Charles Stewart Mott (1875 - 1973)

Industrialist, Philanthropist. He was an automotive pioneer who founded the Weston-Mott company which built a factory in Flint, Michigan which supplied axles for Buick automobiles at the adjacent Buick assembly plant. His company was sold to General Motors and he served as a General Motors director for the rest of his life. He established the […]

Charles Stewart Rolls (1877 - 1910)

British Automotive Pioneer, Industrialist. Known as the co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited. Born into an aristocratic family, he graduated in Engineering at Cambridge, beginning very young to devote himself to engines design. The meeting with Henry Royce, which occurred in 1904 at the Automobile Club of London, was decisive for the creation of the prestigious english […]

Charles Struckman Coyle (1908 - 1996)

Charles S. Coyle, a 50-year resident of University City, Missouri, grew up in the Central West End. He was a graduate of The Principia and the University of Wisconsin and worked in management at Ralston Purina Co. for 20 years. He left to found the Folkestone Press, which published books on local history and architecture. […]

Charles Stuart (1959 - 1990)

In 1989, Charles ‘Chuck’ Stuart was serving as the general manager for Edward F. Kakas & Sons, furriers on Newbury Street. Stuart’s wife, Carol (née DiMaiti, born March 26, 1959, in Boston), was a tax attorney, and pregnant with the couple’s first child. On October 23, the couple were driving through the Roxbury neighborhood after […]

Charles Sumner Greene (1867 - 1957)

Architect during the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century. Working with his brother, Henry, they designed what came to be known as “ultimate bungalows”, the most famous of these being the Gamble House in Pasadena, California. (bio by: Dear Jayne)  Family links:  Parents:  Thomas Sumner Greene (1842 – 1931)  Lelia Ariana Mather […]

Charles Sydney Ainsworth (1873 - 1922)

Actor. Born Charles Sydney Ainsworth in England (he used his middle name as his first name throughout his life), he came to the United States in 1877. During the Spanish-American War, he enlisted in the United States Army, and served as a Private in Company G, 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. After serving in Cuba, he […]

Charles Taber Congdon (1821 - 1891)

Journalist and author. Correspondent for the Boston Courier and to many magazine, including Vanity Fair, Knickerbocker Magazine. Wrote ‘Flowers Plucked by a Traveller on the Journey of Life'(poem), ‘The Warning of War’, and ‘Reminiscences of a Journalist.’ (bio by: Laurie)  Family links:  Spouse:  Charlotte E Baylies Congdon (1820 – 1859)* *Calculated relationship

Charles Tucker (1970 - 1910)

Murder Victim. London city policeman who, with his colleague Robert Bentley, was ‘killed in the execution of their duty while endeavouring to apprehend a number of armed burglars in Exchange Buildings, Cutler St.’ The burglars were actually Russian anarchists who later held a shoot-out at the ‘Siege of Sidney Street’ in 1911. (bio by: David […]

Charles Tyson Yerkes (1837 - 1905)

Businessman. He was responsible for establishing streetcar lines in Chicago in the late 1880s and headed the syndicate that built the London Underground at the turn of the century. Labeled by some a “robber baron”, he was said to be the source of inspiration for Theodore Dreiser’s novels “The Financier” (1912), “The Titan” (1914), and […]

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500 - 1558)

Charles I (Spanish: Carlos I) (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558), of the Spanish Empire from 1516 and later, as Charles V (French: Charles Quint; German: Karl V.)[a] was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 until his voluntary abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I as Holy Roman Emperor and […]

Charles Valentine Blomfield (1970 - 1816)

Classical scholar and author. (bio by: David Conway) Cause of death: ‘fever’

Charles Veach (1944 - 1995)

Charles Veach was born September 18, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois, but considered Honolulu, Hawaii, to be his hometown. He was married to Alice Meigs Scott of Waycross, Georgia, he had two children. He enjoyed surfing, bicycling, reading and activities with his family. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall E. Veach, reside in Honolulu, Hawaii. He […]

Charles W. Armour (1857 - 1927)

Businessman. He was one of the five Armours who developed the meatpacking firm of Armor & Company. He was born in Stockbridge, New York, where his parents were farmers and little is known of his early life. His brother, Phillip Danforth Armour and associate John Plankington opened a small slaughterhouse in Kansas City in 1871. […]

Charles W. Bailey, II (1929 - 2012)

Journalist, Author. Best known for his co-penning of the political thriller “Seven Days in May” (1962), which became a 1964 motion picture adaptation starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Born Charles Waldo Bailey, II, the native of New England was born into a diversely talented family, his father was a university administrator, his mother a […]

Charles W. Harbury (1970 - 1928)

