James Frank “Pete” Rogers (1922 - 1978)

Rogers commanded the Texas Rangers who confronted Fred Carrasco, Ignacio Cuevas and Rudolfo Dominguez at Huntsville, TX, on August 4, 1974, and killed Carrasco and Dominguez to end an 11-day escape attempt at the prison. Two women hostages were killed by the convicts. During WWII, he was a fighter pilot in Europe, winning 3 Distinguished […]

Caspar David Friedrich (1774 - 1840)

German Romantic Painter. He is considered by many art historians as one of the greatest landscape painter of all time. He was born in Griefswald, a small town in northeastern Germany along the Baltic coast. He studied art at the Academy in Copenhagen from 1794-98 and later settled in Dresden for the remainder of his […]

Earl Rogers (1869 - 1922)

Attorney.  One of the most famous criminal defense lawyers of his day.  His flamboyant courtroom antics and memory for detail won over jurors despite overwhelming evidence against his clients.  A popular saying of the time went,  “If you are guilty,  hire Earl Rogers”.  Born near Buffalo,  New York,  he was the son of a Methodist […]

Betty Friedan (1921 - 2006)

Author/Feminist.   Wrote “The Feminine Mystique” which became a best seller in the 1960s and laid the groundwork for the start of the modern feminist movement.  She died at her home of congestive heart failure on her 85th birthday. (bio by: The Perplexed Historian)  Family links:  Parents:  Harry M. Goldstein (1881 – 1943)  Miriam Goldstein […]

Arnold Friberg (1913 - 2010)

Painter. A realist who specialized in historical and religious subjects, he is probably best remembered for his 1975 portrait of George Washington, “The Prayer at Valley Forge”. Raised in Arizona from age three, he was employed as a sign painter in his teens and then trained at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.  Moving to […]

Orrin Porter Rockwell (1813 - 1878)

Bodyguard to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. On Christmas, 1843, he was given a blessing by Joseph Smith. Smith said that as long as he never cut his hair ‘…no bullet or blade can harm thee..’  Family links:  Spouses:  Mary Ann Neff Rockwell (1829 – 1866)*  Christina Olsen Rockwell (1837 – 1911)*  Luana Hart Beebe […]

William “Bill” Freyse (1898 - 1969)

Cartoonist. Major Hoople’s chronicler in “Our Boarding House”.  Family links:  Spouse:  Evelyn S. Freyse (1908 – 2003)* *Calculated relationship

Sir William Buell Richards (1815 - 1889)

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was a son of Stephen Richards, Sr. and Phoebe (Buell) Richards, both of whom were among the pioneer families of Upper Canada following the American Revolution. His formal education began at the Johnstown District Grammar School in Brockville, Ontario. In 1837, after earning his degree from […]

Albert Frey (1903 - 1998)

Architect. A pioneer of the “Mid-Century Moderne” style. He was born in Switzerland and showed an interest in mechanics early in life, but his father wanted him to be an architect. Frey didn’t think designing chalets and other ordinary buildings he saw in his homeland would be interesting work, but after seeing the exciting modern […]

Bass Reeves (1970 - 1910)

Western Lawman. Born as a slave, after the Civil War he went west to engage in farming. In 1875 he began a new career, receiving his commission as a U.S. Deputy Marshal, under the direction of Judge Isaac C. Parker in Ft. Smith. He was the first African American to receive a commission as a […]

Gisele Freund (1908 - 2000)

Photographer. She was born in Berlin, Germany. She became a political activist protesting the rise of Hitler’s National Socialism. In 1933 she fled Germany and moved to Paris with her camera. Later, she moved to Argentina and Mexico until the end of Second World War. She is remembered for her portraits of famous writers such […]

Tapping Reeve (1744 - 1823)

Educator, Lawyer. He founded the first formal law school in America. In 1772, he set up a law practice in Litchfield, Connecticut, and the following year he commenced teaching law to his first student Aaron Burr, who also was his brother-in-law. Demand for his expertise increased to the point Reeve needed to construct a one […]

Lucian Freud (1922 - 2011)

Artist. Best known for his impasto portraits and nudes, he was considered by many as one of the greatest figurative painters of his era. The son of Austrian architect Ernest Freud and the grandson of famed psychotherapist Sigmund Freud, he fled his homeland of Germany with his family after the Nazis came into power and […]

James Alexander Reed (1861 - 1944)

Admitted to the bar in 1885; moved to Kansas City, Missouri and became prosecuting attorney from 1898-1900, Mayor of Kansas City from 1900-1904; elected as a Democrat to the US Senate in 1910; reelected in 1916 and again in 1922 and served until march 3, 1929; US Senator from Missouri 1909-1928; political ally of Jim […]

Daniel Chester French (1850 - 1931)

Sculptor. His two most famous statues are the bronze “The Minuteman” (1875) in Concord, MA, and the marble statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC (1922).  Family links:  Parents:  Henry Flagg French (1813 – 1885)  Anne Richardson French (1811 – 1856)  Spouse:  Mary Adams French French (1859 – 1939)*  Children:  Margaret […]

Tom Reddin (1916 - 2004)

