100 Childhood of Famous Americans Biographies in Chronological Order

In a letter to his friend Robert Hooke, Sir Isaac Newton wrote, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Newton understood the importance of reading biographies: they provide mentors from different times and different places. They inspire bravery, ingenuity, and greatness.


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Charlotte Mason also championed the reading of narrative history. She recognized that biographies put names and faces to the facts of the international timeline. Unlike the typical self-help book, a biography doesn't beat you over the head with strategies and 12-step programs. They teach valuable personal life-lessons gently through story. Biographies are subtle, but effective character builders.

While there are a lot of great biography series for kids, the Childhood of Famous Americans books is one of the best. Written by numerous authors in the 1940s through the 1960s, each of these easy-to-read, illustrated chapter books details the life of a boy or girl who grew up to be an American hero--from statesmen to inventors, artists to sports figures. Most of the books can only be found in vintage condition. However, many of the most popular titles have been reprinted by Simon & Schuster under the name History's All Stars.

I've gathered a list of 100 of my favorites. (The entire series includes over 200 titles.) Because so many noteworthy lives overlap each other, my list could not be ordered entirely chronologically. But, I've separated them by historical era for easy use in creating unit studies and homespun curricula.

Admittedly, some of these titles are hard to come by, but don't despair. All of them can be found. You just gotta dig deep. Keep this list handy when you're scouring your favorite homeschool deal-finding sites or when you're cruising the yard sale circuit looking for free or cheap books.

The Pilgrims

James Oglethorpe by Aileen Parks

Myles Standish by Augusta Stevenson

Pocahontas by Leslie Gourse

Squanto by Augusta Stevenson

Virginia Dare by Augusta Stevenson

William Bradford by Bradford Smith

William Penn by Miriam Mason

The Colonial Fight for Independence

Ben Franklin by Augusta Stevenson

Betsy Ross by Ann Weil

Ethan Allen by Gertrude Winders

George Rogers Clark by Katharine Wikie

George Washington by Augusta Stevenson

John Hancock by Kathryn Cleven

John Paul Jones by Dorothea Snow

Martha Washington by Jean Wagoner

Molly Pitcher by Augusta Stevenson

Nathan Hale by Augusta Stevenson

Patrick Henry by Thomas Barton

Paul Revere by Augusta Stevenson

Tom Jefferson by Helen Monsell

A New Nation

Abigail Adams by Jean Wagoner

Alec Hamilton by Helen Higgins

Andy Jackson by Augusta Stevenson

Dan Webster by Bradford Smith

Dolly Madison by Helen Monsell

Eli Whiney by Dorothea Snow

Francis Scott Key by Augusta Stevenson
James Monroe by Mabel Widdemer

John Quincy Adams by Ann Weil

Robert Fulton by Marguerite Henry
Noah Webster by Helen Higgins

Zack Taylor by Katharine Wilkie

Westward Exploration

Brigham Young by Polly Jordan and Lucy Frisbee
Buffalo Bill by Augusta Stevenson
Crazy Horse by George Stanley
Daniel Boone by Augusta Stevenson
Davy Crockett by Aileen Parks
Geronimo by George Stanley
James J. Hill by Mildred Comfort
Kit Carson by Augusta Stevenson
Meriwether Lewis by Charlotta Bebenroth
Narcissa Whitman by Ann Warner
Sacagawea by Flora Seymour
Sam Houston by Augusta Stevenson
William Henry Harrison by Howard Peckham
Zeb Pike by Augusta Stevenson

A Nation Divided

Abe Lincoln by Augusta Stevenson
Clara Barton by Augusta Stevenson
Harriet Beecher Stowe by Mabel Widdemer
Harriet Tubman by Gertrude Winders
Jeff Davis by Lena de Grummone
Mary Todd Lincoln by Katharine Wilkie
Robert E. Lee by Helen Monsell
Tom Jackson by Helen Monsell
U.S. Grant by Augusta Stevenson

Reconstruction and Expansion

Allan Pinkerton by Kathryn Borland and Helen Speicher
Andrew Carnegie by Joanne Henry
Booker T. Washington by Augusta Stevenson
Chief Joseph by Olive Burt

Frederick Douglass by George Stanley
George Custer by Augusta Stevenson
George Pullman by Elisabeth Myers
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Grace Melin
Laura Ingalls Wilder by Beatrice Gormley
Louisa Alcott by Jean Wagoner
Mark Twain by Miriam Mason
Sitting Bull by Augusta Stevenson
Susan Anthony by Helen Monsell
Tom Edison by Guthridge

Turn of the Century

Annie Oakley by Ellen Wilson
George Dewey by Laura Long
Jane Addams by Jean Wagoner
John Philip Sousa by Ann Weil
Joseph Pulitzer by Hortense Myers
Juliette Low by Helen Higgins
Teddy Roosevelt by Ed Parks
Wilbur and Orville Wright by Augusta Stevenson
Will and Charlie Mayo by Marie Hammontree

Modern History

Albert Einstein by Marie Hammontree
Amelia Earhart by Jane Howe
Babe Ruth by Guernsey Van Riper Jr.
Douglas MacArthur by Laura Long
Dwight D. Eisenhower by George Stanley
Franklin Roosevelt by Ann Weil
George S. Patton by George Stanley
Harry S. Truman by George Stanley
Helen Keller by Katharine Wilkie
Henry Ford by Hazel Aird
Herbert Hoover by Mildred Comfort
Jackie Robinson by Herb Dunn
Jesse Owens by M.M. Eboch
John F. Kennedy by Lucy Frisbee
John Glenn by Michael Burgan
Lyndon B. Johnson by Thomas Barton
Martin Luther King Jr. by Dharathula Millender
Neil Armstrong by Montrew Dunham
Robert Frost by Ellen Wilson
Ronald Reagan by Montrew Dunham
Rosa Parks by Kathleen Kudlinski
Woodrow Wilson by Helen Monsell

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