I was born on August 10, 1913 in Lorenzkirch a small village in Saxony, as the forth child of Theodor and Elisabeth Paul nee Ruppel. All in all we were six children. Both parents were descendants from Lutheran ministers in several generations. I grew up in München where my father has been a professor for…

Ancestral originsIn 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, a bill opening one half million square miles of territory in the western United States for settlement. The Homestead Act offered new arrivals from other countries the opportunity to stake and develop farms of 160 acres by simply working the land for five years. Although they…

I was born in New York City in 1918 into a family that had a number of artistic people among its members. My father’s brother and a sister’s husband were probably the best known. The latter, Ivan Olinsky, taught for many years at the Art Students’ League in New York City. I have been told…

Family BackgroundThe Kao family comes from a township called Zhangyan in the Jinshan district near Shanghai, China. As landowners, the family would have been considered wealthy. The sons of each generation would be well educated in the style of the times. My knowledge of the family’s genealogy goes back only to Grandfather. Grandfather Kao Hsieh…

I greatly enjoy reading the biographies of scientists, and when doing so I always hope to learn the secrets of their success. Alas, those secrets generally remain elusive. Now that I find myself in the surprising situation of having to write my own biography, and thus to reflect on my career, I find the same…

Emily Greene Balch (January 8, 1867-January 9, 1961) was born in Boston, the daughter of Francis V. and Ellen (Noyes) Balch. Hers was a prosperous family, her father being a successful lawyer, at one time secretary to United States Senator Charles Sumner. She went to private schools as a young girl; was graduated from Bryn…

John Raleigh Mott (May 25, 1865-January 31, 1955) was born of pioneer stock in Livingston Manor, New York, the third child and only son among four children. His parents, John and Elmira (Dodge) Mott, moved to Postville, Iowa, where his father became a lumber merchant and was elected the first mayor of the town. At…

Eisaku Satō was born on March 27, 1901 in Tabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. In 1921, completing the course of senior high school, he entered Tokyo Imperial University (now Tokyo University) and majored in German jurisprudence. In 1923, he passed the senior civil service examinations, and in the following year, upon graduating from the University, he…

Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922; he studied at the Kadoorie Agricultural College where he graduated with distinction. His military career began in 1940 when he joined the “Palmach”, the elite unit of the Haganah. During the War of Independence (1948-1949), he commanded the Harel Brigade, deployed on the Jerusalem front. For the…

Former Vice President Al Gore is chairman of Current TV, an award winning, independently owned cable and satellite television nonfiction network for young people based on viewer-created content and citizen journalism. He also serves as chairman of Generation Investment Management, a firm that is focused on a new approach to sustainable investing. Gore is a…