Born in Iowa, Rene’s mother — who had a job, which was fairly unusual in the 1920s — had divorced when Rene was 2. Her new husband adopted the 8-year-old Rene, which she pronounced “Reen” throughout her life, and the family moved to Boulder, Colorado. After graduating from Boulder High School, she met Scott Carpenter, … Read more
From This is True for 26 July 2020
Born in New Jersey, Cole excelled in school, and “I thought that reading science books for pleasure was an ordinary thing.” She got her bachelor’s degree in psychology, took some graduate courses in education, and became an elementary school librarian in New York City. After a gig with Scholastic books, she became Senior Editor for … Read more
From This is True for 19 July 2020
Born in Guangzhou, China, Wong Yee Ching fled to Hong Kong with her family after the Communist revolution. She excelled there in high school science, and was urged by her teachers to go to school in the United States. Teachers also suggested she change her name to something more American, so her father dubbed her … Read more
From This is True for 12 July 2020
Born in Beavercreek, Ohio, the boys’ mother wasn’t expecting twins. And she certainly wasn’t expecting conjoined (previously often called “Siamese”) twins: they were joined at the torso, facing each other. As they shared several organs, doctors determined it was unlikely both would survive if they were separated, so their parents refused any attempts. With nine … Read more
From This is True for 5 July 2020
In 1932, Kern’s father, artist and sign painter Roy Kern, founded Kern Studios to build floats for the New Orleans Mardi Gras parades. The first one was built on the chassis of a mule-drawn garbage wagon. Blaine was only 5, but absorbed his father’s passion and learned the skills as Roy gained worldwide fame building … Read more
From This is True for 28 June 2020
After graduating with a masters degree in journalism from Columbia in 1940, Perlman quickly got a job at the San Francisco Chronicle. “Being a reporter is one of the best jobs in the world,” he said, but his career was interrupted by World War II. He worked for the Army’s media branch, and when released went to … Read more
From This is True for 21 June 2020
Born in Holland, Hoenson volunteered for the Royal Netherlands Army two days after Japan bombed Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor. He was 18, and was sent to join his country’s forces in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Within weeks the Dutch were overwhelmed by the Japanese, and he was one of more than 500 Dutch soldiers … Read more
From This is True for 31 May 2020
A musician, Falcon was born in Crowley, La., and grew up with Cajun music: his cousin Joe Falcon (1900–1965), an accordion player, is best known for making the first record featuring a Cajun song (“Allons à Lafayette” in 1928). Randy Falcon didn’t just play Cajun music, he also became a well regarded accordion maker: the … Read more
From This is True for 24 May 2020
She was recruited to break Germany’s Enigma code machine.
From This is True for 17 May 2020
Their mission: find, repair, and return cultural treasures looted by Nazi Germany.
From This is True for 10 May 2020