Famous Americans

On February 27, 1860, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the most important speeches of his career – the Cooper Union Address.

John Foster Dulles was born on February 25, 1888 in Washington, DC. Dulles helped draft the preamble of the United Nations Charter, worked with NATO, helped create SEATO, and was the 52nd US secretary of State.

Alden Partridge was born on February 12, 1785, in Norwich, Vermont. Partridge was a distinguished professor and superintendent of West Point, surveyor, and founder of Norwich University, the nation’s oldest private military college.

US Navy Rear Admiral William T. Sampson was born on February 9, 1840, in Palmyra, New York.  He’s best known for his victory in the Spanish-American War Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911. After a moderately successful acting career, he became America’s 40th president and is often considered an icon in the Republican Party.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on February 4, 1902, in Detroit, Michigan. An aviation pioneer, he made the first successful non-stop flight across the Atlantic and contributed to the war effort in the Pacific Theater of World War II.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York.  As president during two of the most serious events of the twentieth century – the Great Depression and World War II – FDR implemented sweeping reforms and negotiated powerful coalitions with world leaders that led to an Allied victory. 

Politician Walter Franklin George was born on January 29, 1878, in Preston, Georgia.  Representing Georgia in the US Senate for 35 years, he became one of the most powerful and respected men in Congress during his lifetime.

Aviator Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas.  The first female African American aviator, she achieved her dream of becoming a pilot during a time when most African Americans would not have even considered learning to fly.