(Encyclopedia) John, 1167–1216, king of England (1199–1216), son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
John, though often cruel and treacherous, was an excellent administrator, much concerned…
merchant, philanthropistBorn: 1799Birthplace: New Bedford, Mass. After seven years as a clerk in New York City, he and two brothers founded a shipping company in which he worked for the next 25…
inventorBorn: 1831Birthplace: Bremen, Germany Emigrating to America as a child with his family, he left the family's Missouri farm to enter the wagon-making business. He opened his own company in…
Born: Feb. 29, 1936Hockey C leap year baby who played on more Stanley Cup championship teams (11) than anybody else; at 5-foot-7, known as the “Pocket Rocket ”; brother of Maurice.
Entrepreneur, railroad and steamship executiveBorn: October 27, 1819Birthplace: Branford, Conn. Henry Plant grew up in Connecticut. Rather than attend college as his family had hoped, he became a…
Born: 1863Birthplace: Greenfield, Mich. Transmission mechanism—Ford holds numerous patents on automotive mechanisms and helped devise the factory assembly line method of mass production. (1982)Died…
Born: 1831Birthplace: Bremen, Germany Tapered roller bearings—The bearings that existed in the late 19th century worked well at reducing friction but ran into problems when wheels had to bear heavy…
Born: 1813Birthplace: Hertfordshire, England Bessemer steel process—In 1855 Bessemer, an English industrialist, patented the “Bessemer converter,” an early blast furnace that allowed quick and…
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Clinton AdministrationBorn: 6/11/1947Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas Henry Cisneros served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1997…
