Samuel Colt (1814)

Colt patented his revolving-breech pistol in 1836, but the six-shooter was slow to gain acceptance, and his company failed in 1842. However, a US government order for 1,000 pistols during the Mexican War allowed Colt to resume its manufacture in 1847. Colt advanced the development of interchangeable parts and the assembly line, and his revolvers, including the famous Colt .45, became so popular that the word “Colt” was sometimes used as a generic term for any revolver. What else did Colt invent? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

George “Machine Gun” Kelly (1895)

Kelly was an American gangster who became notorious for committing a series of robberies and killings during the prohibition era. After a stint in prison in 1928, Kelly married Kathryn Thorne, who reportedly purchased her husband’s first machine gun and coined his famous nickname. In 1933, he kidnapped millionaire Charles F. Urschel but was eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 1954. What less violent nickname did Kelly reportedly earn during his time at Alcatraz? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Erle Stanley Gardner (1889)

After serving as a trial lawyer for many years, Gardner began writing detective stories for magazines in the early 1920s. He became a prolific novelist whose narratives were characterized by fast action and clever legal devices—which he based on his own courtroom tactics. His most famous character was the unconventional lawyer Perry Mason, who appeared in more than 80 novels and inspired a television series. Gardner published his stories under at least seven pseudonyms. What were some of them? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mary Baker Eddy (1821)

Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science movement, which preaches the principles of divine healing. After allegedly suffering a back injury in 1866, Eddy reportedly turned to the Bible and was unexpectedly healed. She considered that moment her discovery of Christian Science and spent the next few years refining the doctrine and plans for her new church. In 1879, the Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in Massachusetts. What newspaper, founded by Eddy in 1908, is still published today? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Inigo Jones (1573)

Jones was one of England’s first great architects. After studying in Italy, he brought Renaissance architecture to England. His best known buildings are the Queen’s House at Greenwich, London, and the Banqueting House at Whitehall, which is often considered his greatest achievement. For his design of Covent Garden, London’s first square, Jones is credited with the introduction of town planning in England. Jones was also involved in stage design for theater and is credited with what innovations? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mordecai Manuel Noah (1785)

An American journalist, playwright, and diplomat, Noah was the first Jew born in the United States to reach national prominence. After finding success as a diplomat, Noah held several public offices in New York City, edited and founded many newspapers, including the New York Enquirer and The Evening Star, and wrote plays such as She Would Be a Soldier. In the 1820s, he unsuccessfully attempted to buy Grand Island in the Niagara River to use for what purpose? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Alberto Ascari (1918)

Alberto Ascari was just 7 years old when his racecar driver father was killed in the 1925 French Grand Prix, but that did not deter him from following in his father’s footsteps. He went on to become a successful driver and remains one of only two Italian Formula One World Champions in the history of the sport. In 1955, he was thrown from his car during a crash and killed. Both he and his father were 36 when they died. What other eerie similarities exist between his death and that of his father? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Pablo Neruda (1904)

Born in Chile as Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, Neruda began writing poetry at age 10, published his most popular work, Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, at 20, and was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. A surrealist, he revitalized everyday expressions and employed bold metaphors in free verse. In his writings and his political career as a leader of the Chilean Communist party and as a diplomat, he exerted a wide influence in Latin America. Why did he use a pen name? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Millie and Christine McCoy (1851)

Millie and Christine McCoy were American conjoined twins born to slaves and sold to showman J.P. Smith as infants. A rival showman kidnapped the girls, but Smith reclaimed them. He taught them to speak five languages, play music, and sing, and the twins enjoyed a successful career under the stage names “The Two-Headed Nightingale” and “The Eighth Wonder of the World.” In 1912, the girls died of tuberculosis just 17 hours apart. What was the title of the book sold at their public appearances? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Camille Pissarro (1830)

Known as the “Father of Impressionism,” Pissarro was the only Impressionist painter who participated in all eight of the group’s exhibitions. He is notable not only for his paintings of rural and urban French life but in his role as a mentor to postimpressionists Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. He gained popularity in the 1890s with his interpretation of nature, including many landscapes drawn from his surroundings in the French countryside. Why were many of his paintings destroyed in 1871? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary