Hi-Lo Biographies

Oskar Schindler risked his life to protect the lives of the Jewish people who worked for him during the reign of Hitler. As the horror of the Holoc...

Laura Secord found herself caught up in the War of 1812 after U.S. troops took over her family’s home. She overheard the U.S. troops’ plans to ambu...

As a young girl, Jane Goodall dreamed of going to Africa to live with animals. Her dream came true and she spent over 25 years studying chimpanzees...

Fannie Lou Hamer grew up in the South at the time of the Jim Crow laws. “Sick and tired” of being treated like a second-class citizen, Hamer overca...

Gandhi became one of the most respected political and spiritual leaders of the 1900s. He lived a spiritual and simple life of prayer, fasting, and ...

June Callwood's career was marked by a strong concern for social justice, especially on issues affecting children and women. She became one of Cana...

Jean Vanier is the founder of L'Arche, an international organization which creates communities where people with developmental disabilities and tho...

Elizabeth visited Newgate prison in 1812. She was horrified by the crowded and dirty prison conditions. The women did their own cooking and washing...

Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She was a shy, awkward child who became an orphan at the age of ten. Elean...

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people. His Holiness often says, "I am just a simple Buddhist monk—no more, no ...

Robert Peary and Matthew Henson opened up the gateway to the North Pole. In 1909, they became the first people to reach the North Pole.

Nelson Mandela is the most widely-known figure in the struggle against South African apartheid. He spent 27 years in prison for his beliefs. He was...

Mother Teresa spent her life working with the poorest of the poor. In 1948, she left her convent and started a school in the slums. By 1950, Mother...

Riel helped win some rights for the Métis during the 1800s. He was hanged for treason. Today, many people think Louis Riel is a hero.

Many people have not heard of The Famous Five. Yet, these five women fought for women's rights in the early 1900s. They helped women win the right ...

In 1955, a young black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. This act of courage sparked the Montgomery...

Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic on June 18-19, 1928. She disappeared in 1937, as she attempted to become the first...

Charles Lindbergh, an American aviator, made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-21, 1927.

Learn about three women who had the “right stuff”: Valentina Tereshkova, Sally Ride, and Roberta Bondar. The U.S.S.R. sent Valentina Tereshkova int...

On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first human beings to conquer Mount Everest.

At the age of 23, Althea Gibson broke the colour barrier when she played in the U.S Open. She was the first black person to win the U.S. Open and W...

Tom Longboat, an Onondaga Aboriginal, was raised in a log cabin on the Six Nations reserve. In 1907, Tom entered the most famous race in the world:...

Martin Luther King Jr. was the dominant force in the civil rights movement during its decade of greatest achievement, from 1957 to 1968. He believe...

As a boxer, Muhammad brought unprecedented speed and grace to the sport of boxing. The phrase “floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee” comes...