The Child’s Book of American Biography by Mary Stoyell Stimpson

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In every country there have been certain men and women whose busy lives have made the world better or wiser. The names of such are heard so often that every child should know a few facts about them. It is hoped the very short stories told here may make boys and girls eager to learn more about these famous people. (from the Forward of the text)

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Run time: 4:43

01 – Forward and George Washington

02 – William Penn

03 – John Paul Jones

04 – John Singleton Copley

05 – Benjamin Franklin

06 – Louis Agassiz

07 – Dorothea Lynde Dix

08 – Ulysses Simpson Grant

09 – Clara Barton

10 – Abraham Lincoln

11 – Robert Edward Lee

12 – John James Audubon

13 – Robert Fulton

14 – George Peabody

15 – Daniel Webster

16 – Augustus St. Gaudens

17 – Henry David Thoreau

18 – Louisa May Alcott

19 – Samuel Finley Breese Morse

20 – William Hickling Prescott

21 – Phillips Brooks

22 – Samuel Clemens

23 – Joe Jefferson

24 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

25 – James McNeill Whistler

26 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

27 – Jane Addams

28 – Luther Burbank

29 – Edward Alexander MacDowell

30 – Thomas Alva Edison

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Historic Boyhoods by Rupert S. Holland

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Most boys grow up to be honest, maybe even good, men, but do not stand out from the crowd. Occasionally, along comes a boy who is destined, either by character or circumstance, to make his mark on the world. In this work are included 21 biographical sketches of boys who became famous in the arts, affairs of state or exploration and discovery. Historical fact is blended with surmise and imagination to bring these boyhoods alive. – Summary by Lynne Thompson for Librivox

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Run time: 6:57

Christopher Columbus The Boy of Genoa: 1446(?)-1506

Michael Angelo The Boy of the Medici Gardens: 1475-1564

Walter Raleigh The Boy of Devon: 1552-1618

Peter the Great The Boy of the Kremlin: 1672-1725

Frederick the Great The Boy of Potsdam: 1712-1788

George Washington The Boy of the Old Dominion: 1732-1799

Daniel Boone The Boy of the Frontier: 1735-1820

John Paul Jones The Boy of the Atlantic: 1747-1792

Mozart The Boy of Salzburg: 1756-1791

Lafayette The Boy of Versailles: 1757-1834

Horatio Nelson The Boy of the Channel Fleet: 1758-1805

Robert Fulton The Boy of the Conestoga: 1765-1815

Andrew Jackson The Boy of the Carolinas: 1767-1845

Napoleon Bonaparte The Boy of Brienne: 1769-1821

Walter Scott The Boy of the Canongate: 1771-1832

James Fenimore Cooper The Boy of Otsego Hall: 1789-1851

John Ericsson The Boy of the G?ta Canal: 1803-1889

Garibaldi The Boy of the Mediterranean: 1807-1882

Abraham Lincoln The Boy of the American Wilderness: 1809-1865

Charles Dickens The Boy of the London Streets: 1812-1870

Otto von Bismarck The Boy of G?ttingen: 1815-1898

Florence Nightingale The Angel of the Crimea by Laura E. Richards

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One evening, some time after the great Crimean War of 1854-55, a company of military and naval officers met at dinner in London. They were talking over the war, as soldiers and sailors love to do, and somebody said: “Who, of all the workers in the Crimea, will be longest remembered?” Each guest was asked to give his opinion on this point, and each one wrote a name on a slip of paper. There were many slips, but when they came to be examined there was only one name, for every single man had written “Florence Nightingale.” Every English boy and girl knows the beautiful story of Miss Nightingale’s life. Indeed, hers is perhaps the best-loved name in England since good Queen Victoria died. It will be a great pleasure to me to tell this story to our own boys and girls in this country; and it shall begin, as all proper stories do, at the beginning. – Summary by the author

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Run time: 3:24

How Florence Got Her Name?Her Three Homes

Little Florence

The Squire’s Daughter

Looking Out

Waiting for the Call

The Trumpet Call

The Response

Scutari

The Barrack Hospital

The Lady-in-Chief

The Lady with the Lamp

Winter

Miss Nightingale Under Fire

The Close of the War

The Tasks of Peace

King of the Golden River by John Ruskin


Summary: When three brothers mortally offend Mr. Southwest Wind, Esquire, their farm is laid waste and their riches lost. Desperate for money, the brothers become goldsmiths and melt down their remaining treasures . . . only to find that the spirit of the King of the Golden River resides with a molded tankard, and knows the secret of the riches of the Golden River. (Introduction by Xenutia for Librivox)

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Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

 

One of the 28th–A Tale of Waterloo

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Total running time: 10 hours, 3 minutes

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A tale of Victorian-style romance, maritime battles and even the penultimate Napoleanic battle – Waterloo. (Introduction by Mike Harris for Librivox)

