Virginia E. Johnson (1925 - 2013)

Virginia Johnson was born in Springfield, Missouri, the daughter of Edna (née Evans) and Hershel “Harry” Eshelman, a farmer. Her paternal grandparents were members of the LDS Church, and her father had Hessian ancestry. When she was five, her family moved to Palo Alto, California, where her father worked as a groundskeeper for a hospital. […]

Virginia Edwards (1889 - 1964)

Actress. Appeared on stage and in motion pictures. She appeared in the films “Silver Dollar” (1945) and “Nocturne” (1946). (bio by: K)

Virginia Estelle Randolph (1874 - 1958)

Educator. She developed an approach to education that focused on community invovlement, industrial and academic training. The Jeanes teacher program was modeled after her successful experiences. She recieved her early education at the Bacon School and the City Normal School in Richmond. At the age of sixteen she was appointed to a teaching job in […]

Virginia Field (1917 - 1992)

Virginia Field (4 November 1917 – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress. She was born Margaret Cynthia Field in London. Her father was the judge of Leicester County Court Circuit. Her mother was a cousin of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and her aunt was British stage actress and director Auriol Lee. She was […]

Virginia Fox (1902 - 1982)

Virginia Fox Zanuck (April 2, 1902 – October 14, 1982) was an American actress who starred in many silent films of the 1910s and 1920s. Virginia Fox was born in Wheeling, West Virginia (though her grave erroneously lists Charleston, W.Va. as her place of birth), the daughter of Marie (née Oglseby) and Frederick Fox. While on vacation […]

Virginia Frazer Boyle (1863 - 1938)

Author. Poet Laureate of the Confederacy. Known for her writing of “Union” and “Love Songs and Bugle Calls.” (bio by: Laurie)

Virginia Gibson (1925 - 2013)

Virginia Gibson, born Virginia Gorski, (April 9, 1925 – April 25, 2013) was an American dancer, singer and actress of film, television and musical theatre. Virginia Gibson, known as Virginia Gorski until she was signed by Warner Brothers in the 1950s, started her career in musicals in her hometown of St. Louis, MO and on Broadway. […]

Virginia Gregg (1916 - 1986)

Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, Virginia Gregg was the daughter of musician Dewey Alphaleta (née Todd) and businessman Edward William Gregg. She had a stepsister, Mary. When Virginia Gregg was 5, she and her family moved to Pasadena, California. She attended Jefferson High School, Pasadena Junior College and Pacific Academy of Dramatic Art. Before going into radio, Gregg […]

Virginia Grey (1917 - 2004)

Virginia Grey (March 22, 1917 – July 31, 2004) was an American actress and singer. She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927) as Little […]

Virginia Herrick (1916 - 2016)

Actress. Raised on her family’s farm in the State of Washington, she was taught how to sew by her mother during her early youth and at the age of six, she began taking singing lessons. Her initial mark in the entertainment industry happened, after she moved to New York and became a part of the […]

Virginia Hill (1916 - 1966)

One of the most famous female mobsters. Hill was a courier for the national crime syndicate, shuttling thousands of dollars from one mobster to the next, even overseas. On a mission to Mexico, she was able to pave the way for future drug smuggling routes. She purportedly slept with many gangsters, but was Bugsy Siegel’s […]

Virginia Lee Corbin (1911 - 1942)

Actress. Born Virginia LaVerne Corbin, was known as “The Dresden Doll of the Movies,” in the 1930s she was the most popular child star in the movies. Sister of Ruth Corbin, Virginia is well remembered in “Jack and the Beanstalk,” (1917) as ‘Princess Badr al-badr’ in “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp,” as ‘Virginia Clark’ in […]

Virginia Mayo (1920 - 2005)

Born Virginia Clara Jones in St. Louis, Missouri, she was the daughter of newspaper reporter Luke and wife Martha Henrietta (née Rautenstrauch) Jones. Her family had roots running back to the earliest days of St. Louis, including great-great-great grandfather Captain James Piggott, who founded East St. Louis, Illinois in 1797. Young Virginia’s aunt operated an […]

Virginia Minor (1824 - 1894)

Virginia Louisa Minor (March 27, 1824, Caroline County, Virginia – August 14, 1894, St. Louis, Missouri) was an American women’s suffrage activist. She is best remembered as the plaintiff in Minor v. Happersett, an 1874 United States Supreme Court case in which Minor unsuccessfully argued that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave […]

Virginia O’Brien (1919 - 2001)

Popular American motion picture actress and singer of the 1940s and 50s. Remembered for her comedic roles in several MGM musicals. Sister of actress Mary O’Brien. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouse:  Kirk Alyn (1910 – 1999)* *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Heart attack Inscription:Beloved Mother, GrandmotherGreat Grandmother And Best FriendFamous “Deadpan” Singer

Virginia Pearson (1886 - 1958)

Virginia Pearson (March 7, 1886 – June 6, 1958) was an American stage and film actress. She made fifty-one films in a career which extended from 1910 until 1932. Born in Anchorage, Kentucky, Pearson worked for a brief time as an assistant in the public library in Louisville, Kentucky after completing school. Pearson trained in the […]

