My favorites here:
Viscountess Astor, first woman British Member of Parliament (and she wasn't even British!)
Dr. George W. Crile, noted surgeon-
He was one of the founders of the Cleveland Clinic Hospital in 1924. The hospital was destroyed by an explosion of X-ray films. Staff and patients who hadn't died from the explosion were as risk from dying from poison gas. Dr. Crile, who had experience with gas victims in WWI, knew to give these victims oxygen, and was credited for saving many lives.
Glenn Curtis, inventor and aviator-
I knew he invented plane engines, but I didn't know he flew the darned things. He won lots of prizes, including the New York World Prize of $10,000 in 1910 for flying from Albany to NYC in 2 hours and 51 minutes.
George Eastman-
I was amused to find only his donation to MIT mentioned. Sorry, U. of R.
Dr. Hugo Eckener, first person to command a dirigible around the world.
What a man! He earned doctorates in physics, philosophy, and political economics. Worked as a journalists. Thought dirigibles were impractical, but had his mind changed by Count Von Zeppelin, and even later became director of the Zeppelin Company. His round the world jaunt of 19,500 miles took only 21 days, 7 hours, and 26 minutes.
Edward, Prince of Wales- well, we know what happened to him, or did you miss the movie?
Bobby Jones, golfer
As a child he was sent by his parents to play golf, with the hope it would help him be less sickly.
Guglielmo Marconi- inventor of the wireless telegraph. (Our copy of Thunderstruck, by Erik Larson is still for sale.)
William Morris-pioneer of modern vaudeville entertainment
Benito Mussolini- a reformer, bringing prosperity to Italy. (Huh?)
FDR- still governor of NY
George Herman Ruth- "Babe" Ruth (called that because when he started at the Baltimore Orioles, he was the so young.
I have had to leave out so many good stories. Buy this book, to be found in the glass case, and you can catch them all. (Note, as in the prior book, the condition is poor.)
