European Heritage

Leonora O'Reilly was a union organizer, social reformer, and suffrage advocate.

John Laurens, born to a wealthy planter family in South Carolina, received a republican education in Switzerland and England. Upon his return to South Carolina to fight in the American Revolution, he radically proposed to recruit slaves as soldiers in return for their freedom. An aide-de-camp to General Washington and later a lieutenant colonel of the Continental Army with a field command, he served bravely in many key battles, only to die in a meaningless skirmish in 1782.

Francis Vigo was a Spanish Trader who warned Clark that the British had taken Fort Sackville and were planning on attacking him come the spring.

Curiosity Kits inspire exploration and learning of history through place. These multi-piece resources include articles that explore historic places and provide educational activities for life-long learners. This kit focuses on the life and work of Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, a suffragist. By the time she was 16, Lee was a known figure in New York’s suffrage movement. Learn more about her contributions to the movement.

Chien-Shiung Wu is a pioneer and pivotal figure in the history of physics. An immigrant to the United States from China, she did important work for the Manhattan Project and in experimental physics. Her crucial contribution to particle physics was, however, ignored by the Nobel Prize committee when it awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Madison Grant was a key figure in the history of the National Park Service. He supported environmental conservation and worked to protect plant and animal species like redwood trees and the American bison. But he is also remembered for his support of eugenics. His 1916 book The Passing of the Great Race spread racist ideas that Grant claimed were scientific. Policymakers used Grant's ideas to restrict immigration and to control people's ability to have children.

Revolutionary War soldier Jacob Hadley served in the Continental Army at the 1775 siege of Boston. His grandson, Daniel Dunbar Brockway, headed west to the Great Lakes for his own adventures.

Sir William Johnson began life as a poor Irish immigrant and ended it as British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Mohawk Valley. As a representative of the King, he influenced Native American policies across the continent.

Father Pierre Gibault, Vicar General of the Illinois Country, who in 1778 and 1779 gained the allegiance of the French population of Vincennes, Kaskaskia, and Cahokia to the United States of America.

Suffragist Margaret Foley relied on her captivating personality and trained voice to draw attention to women’s suffrage in Boston. She became known as "the Heckler" for confronting politicians on the campaign trail about their position on women's suffrage.