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TFK Library

Space

What Are Planets?

August 9, 2018

Stargazers in ancient Greece noticed something extraordinary in the night sky. They observed that a few bright objects moved among the constellations. They called these objects planetes, meaning “wanderers.” We still call them planets. But our understanding of these…

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History

Lyndon B. Johnson

August 2, 2018

President Lyndon B. Johnson (August 27, 1908—January 22, 1973) advanced equality through civil rights law and programs to help the poor. He is also remembered for increasing U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. Lyndon B. Johnson became president after…

History

Alexander Hamilton

August 1, 2018

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757—July 12, 1804) is one of America’s most influential Founding Fathers. In his short life, he served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, was the first U.S. secretary of the treasury, and established…

People

Lin-Manuel Miranda

July 26, 2018

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a writer, singer, composer, songwriter, rapper, and an actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals In the Heights and Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda was born on January 16, 1980, in New…

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History

Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt

July 17, 2018

Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858—January 6, 1919) was the 26th president of the United States. He pushed the country toward progressive social and economic reforms. Theodore Roosevelt stares down from Mount Rushmore, in South Dakota. He is alongside giants: George…

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History

Susan B. Anthony

July 12, 2018

Susan B. Anthony (February 15, 1820—March 13, 1906) was a pioneer in the movement for women’s voting rights in the United States. She paved the way for the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave American women the right…

Benjamin Franklin

History

Benjamin Franklin

June 14, 2018

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706—April 17, 1790) was a scientist, an inventor, a writer, and a statesman. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He learned…

People

Sonia Sotomayor

June 12, 2018

Sonia Sotomayor (June 25, 1954—present) made history when she became the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice. She assumed the role on August 8, 2009. Sonia Sotomayor is from the Bronx, in New York City. Her parents, Juan and…

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History

Abraham Lincoln

June 12, 2018

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809–April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States. He led the country through the Civil War and worked to end slavery. His life was cut short early in his second term when he…

portrait of Jacob Riis

History

Jacob Riis

June 7, 2018

Jacob August Riis (May 3, 1849—May 26, 1914) was a photojournalist who documented the lives of poor New Yorkers in the 1890s. He published the photographs in his book How the Other Half Lives. The photos shocked Americans and inspired…