Woman - Who Art Thou?

March is National Women's History Month. We've all heard the adage, Behind every good man is a great woman. True or not, there are - and have been - many remarkable women who have made significant contributions to history, culture, science, politics, and all other areas of work and play.

See if you can identify the following great women:

1. When people asked me if I was going to write my life story, I would reply, "[My life] is such an uneventful, simple little story. I was born in Warsaw of a family of teachers. I married Pierre and had two children. I have done my work in France." I graduated from school at 15, and worked as a governess until I had saved enough money to attend the Sorbonne. After I earned a degree in mathematics, I married a scientist and had a daughter. I became interested in physics and decided to pursue a master's degree, basing my research on the source of the mysterious rays given off by Uranium. I ultimately died from the very thing I studied. Who am I?


2. I was born in New York and also spent some time in California. I was raised as a Quaker, and became a musician and singer. My focus throughout my life has been on nonviolent protest as a means of ending war, war-related industries and national budgets, and discrimination. I was parodied in Al Capp's "Li'l Abner" comic strip as "Joanie Phonie" in 1967, and my tour of Viet Nam resulted in the album, "Where are you my son?" Who Am I?


3. I was born in Mainland China in 1947. In 1952 my family fled the Communist mainland and moved to Hong Kong. My new British school required I have an English name, so my father, who spoke no English, chose Flossie, after a recent hurricane. I went to UCLA and studied molecular biology. I became an authority on viruses, and am the co-discoverer of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Who am I?
   

The complete stories of these and many other remarkable women, are available online free this month from Gale, the vendor from whom we get our online journal indexes. Additional biographies of notable men and women can be found in Gale's Biography Resource Center on the library's Database Page. Ask library staff for more information about how to use this valuable resource both in the library and at home (with your library card).

Michael Crichton (1942 - 2008)

He gave us the Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man, the Great Train Robbery, Congo, and Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton, who excelled at combining great storytelling with science and science fiction, passed away on November 4, after a struggle with cancer. He touched many lives, both through his books and through the movies that were made from them.

For a peek into his life, there are many articles in the Biography Resource Center (library card needed if you click the link at home), and in case you want to revisit his books, here's a link to the list in the Sacramento Public Library catalog.

A Finer Focus: DMITRY 'The Bear' Takes the Plunge...

If Russia elects (loosely put) a President during an election year in the United States, does anyone hear it??? Dmitry Medvedev, the handpicked heir to Vladimir Putin's old post is now the guy at the other end of the 'red phone.' A 1987 graduate of LSU (No! Not that one...Leningrad State University), Medvedev has a PhD in Private Law: In short, an impressive dude, great political pedigree.

Chess savant Gary Kasparov might, however, have something to say about that. Odd that Kasparov wasn't able to rent a meeting hall where at least 500 supporters could congregate to witness his announcement for office, as is required by law for one to be able to run for President. What? Seems that not many hall owners were willing to rent Kasparov a place to stump. Hmmm.

So, it's now Medvedev. Before him is the task of riding the wave of Russia's new found oil might and mending dachas with NATO. A great way to keep up with the world, getting quality news from quality sources like the Economist, Foreign Affairs, transcripts from National Public Radio programs like "All Things Considered." You may access all of these publications - and many more- by going to "EBSCOHost," accessible through the Find Articles/Databases link on the Sacramento Public Library homepage (http://www.saclibrary.org/), then by going to General Articles on the next page. At this point, you may enter your library card number and PIN to access this great content.

The other day when Medvedev was offered tea during a meeting, he said 'da,' but it would have to be with honey because he is, as he put it...the Bear; in actuality, the meaning of his name in Russian.

To grab further biographical information on 'the Bear,' you may explore the "Biography Resource Center," a great place to grab current bio-data on lots of interesting people. You may get there, by following the same path as above, yet our Biography options are located near the bottom of the database page.