Former Los Angeles Police Chief. He began his LAPD career in 1941 and was chief from February 1967 to May 1969. He was at the helm in 1967, when police clashed violently with thousands of anti-war protesters who gathered outside the Century Plaza Hotel, where President Lyndon Johnson was being honored. On June 5, 1968, […]

Emmanuel Fremiet (1824 - 1910)

Emmanuel Fremiet He is famous for his sculpture of Joan of Arc in Paris (and its “sister” statues in Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon ) and the monument to Ferdinand de Lesseps in Suez. The noted sculptor Pierre-Nicolas Tourgueneff was one of many students who learned sculpture under the tutelage of Frémiet. Born in Paris, he was a nephew and pupil […]

Henry Massie Rector (1816 - 1899)

Sixth Governor of Arkansas from 1860-1862 and State Supreme Court Associate Justice.  Born at Fontaine’s Ferry near Louisville, Kentucky, to Elias Rector and Fannie Bardell Thruston. He was the only one of their children to survive to maturity. Henry received the rudiments of an education from his mother, but his formal schooling was limited to […]

Isadore “Friz” Freleng (1906 - 1995)

Cartoon Animator. Isadore, better known as “Friz,”  left his hometown of Kansas City for Hollywood in the 1920s and went to work for Walt Disney.  After several months, he left the Disney studio to work on the “Krazy Kat” cartoon series, then joined Warner Bros. in 1930. In 1933 Friz was made a director. He […]

John Tate Raulston (1868 - 1956)

He was the judge in the 1925 Scopes Trial in which William Jennings Bryan prosecuted John Thomas Scopes for teaching the theory of evolution in Rhea County High School in Dayton. Scopes was defended by Clarence Darrow.  Family links:  Spouse:  Louise Estelle Otte Raulston (1872 – 1916)* *Calculated relationship

Emil Frei, Sr (1970 - 1942)

Artist. Frei was a noted stained glass artist and designer of the mosaics in the St. Louis Cathedral. A native of Bavaria, he learned painting in the Munich Academy of Arts. His earliest work in St. Louis was in this field. After founding his art glass business, he executed many orders (mostly for Catholic churches), […]

Ivan Cleveland Rand (1884 - 1969)

Canadian Supreme Court Justice, Educator. Rand was educated at Mount Allison University and Harvard Law School. He joined the Canadian National Railways as counsel in 1920. Four years later he was named Attorney General of New Brunswick and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. April 22, 1943, he was appointed to […]

Milton Harvey Freeman (1970 - 1970)

Noted Civil Engineer. He was the chief engineer of the Holland Tunnel. From his stone: “Civil Engineer Master of his profession Chief Engineer of the vehicular tunnel Uniting New York and New Jersey He devoted his great talent unsparingly to public service He lives in the mighty works he wrought.” Freeman succeeded Clifford Holland, who […]

Buford Hayse Pusser (1937 - 1974)

Folk Figure. He was the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, and subject of the movie “Walking Tall” (1973), in which his unusual methods of law enforcement brought him popular renown. Born in McNairy County, Tennessee, his father was the Adamsville, Tennessee Chief of Police. In 1956, he graduated from Adamsville High School, where he excelled […]

Marshall M. Fredericks (1908 - 1998)

Atrist and sculptor. Knighted by the King of Denmark.  Academician of the National Academy of Design.  Some of this artist’s known works include Christ on the Cross, Indian River, Michigan; The Fountain of Eternal Life: Peace Arising from the Flames of War, Cleveland, Ohio; The Expanding Universe Fountain, United States Department of State Building, Washington, […]

Frank Kelly Freas (1922 - 2005)

Illustrator. Former Mad Magazine illustrator who shaped the image of Alfred E. Newman then became a prolific and influential illustrator of sleek, stirring images for science fiction and fantasy books. Born in Hornell, New York, he demonstrated artistic talent at an early age. During Word War II service in the Pacific theater while assigned to […]

Melvin Horace Purvis, Jr (1903 - 1960)

Former FBI agent. In 1933 he became famous for leading the group that gunned down John Dillinger in Chicago. In 1934 he made headlines again by leading the group that gunned down Pretty Boy Floyd in an Ohio farm field. J. Edgar Hoover did not like FBI agents to receive so much fame and he […]

Sir Charles Pratt (1970 - 1794)

English Jurist and Politician. He was a champion of civil liberties and the rights of the jury in English courts. He was also the founder of the London Borough of Camden. He was educated at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge. He began practicing law in the Middle Temple in 1728, and became a fellow of […]

Laura Gardin Fraser (1889 - 1966)

American Sculptor. Born Laura Gardin on September 14, 1889, in Chicago, daugther of John Emil and Alice Tilton Gardin. As a young girl, Laura was given her first horse and developed her lifelong love of animals, which often became her subjects. She had an aptitude in modeling figures and working in clay, a talent she […]

James Earle Fraser (1876 - 1953)

Sculptor, Medalist. One of the most prominent American sculptors of the first half of the 20th century, he is best remembered for his work “End of the Trail” and for designing the US Indian Head (or Buffalo) nickel that was issued from 1913 until 1938. His work is also integral to many of Washington DC’s […]