bach, Mozart or Schubert, even if he did not reach the altitude of their supreme heights. But irrespective of the quality of much of his output, the sheer mass of it is astounding, the more so when we consider the extent of his travels and the unceasing continuity of his professional and social activities, which immensely exceeded anything of the kind in the career of Schubert or Bach. -
Boys Life of Mark Twain
Albert Bigelow Paine was Samuel Langhorne Clemens' (Mark Twain's) biographer. He lived with Twain, collecting ideas and material for a biography, for a few years before Twain's death in 1910. Six years later Paine published this "story of a man who made the world laugh and love him".
For those who have read or listened to Mark Twain's works, Paine's work is an invaluable resource to better understand Twain, the stories behind his stories and his life with those he loved and with whom he worked. -
Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume 03
Memoirs written by Napoleon's private secretary, "a work based on years of intimate friendship and professional association." -
Youth of Washington: Told in the Form of an Autobiography
Departing from the usual third person narratives of biographies, this account is told in the first person as the reminiscences of a now retired George Washington. Reflecting on his days as a youth, he relates his family history, education, and military life up to the age of about 26 when he was a colonel. Naturally the author takes much liberty in filling in the details of Washington’s life, but largely remains true to history and the spirit of the man. The result is an engaging story that flows naturally, entertaining as it informs. -
Story of One Short Life, 1783 to 1818
This is a brief biography of Samuel J. Mills who was instrumental in establishing the first missionary society in the United States, and also the first Bible Society that began distribution of millions of Bibles around the world. His final mission was to Africa where he helped found what become the country of Liberia. He died on the return voyage at the age of thirty-five.