00 – Preface

01 – Unexpected News

02 – A Country Visit

03 – Run down

04 – The Privateer’s Rendezvous

05 – The British Cruisers

06 – Home Again

07 – A Commission

08 – Startling News

09 – Mr. Tallboys’ Visitor

10 – On Detachment

11 – Still-Hunting

12 – The Cave Among the Rocks

13 – More Startling News

14 – The New Housemaid

15 – In Belgium

16 – Found at Last

17 – Quatre Bras

18 – Waterloo

19 – The Rout

On the Irawaddy: A Story of the First Burmese War by G. A. Henty

Summary: With the exception of the terrible retreat from Afghanistan, none of England’s many little wars have been so fatal–in proportion to the number of those engaged–as our first expedition to Burma. It was undertaken without any due comprehension of the difficulties to be encountered, from the effects of climate and the deficiency of transport; the power, and still more the obstinacy and arrogance of the court of Ava were altogether underrated; and it was considered that our possession of her ports would assuredly bring the enemy, who had wantonly forced the struggle upon us, to submission. Events, however, proved the completeness of the error. The Burman policy of carrying off every boat on the river, laying waste the whole country, and driving away the inhabitants and the herds, maintained our army as prisoners in Rangoon through the first wet season; and caused the loss of half the white officers and men first sent there. The subsequent campaign was no less fatal and, although large reinforcements had been sent, fifty percent of the whole died; so that less than two thousand fighting men remained in the ranks, when the expedition arrived within a short distance of Ava. Not until the last Burmese army had been scattered did the court of Ava submit to the by no means onerous terms we imposed.(from the preface)


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Total running time: 8 hours, 47 minutes

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00 – Preface

01 – A New Career

02 – The Outbreak of War

03 – A Prisoner

04 – A Ruined Temple

05 – With Brigands

06 – Among Friends

07 – On The Staff

08 – The Pagoda

09 – Victories

10 – The Advance

11 – Donabew

12 – Harry Carried Off

13 – Preparing a Rescue

14 – In The Temple

15 – The Attack

16 – Rejoining

17 – The Pride Of Burma Humbled

18 – In Business Again

Annie Oakley

Cavalcade of America: 1874, Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley was probably the most famous marksman/woman in the world when this short clip was produced in Edison’s Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey. Barely five feet tall, Annie was always associated with the wild west, although she was born in 1860 as Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee (or Moses)in Darke County, Ohio. Nevertheless, she was a staple in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and similar wild west companies. Because of her diminutive stature, she was billed as “Little Sure Shot.”

The man assisting her is this appearance is probably her husband, Frank E. Butler. Annie had outshot Butler (a famous dead-eye marksman himself) in a shooting contest in the 1880’s. Instead of nursing his bruised ego because he had been throughly outgunned by a woman, Butler fell in love, married Little Sure Shot, and became her manager.

Theirs was a solid and happy marriage that lasted 44 years, and when Annie died on November 3, 1926, at age 66, a heartbroken Butler followed her to the grave 18 days later. [Summary from Internet Archive accompanying this footage]

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Summary: William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice was probably written between 1596 and 1598, and was printed with the comedies in the First Folio of 1623. Bassanio, an impoverished gentleman, uses the credit of his friend, the merchant Antonio, to borrow money from a wealthy Jew, Shylock. Antonio pledges to pay Shylock a pound of flesh if he defaults on the loan, which Bassanio will use to woo a rich heiress, Portia. A subplot concerns the elopement of Shylock’s daughter Jessica with a Christian, Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo. In its focus on love and marriage, the play shares certain concerns with Shakespeare’s other comedies. Yet its depiction of the tensions between Jews and Christians in early modern Venice – and its highly dramatic trial scene in Act 4 – create darker currents in the play. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett for Librivox)

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Total running time: 2 hours, 27 minutes

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English actor Charles Macklin as Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice at Covent Garden, London, 1767-68, by Johann Zoffany.

Dramatis Personae

Act I

Act II

Act III

Act IV

Act V

Our Island Story Part 2 by H. E. Marshall

Lady Jane Grey Preparing for Execution, painted by George Whiting Flagg in 1835

To stream these chapters online or to download to MP3, click here.

To read the text yourself, click here .

The first half of this book is also available. Click here for Our Island Story Part 1.

To hear this book, click play on the box below, or click on the chapter titles throughout this post.

Tudor rose.

Summary from Librivox:
Our Island Story was first published in 1905 and became an instant classic. Beginning with the Romans and following the triumphs and foibles of the good, not so good and the downright despicable figures of history; we are treated to a dazzling montage of kings, queens, barons, knights, explorers, movers and shakers that have played a key role in the history of England.

Marshall freely mixes folk tale with historical fact and in so doing paints a very vivid picture of the past in a style reminiscent of all that is finest in the children’s story-telling tradition. This is the second section of that work and will carry you from the convoluted and bloody Wars of the Roses up to the death of Queen Victoria and the resolution of the Boer War.

