Biography

Biographies can inform you, challenge you and touch you in the mind and heart. Reading biographies can bring such events as the American Revolution to life as you learn about George Washington’s time at Valley Forge and his unanimous election as first president of the United States. Discover the power of biography through these resources that not only help you research famous people from history but also teach you how to write biographies of your own through the direct links on the Times Launch Point Web site, https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/

Level 1

Library Without Walls: Biographies: Need to find out the facts about a famous explorer or inventor? This site offers several collections of biographies ranging from key figures of the American Revolution and African American history to scientists, musicians and U.S. presidents.

https://www.voicenet.com/~srussell/Biography.html

Biographies of Mathematicians and Scientists: From Archimedes to Zermelo, use this searchable database to learn about famous mathematicians and scientists.

https://www.allmath.com/biography.asp

Biography Maker: Find out how to write biographies through this step-by-step guide. Learn how to ask questions to guide your research and how to synthesize the facts you discover into a factual and fascinating story.

https://www.bham.wednet.edu/bio/biomak2.htm

Level 2

The National Women’s Hall of Fame: Jane Addams received a Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the poor and fighting injustice. Read about her and the accomplishments of other courageous women.

https://www.greatwomen.org/grtwmn.htm

American Academy of Achievement: “We’re born with success. It is only others who point out our failures,” notes actress and activist Whoopi Goldberg. Learn about gifted artists, businesspeople, scientists, athletes and other heroes through this collection of interviews, biographies, photographs and video clips.

https://www.achievement.org/autodoc/halls/art

My Hero Biographies: Read biographies of real-life heroes written by students just like you. From civil rights leaders like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to moms, dads and grandparents, learn about the heroes in people’s lives.

https://myhero.com

Level 3

A & E’s Biography: Are you familiar with the achievements of George Washington, George Washington Carver or George Washington Crile? Find out the facts through this searchable database of more than 20,000 biographies.

https://www.biography.com/search/index.html

Net’s Famous People: This extensive collection of biographical resources can help you research the lives of achievers from various professions and times in history: from Nobel Prize winners and world rulers to African American inventors and female writers.

https://members.aol.com/AACTchrNet/page4.html

Grolier Online: The American Presidency: Learn about the U.S. presidents through this collection of biographies, photos and video and audio clips. https://gi.grolier.com/presidents/preshome.html

EXPLORER’S QUEST

The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.

What four steps are useful in writing a biography?

Clue: See Biography Maker

Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point covers more than 100 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.

Answer to last week’s Quest: A machine is usually considered a robot if it has a controller, arm, drive, end effector and sensor.

Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. The Jan. 12 column on Greece was designed by Francine Rodriguez Kim, Elizabeth Cave, John Caroompas and Anna Manring. This column was designed by Darla Given, Amy Ko, Elizabeth Wood and Anna Manring.