The story of John F. Kennedy Jr., heir to America’s most famous and star-crossed political family, begins with the marriage of his parents in 1953. Jack Kennedy was the junior senator from Massachusetts – a handsome young man, who had inherited the Kennedy family’s political ambitions when his older brother Joe was killed in World […] Read more

When the U.S. Manned Space Program began in 1958, John Glenn was selected to be one of the original seven Mercury astronauts. When Glenn successfully piloted his “Friendship 7” spacecraft three times around Earth in just less than five hours on February 20, 1962, he became an instant national hero. In fact, he may have […] Read more

Hollywood producers have long turned to the printed page for material; and there is an especially large number of film adaptations right now. One writer with a lot of experience seeing his creations come to life on the screen is John Irving, four of his 10 novels have been made into movies. His highly praised […] Read more

John Jasper was a noted slave preacher who became a significant community leader in Richmond, Virginia, following the Civil War. Born and raised on a plantation in Fluvanna County, Virginia, Jasper at the age of 13 was hired out to work in tobacco factories in Richmond and later in the coal mines of Chesterfield County. […] Read more

In God’s wildness lies the hope of the world – the great fresh unblighted, unredeemed wilderness. The galling harness of civilization drops off, and wounds heal ere we are aware. From the unpublished journals of John Muir […] Read more

Although an American, John Singer Sargent did not even see the United States until he was 20. He was born in Florence on January 12, 1856. His mother, an amateur artist, had persuaded her doctor husband, that her sickly constitution required the healing climes of Europe. Her son remained an expatriate for the rest of […] Read more

As war raged across the country, John Wilkes Booth became a star. In 1862, he performed in St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, New York, Boston, Louisville, Lexington, and Cincinnati. He was Hamlet, McBeth, Othello, and Romeo. Appearing 167 times, Booth played 18 different roles in the course of a single year […] Read more

Visionary – the images she created on film proved she was a genius at making motion pictures. She hasn’t directed a movie in more than 50 years, but remains the most famous woman filmmaker in history, and the most despised. Leni Reifenstahl was called “Hitler’s director.” Some contend she was also Hitler’s lover, which she […] Read more

Libby Larsen is a composer committed to the idea of modern music that is accessible to a broad audience. And although she earned her doctorate in composition, she makes her living solely on commissioned works […] Read more