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SET EDITION: U.S. INTERNATIONAL MÉXICO ARABIC TV: CNN CNNi CNN en Espaà ±ol HLN Sign up Log in Home TV & Video CNN Trends U.S. World Politics Justice Entertainment Tech Health Living Travel Opinion iReport Money Sports SHARE THIS Print Email More sharing Colin Powell Fast Facts By CNN Library updated 3:35 PM EDT, Tue August 20, 2013 (CNN) -- Here's a look at the life of Colin Powell, former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Personal: Birth date: April 5, 1937 Birthplace: Harlem, New York Birth name: Colin Luther Powell Parents: Luther Powell, a shipping clerk Mother: Maud Ariel (McKoy) Powell, a seamstress Marriage: Alma Vivian (Johnson) Powell (August 25, 1962-present) Children: Annemarie Powell (May 1970); Linda Powell (April 1965); Michael Powell (March 1963) Education: City College of New York, B.S. in geology,1958; George Washington University, M.B.A.,1971; National War College, 1976 Military service: U.S. Army, 1958-1993, General Other Facts: Powell grew up in the South Bronx, the son of Jamaican immigrants. Powell participated in ROTC in college, leading the precision drill team and attaining the top rank offered by the corps, cadet colonel. Military awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Air Medal, Soldier's Medal and two Purple Hearts. Civilian awards include the President's Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal as well as receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice. Powell was the youngest man and first African-American to be Chairman of t... ...ital firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers as a "strategic limited partner." March 2006 - The National War College Foundation establishes the Colin Powell Chair for National Security, Leadership, Character and Ethics. Summer 2007 - Begins to speak out against the Bush administration's decision to go war against Iraq, the increase in troop strength in Iraq and the treatment of prisons at Guantanamo Bay. January 20, 2009 - Is one of the honorary co-chairs of President Barack Obama's inauguration. Powell had endorsed Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. February 3, 2010 - Powell reverses his stance on gays and lesbians in the military; his opposition to homosexuals in the military helped lead to the original "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of the 1990s. 2012 - Publishes a second memoir, "It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership," with Tony Koltz.

Abigail Adams by Janet Whitney

Throughout our lives we have heard how women throughout history strived to become the best. We have heard stories about women going against society to gain equal rights and we have read about woman with extraordinary character that pursued the history of this world. One of these women is Abigail Adams, the only woman so far to be both wife and mother of a president. Sadly, however, â€Å"Abigail Adams† by Janet Whitney is far from being a biography of her life. Janet Whitney arranges her material in chronological presentation. She starts from how Abigail Adams and John Adams fell in love and got married. She continues on with the biography describing how John Adams came to presidency as Abigail Adams gave birth to his kids one by one. The author chose wisely to arrange her material in chronological order; it helped better understand that time period. Janet Whitney didn’t make any assumptions about the knowledge of the reader, therefore carefully describing each and every event during the life of Abigail and John Adams. The events were detailed and included many direct quotes from the diary of John Adams. Therefore, it was easier to visualize the majority of the important events during the American Revolution. In society (the modern world especially) more and more females are looking to research on historical female figures that had an impact on the world. Janet Whitney intended to write this book for the female population but failed to interest them in the midst of the biography. The title of the biography is enough to attract and spark an interest in the reader, but as the reader continues reading, he/she will be filled with nothing but questions and disappointment. Up until the middle of the biography, Abigail Adams is mentioned only when she becomes pregnant with John Adam’s babies. The rest of the first half of the biography is an in-depth illustration of John Adam’s accomplishments. Abigail Adams is mentioned as merely a sidekick to John Adam’s success and a great companion. She is described as the most intellectual woman John Adam’s has ever met. Throughout the book the author describes in great depth and detail about the history that took place during the time of John and Abigail Adams. She seems to have great knowledge on the American Revolution and describes many detailed descriptions about John Adams life. Although the author does describe the events leading up to the American Revolution, the author fails to depict the role of Abigail Adams in the lives of her husband and others. I believe that the author thinks of Abigail Adams as an unflattering topic, which is ironic because the author decided to write a biography about her. The author wrote the biography in a way that seems like John Adams is the highlight of the life of Abigail Adams and that Abigail Adams was a small influence in the road to presidency for John Adams. The opinions of the author are not directly states in the biography. But there are certain parts of the book that shows an indirect opinion of Abigail Adams. As quoted in the biography, the author writes, â€Å"She freely expresses her longing to see him†¦she freely expresses her reliability on him†¦and the extent to how much she needs him in her life. † (Whitney page 113). The author believes that Abigail Adams felt like she needed John Adams in her life because she relied on him so much. Nowhere in biography does the author cite specific evidence as to why and where Abigail would say this. This also highlights the statement I said previously, the author believes Abigail to be an unflattering topic. The quote above describes Abigail as a needy, un-intellectual woman. The majority of the information the author used were from letters and diaries and biographies of other important historical figures such as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Thomas Hutchinson. Most of the biography was filled with quotes from first hand sources as the diary of Thomas Jefferson and letters written by John Adams. The quotes mostly described the setting of the time period rather than the important details. For example, it described the physical appearances of Abigail and John Adams and described the major and minor details of the houses and towns they lived in. The author did an excellent job at giving the reader a window into the time in which Abigail Adams lived. The historical documents used as a reference for the writing of this biography were constantly quotes to give us a visual as to what events were taking place. The author wrote pages describing a single certain event. Janet Whitney would not only quote from her first- hand sources, but she would describe and explain the quote as well to prevent any confusion. For example, Janet Whitney quotes in the biography, â€Å"The flame is kindled and like lightning it catches from soul to soul. Although the mind is shocked at the thought of shedding human blood, more especially the blood of our countrymen and a civil war is of all wars the most dreadful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This creates a visual picture inside the reader’s head of how gory and gruesome the battles and fights were. Overall, I did not enjoy reading this biography. I was looking forward to learning about Abigail Adams and her influence on American history but as I read I was constantly disappointed. I didn’t realize that the whole book would be based on John Adam’s and how much of an effect he had on Abigail Adam’s life rather than how much of an effect Abigail Adam’s had in America. The biography was also written in an un-interesting way. It felt as if the author was just throwing information inside the text without putting effort into making it sound interesting. While reading the biography I would read over numerous mentioning of dates, times, cities, towns and names of random village men who are irrelevant to the life of Abigail Adam’s. This biography was a complete disappoint to its feminist audience. Throughout our lives we have always heard about how much of an extraordinary person Abigail Adam’s was but none of that is depicted in this biography. I look forward to reading an actual biography of Abigail Adam’s: a biography that doesn’t portray Abigail Adam’s as someone who’s constantly reliant on her husband.