Virginia Rappe (1895 - 1921)

Actress. Subject of Hollywood scandal. Born in New York in 1895 to a part-time chorus girl Mabel Rapp and an unknown father. It’s not clear as to when she added the “e” to her last name but it was under that name she became a successful commerical model in Chicago department stores. At the time […]

Virginia True Boardman (1889 - 1971)

Born Margaret Shields in Fort Davis, Texas, Virginia Boardman began her theatrical career in 1906 as Virginia Eames (using her mother’s surname) and went on to appear in 52 films between 1911 and 1936. Although her career started off strong, like many actresses of the silent film era she failed to make a successful transition […]

Virginia Valli (1898 - 1968)

Silent Film Actress. She was the star of several 1920s Hollywood features. Born Virginia McSweeney, she was raised in Chicago and got her acting start as a teenager with a Milwaukee-based stage troupe. After making some films for Essanay Studios in her home city starting around 1915, she moved on to Hollywood, where she was […]

Virginia Weidler (1927 - 1968)

Magnificent child actress, Virginia Weidler began acting at the age of three. Her performance (at the age of seven) in “Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch” (her first credited play) was a hit. She played in “The Women” (1939), and “Babes on Broadway” (1941), but she is best remembered for her portrayal of ‘Dinah Lord,’ […]

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau (1859 - 1915)

Gautreau was born Virginie Amélie Avegno in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 29 January 1859, the daughter of Anatole Placide Avegno (3 July 1835 – 7 April 1862) and Marie Virginie de Ternant of Parlange Plantation, a descendant of French nobility. She had a sister, Valentine, who died of yellow fever. Her parents were white Creoles; […]

Virginie Dejazet (1797 - 1875)

Actress. Born in Paris, France, she made her first appearance on the stage at the age of five. In 1820s, she gained popularity performing in roles known as Dejazets and finally she became manager of the Folies-Déjazet Theatre. She continued to perform into her mid 60s, retired in 1868 and then took a touring company […]

Viridiana Alatriste (1963 - 1982)

Actress. She began her career in the theater, appearing in “Annie es un tiro” with her mother, the actress Silvia Pinal, “La Fierecilla Domada,” “Isabel de Inglaterra” and “Tartufo o el Impostor.” In motion pictures she worked in “La Seducción” (1980) and “La Combi Asesina” (1982). On television, she appeared in series “Honrarás a los […]

Viridiana Alatriste (1963 - 1982)

Actress. She began her career in the theater, appearing in “Annie es un tiro” with her mother, the actress Silvia Pinal, “La Fierecilla Domada,” “Isabel de Inglaterra” and “Tartufo o el Impostor.” In motion pictures she worked in “La Seducción” (1980) and “La Combi Asesina” (1982). On television, she appeared in series “Honrarás a los […]

Virna Lisi (1936 - 2014)

Ancona-born Virna Lisi began her film career in her teens. Discovered in Paris by two Neapolitan producers, Antonio Ferrigno and Ettore Pesce, she debuted in La corda d’acciaio (The Steel Rope, 1953). Initially, she did musical films, like E Napoli canta (Napoli Sings, 1953) and the successful Questa è la vita (Of Life and Love, […]

Viscount Marcus Samuel Bearsted (1853 - 1927)

British Peer,  Industrialist. Founder of Shell Oil. Born the son of Abigail Moss and Marcus Samuel in London, England. He helped develop oil fields in Sarawak and Egypt and was a founder and Chairman of Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd. and started handling consignments of kerosene. In 1892 he began operating tankers sailing to […]

Vital Aza (1851 - 1912)

Author. He was born in Pola de Lena, Asturias. He began writing for the newpapers, but soon, he triumphed with his comedic playwrights. He is remembered for “Basta de Matemáticas,” “Aprobados y Suspensos,” “Con la Música a Otra Parte,” “El Rey Que Rabió” and his poetry books “Todo en Broma,” “Bagatelas” and “Frivolidades.” He died […]

Vito Bonventre (1875 - 1930)

Vito Bonventre Organized Crime Figure. He was an underboss to Salvatore Maranzano during the Castellmmarese War (1930 to 1931). He was shot to death by gunmen of Joe “the Boss” Masseria in the driveway of his Brooklyn home. He was a second cousin of Mafia boss Joseph Bonanno.

Vito Cascioferro (1862 - 2024)

Cascioferro is considered to be the mastermind behind the murder of New York policeman and head of the Italian Squad, Joe Petrosino, on March 12, 1909. He was shot and killed in Piazza Marina in Palermo; two men were seen running from the crime scene. Petrosino had gone to Sicily to gather information from local […]

Vito Genovese (1897 - 1969)

Vito Genovese Organized Crime Figure. Born in Naples, Italy. He and his family came to the United States in 1912, and lived in Queens, New York. Later, he moved to lower Manhattan to live with relatives. Vito started his criminal career stealing merchandise from pushcart vendors and running errands for mobsters. He later collected money […]