My Name is Anthony Johnson: A Man Who Lived Before Slavery Became Law My name is Anthony Johnson, and I came to the English colony of Virginia long before anyone imagined laws that would bind Africans in perpetual slavery. I did not come by choice. I was torn from my homeland in the early 1600s, forced onto a ship, and carried across the Atlantic in chains. When I arrived in Virginia around 1621, I was not called by my African name but was given the name “Antonio” by the Engl

My Name is Heinrich Schliemann: Archaeologist and Seeker of Ancient Truth My earliest memories are of sitting beside my father as he told me stories of ancient Troy, of heroes clad in bronze, and of walls so mighty they echoed with the footsteps of gods. I was only seven when I first held a copy of the Iliad in my hands, but the words stirred something so deep within me that even poverty could not smother it. My family was poor, and our hardships forced me to leave school and

My Name is Hammurabi: King of Babylon I was born in the great city of Babylon, a place of clay-brick homes, temple towers rising toward the heavens, and canals that fed our fields and our lives. My father was King Sin-Muballit, and from the moment I first opened my eyes, the weight of a kingdom rested on my future. Babylon was not yet the most powerful city in Mesopotamia, but it pulsed with ambition, trade, and divine purpose. The gods of our land, led by mighty Marduk, watc

My Name is Sir Arthur Evans: Archaeologist and Excavator of Knossos I was born into a world of books, maps, and artifacts, raised by a father who himself was a collector and scholar of ancient cultures. My earliest memories include wandering halls filled with antiquities and listening to stories of faraway civilizations. These tales stirred something within me—a desire not only to read about the past but to touch it, uncover it, and bring forgotten worlds back into the light.

My Name is Charles Carroll: Statesman and Last Living Signer of the Declaration I was born in 1737 into a world shaped by faith, wealth, and exclusion. As a Catholic in the British colony of Maryland, I belonged to a minority denied political power, barred from public office, and often viewed with suspicion. My family’s estate, Carrollton, stood as proof that prosperity could flourish even under such restraints, but privilege did not shield us from the reality that we were su

My Name is Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution and First Lady of the Republic I was born on November 22, 1744, in the small town of Weymouth, Massachusetts. My father was a Congregational minister, and my mother came from a long line of New England families who valued education and moral duty. Although girls of my time were rarely given formal schooling, I learned eagerly at home, reading every book I could find in my father’s library. From childhood, I understood that kno

My Name is Henry Lee III “Light-Horse Harry”: Soldier, Statesman, and Defender of the Early American Republic I was born in 1756 on the banks of the Potomac River in Westmoreland County, Virginia, into a family that had long enjoyed respect and influence in the colony. From an early age I was trained in classical studies, horsemanship, and public duty—skills that would shape my future more profoundly than I could have imagined. Life in Virginia was a blend of refinement and r

My Name is Sebeos: Bishop, Chronicler, and Witness to the Upheavals of My Age I was born in the rugged lands of Armenia, where mountains rise like ancient guardians and every valley carries memories of kingdoms long vanished. My youth was shaped by the rhythms of village life, the melodies of church liturgy, and the ever-present tension between empires that loomed around us. From an early age I felt drawn toward the church, not only for its spiritual solace but also for the l

My Name is Edmund Jennings: Diplomat, Observer, and Voice Between Two Worlds I was born in the Colony of Virginia in 1731, the son of a family that moved comfortably in both British and colonial circles. From childhood I lived with one foot in America and the other in Britain, traveling back and forth across the Atlantic. These early crossings shaped me, for I grew to understand that life on either side of the ocean was not a world apart but part of a shared, complicated stor

My Name is Al-Tabari: Historian, Scholar, and Keeper of the World’s Memory I was born in the city of Amol in Tabaristan, a lush and mountainous region south of the Caspian Sea. From my earliest memories, I was drawn to learning with a passion that surprised even my parents. Before most children had mastered their letters, I had already begun memorizing the Qur’an. By the age of seven, I stood among scholars reciting passages, absorbing the words not only with my ears but with