Essay about Autobiography of Charlie Chaplin - 1497 Words

I was born Charles Spencer Chaplin in Walworth, London on April 16, 1889. I have an older brother, Sydney, but he’s only my half brother- same mother, different father. I was named after my father, but he was a drunk. He died when he was thirty-seven. My mother, Hannah, was a music hall entertainer. Both her physical and mental health fluctuated during my youth. One night, when I was five years old, she became sick during a performance. I went out on stage and sang in her place. I knew then that I loved performing, and I loved it when the audience threw money at me. It was difficult for my mother to make enough money to support me, Syd, and herself. Syd and I had to share a single pair of shoes, taking turns going from place to place. My†¦show more content†¦From this outfit came my infamous character: The Tramp. â€Å"I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the make-up made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked onto the stage he was fully born.† After making numerous movies with Sennett, and being proclaimed an asset to Keystone Pictures, I decided that I wanted to run my own show; I wanted to direct, and have my own studio. Sennett often doubted me and became sick of me always wanting more. I went on to form United Artists in 1919, with my good friend, Douglas Fairbanks, his wife and â€Å"America’s Sweetheart†, Mary Pickford, and director, David Wark (D.W.) Griffith. I married Mildred Harris one year earlier. Our marriage was rather brief. I believe that being married to her debilitated my creative abilities. We divorced not long after our son, Norman’s birth, and death only three days later. In 1921, I made a very dismal and depressing visit to London. On this trip I learned that Hetty had not only married another man, but she had also died of diphtheria during the war. Besides being overwhelmed by the news, I was overwhelmed by the deluge of attention that I received from the public. Some of the attention was negative-jealous men who were poor or unemployed. Yet I still felt greatly annoyed, and even somewhat depressed from the positive attention. I felt as though I had no home. I returned home, and after a short while, â€Å"talkies†Show MoreRelatedA Day without Laughter is a Day Wasted by Charlie Chaplin816 Words   |  3 Pagesday wasted.† It was a simple but popular quote of Charlie Chaplin, one of the most famous actors as well as director and scriptwriter in the American Modernism Era. With a rags-to-riches story, Chaplin had overcome all the obstacles to become a Comedy King, represented an American Dream coming true. Charles Spencer Chaplin, Chaplin’s full name, was born in London, England, on April 16th, 1889. In a family of both parents who were entertainers, Chaplin spent his early years with his mother, who had noRead MoreEssay on Communication of Information in Charlie Chaplin Films890 Words   |  4 PagesCommunication of Information in Charlie Chaplin Films When a critic examines the silent films of Charles Chaplin a question that arises is whether the comedy he portrayed is a mockery of political and current issues, or a means to bring laughter to viewers. Silent films generated different emotions and thoughts since a spectator was simply watching actions rather than hearing an explanation through words. Information was cleverly construed this way and however the critic analyzed the informationRead MoreFilm History : A Explosion From The Past1098 Words   |  5 Pagesenjoyed watching. During the 1920’s, Charlie Chaplin was the go-to actor for silent films. 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While in college, Keller wrote the first volume of her autobiography, The Story of My Life. However, this was just the beginning of her book writing career. Keller wrote a dozen of published books and several articles. After publishing her first book, she used the money she earned to buy a house (Keller, 1988)