Please be advised that this book was written in the early years of the 20th century and there will be words and phrases used then, in all innocence, that are considered politically incorrect in this age. ItĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s perfectly fine for children to listen to but please ensure there is someone on hand who can explain these terms in a mature fashion.(Summary by Jim, for Librivox.org)

Wars of the Roses

55 The red rose and the white

56  Queen Margaret and the Robbers

57 The King Maker

58 Edward V – The King Who was Never Crowned

Edward V by Wenceslas Hollar

59 The Two Little Princes in the Tower

60 Henry VII – Story of the Make-Believe Prince

61 Another Make-Believe Prince

62 Henry VIII and The Field of the Cloth of Gold

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63 How the King Became the Defender of the Faith

64 Henry VIII: The Story of the King’s Six Wives

65 The Story of a Boy King

66 The Story of Lady Jane Grey

Hatfield House, where Queen Elizabeth held her first council of state, photo by Allan Engelhardt CCAS2 license

67 How the Princess Elizabeth Became a Prisoner

68 Mary I – How a Candle Was Lit in England

69 How the Imprisoned Princess Became a Queen

Elizabeth 1 England

70 Elizabeth – The Story of a Most Unhappy Queen

71 How England was saved from the Spaniards

72 Elizabeth–The story of Sir Walter Raleigh

73 The Queen’s Favorite

74 The Story of Guy Fawkes

Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall, 1882

75 The Story of the Mayflower

76 How a Woman Struck a Blow for Freedom

77 How the King and the Parliament Quarrelled

78 The Story of How the King was Brought to His Death

Oliver Cromwell Imprisoning King Charles I

79 The Adventures of a Prince

80 The Commonwealth – The Lord Protector

81 How Death Walked in the Streets of London

82 The Story of How London was Burned

OIS2 Makasiinit_tulessa by Petteri Sulonen Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license

83 The Fiery Cross

84 The Story of King Monmouth

85 The Story of the Seven Bishops

86 William the Deliverer

87 The Story of Brave Londonderry

88 The Story of a Sad Day in a Highland Glen

british flag

89 How the Union Jack was Made

90 The Story of the Earl of Mar’s Hunting Party

91 The Story of Bonnie Prince Charlie

Bonnie Prince Charlie

92 The Story of Flora MacDonald

93 The Story of The Black Hole of Calcutta

94 The Story of How Canada Was Won

The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island

95 How America Was Lost

96 A Story of a Spinning Wheel

97 England Expects that Every Man will do his Duty

98 George III – The Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo by Robinson, circa 1820

99 The First Gentleman in Europe

100 Two Peaceful Victories

101 The Girl Queen

102 Victoria – When Bread was Dear

103 Victoria – Peace

Queen Victoria by Melville

104 Victoria – War

105 The Land of Snow

106 Victoria – The Siege of Delhi

Secundra Bagh after the Indian Mutiny

107 The Pipes at Lucknow

108 Victoria – Under the Southern Cross

109 From Cannibal to Christian

110 Victoria – Boer and Briton

111 List of Kings from Edward the Confessor

The Young Railroaders by Francis Lovell Coombs

The 945 Accommodation by Edward Lamson Henry, public domain image

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Running time: 8 hours, 21 minutes

Railroad, Grosstadtbahnhof by Hans Baluschek, public domain image

Summary from Librivox: While aimed at youths, this series of tales of the just-opening West makes a rollicking good story for adults, too. Three teen-age boys, trained as telegraphers, manage to get themselves in and out of a wide variety of harrowing circumstances. Using their knowledge of Morse code, the science of telegraphs, and the operation of railroads, the boys stir in native resourcefulness, quick-thinking, and when the occasion demands it, raw courage to effect rescues, thwart thieves, and solve mysteries. If Tom Swift had lived in the nineteenth century, he could not have had more exciting escapades! (Summary by Mark F. Smith for Librivox)

Telegraph Boy

01 One Kind of Wireless  00:26:20

02  An Original Emergency Battery  00:15:19

03 A Tinker Who Made Good  00:24:05

04  The Other Tinker Also Makes Good  00:15:40

05  The Electrical Detective  00:21:25

06  Jack Has His Adventure  00:17:53

Bonfire flames, image released to public domain by its author

07  A Race Through the Flames 00:16:15

08  The Secret Telegram 00:16:31

09 Jack Plays Reporter, With Unexpected Results 00:21:15

The Railway Bridge at Argenteuil by Claud Monet, public domain image

10  A Runaway Train  00:16:21

11 The Haunted Station  00:22:57

12  In a Bad Fix, And Out  00:21:58

13a  Part 1, Professor Click, Mind-Reader  00:20:46

13b Part 2, Professor Click, Mind-Reader  00:23:26

Old Greenport Station (Caboose and Plow), image released to public domain by its author

14  The Last of the Freight Thieves  00:25:16

15  The Dude Operator 00:24:34

16 A Dramatic Flagging  00:19:44

17  Wilson Again Distinguishes Himself  00:25:16

18 With the Construction Train  00:22:57

19  The Enemy’s Hand Again, and a Capture 00:21:59

20 Prisoner  00:18:45

21  Turning the Tables 00:31:57

22  The Defence of the Viaduct  00:29:57