Actor. Some of the original stage productions in which he appeared are “The Manoeuvres of Jane” (1899). “Imprudence” (1901), “Mistakes Will Happen” (1906), “The Lady of Coventry” (1911) and “Launcelot and Elaine” (1921). (bio by: Ginny M)

Charles Waddell Chesnutt (1858 - 1932)

Author, Social Reformer. The grandson of a whiteman and the son of free blacks, he was one of the first black writers to use black dialect. His writings were controversial, dealing with subject matter such as interracial sex and “passing” – people legally defined as black but with skin light enough to permit them to […]

Charles Walters (1911 - 1982)

Charles Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was a Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies in from the 1940s to the 1960s. He was born in Pasadena California and educated at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Charles Walters is notable for directing many popular and […]

Charles Wendell Colson (1931 - 2012)

US Presidential Official, Watergate Figure, Author. He served as Special Council to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. Raised during the “Great Depression” era under impoverished circumstances, the New England native managed to attend Brown University from where he received his BA and later attained his law degree from George Washington University. After service […]

Charles Willeford (1919 - 1988)

Charles Willeford was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1919. Following the death of his father from tuberculosis in 1922, Willeford and his mother moved to the Los Angeles area. After his mother’s death in 1927, also from TB, he lived with his grandmother Mattie Lowey on Figueroa Street near Exposition Park until 1932. At […]

Charles William Bonner (1896 - 1965)

Author. Writer of many short stories, serials and articles for periodicals and motion pictures. Some of works include “Adam Had Four Sons,” “Invitation to Marriage,” and “Act of Faith.”  Family links:  Parents:  Charles William Bonner (1861 – 1933)

Charles William Eliot (1834 - 1926)

Academic, Educator. He is remembered as the president of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and served in that position from 1869 until 1909, having the longest term as president in the university’s history. Born into a wealthy family, his father served in the US House of Representatives and Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts for one term […]

Charles William Hargens, Jr (1893 - 1997)

Painter. The son of a country doctor, he was born in Hot Springs, South Dakota. He later moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. During these times he was able to sell his realistic drawings of neighbor’s homesteads and barns for extra money. He also came in connect with Native Americans and western landscapes which would influence […]

Charles Williams Nash (1864 - 1948)

Businessman, Automobile Magnate. He is remembered for founding Nash Motors Company in 1916 that continued to manufacture automobiles which appealed to America’s middle class until the mid-1950s. Born into a farming family, his parents divorced when he was six years old and he was sent to live and work as an indentured servant to a […]

Charles Winninger (1884 - 1969)

He began as a vaudeville actor. His most famous stage role was as Cap’n Andy Hawks in the original production of the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical classic Show Boat in 1927, a role that he reprised – to great acclaim – in the 1932 stage revival and the 1936 film version of the show. […]

Charles X of France (1757 - 1836)

Charles Philippe of France was born in 1757, the youngest son of the Dauphin Louis and his wife, the Dauphine Marie Josèphe, at the Palace of Versailles. Charles was created Count of Artois at birth by his grandfather, the reigning King Louis XV. As the youngest male in the family, Charles seemed unlikely ever to […]

Charles Yelverton O’Connor (1843 - 1902)

New Zealand and Australian Engineer.  This famous engineer was born in Gravelmount, County Meath, Ireland in 1843. Just before the potato famine hit Ireland, his family moved to Waterford, England, where he completed his studies and became a professional engineer.  The poor economic conditions in Ireland forced the family to move to New Zealand in […]

Charley Chase (1893 - 1940)

Actor, Motion Picture Director. Born Charles Joseph Parrott, he began action in motion picture comedies in the early 1910s. Like many other early movie comedians, he began his career at director Mack Sennett’s famous Keystone Studios. where some of his early work included playing supporting characters in Charlie Chaplin shorts. Several years after breaking into […]

Charley Grapewin (1869 - 1956)

Born in Xenia, Ohio, Charles Ellsworth Grapewin ran away from home to be a circus acrobat which led him to work as an aerialist and trapeze artist in a traveling circus before turning to acting. He traveled all over the world with the famous P. T. Barnum circus. Interestingly, Charley Grapewin also appeared in the […]

Charley Harper (1922 - 2007)

Artist. For over fifty years, he was known as one of the best wildlife artists in America. His works have been shown in galleries, traveling exhibitions, nature magazines and as posters for conservation organizations. His collections are in the National Park Service Center, Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Nature Center, Cincinnati Art Museum, Hamilton County Park Center […]

Charley Patton (1891 - 1934)

Charley Patton Patton was born in Hinds County, Mississippi, near the town of Edwards, and lived most of his life in Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta. Most sources say he was born in 1891, but there is some debate about this, and the years 1887 and 1894 have also been suggested. Patton’s parentage and […]