Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 - 1970)

Baroque painter. She was born in Rome as daughter of the painter Orazio Gentileschi and Prudentia Montones. She was also taught painting by him. It was also him who sent her to Agostino Tassi to further her ability in perspective. Tassi raped her and afterwards promised to marry her to restore her honor. He was […]

Sir Bernard Henry Spilsbury (1877 - 1947)

Sir Bernard Spilsbury was Britain’s leading Home Office pathologist during the early 20th Century. Spilsbury worked on such high profile cases as the Crippen murder, Siddon case, ‘Brides in the Bath’ murders, ‘Blazing car murder’ and the Mahon case. His interest in crime led to him being recognised as the greatest medical detective of all […]

Ramón Gaya (1910 - 2005)

Artist. He was born in Murcia (Spain) and died in Valencia. He was the last painter of Generation of 1927. At young age, he obtained a scholarship to study in Paris, where he exposed at the age of 17. He rejected the surrealism and he returned to Spain, where he worked for Government of the […]

George Rose Smith (1911 - 1992)

Judge. George Rose Smith was known for his wry sense of humor. He was a grandson of Uriah Rose, the founder of the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock (Pulaski County), and served as a partner in the firm until his election to the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1948. He holds the record as the […]

John Gay (1970 - 1970)

Artist. He was a leading photographer and collaborator of the poet Sir John Betjeman. Amongst Gay’s famous “sitters” were Hilaire Pierre Belloc (1948), Walter de la Mare (1948), Thomas Stearns (‘T.S.’) Eliot (1948) and Dylan Thomas (1948). Many of his works now belong to the National Portrait Gallery. (bio by: Kieran Smith)

Richard Elihu Sloan (1857 - 1933)

Arizona Territorial Governor.  Sloan was the last governor of the Arizona Territory, serving from his appointment by Taft in 1909 until statehood in 1912. A graduate of Cincinnati Law School, he had come to Phoenix for his health. He was appointed to the Territorial Supreme Court 1897, and served there for nearly 7 years, longer […]

Paul Gauguin (1848 - 1903)

Artist. First he was a sailor, then a stockbroker in Paris but painted in his free time. He began working with Camille Pissarro in 1874 and showed in every Impressionist exhibition between 1879 and 1886. In 1884 he moved with his family to Copenhagen, where he unsuccessfully pursued a business career. He returned to Paris […]

John Horton Slaughter (1841 - 1922)

Western Lawman. He was a rancher and a Texas Ranger when he enlisted in the Confederate Army at the start of the Civil War. Enlisted in Nov 1863 as a pvt in Company E, 36th Woods Cavalry, Texas before moving on to the unit that is currently listed.  Mustered out May 15, 1865. Serving in […]

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (1891 - 1915)

French Sculptor and Draughtsman. He became a sculptor in Paris without any training. In 1911, he moved to London with his partner, Sophie Brzeska, and there, he associated with figures such as Wyndham Lewis and Ezra Pound. He became a founder member of the London Group and the following year signed the Vorticist Manifesto. Later, […]

John “Maximum John” Sirica (1904 - 1992)

Jurist. He is best remembered as the judge who presided over the Watergate trial that occurred in the 1970s, in which he ordered President Richard Nixon to turn over his recordings of White House conversations pertaining to the case, that ultimately led to his resignation from office on August 9, 1974. He was born John […]

Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926)

The great Spanish architect studying and creating mostly in Barcelona. His most famous work is the cathedral Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, starting at 1886 and still not completed. His surrealist buildings had a formative influence on the whole picture of Barcelona. On occasion he had expressed a desire to die in a hospital among the […]

William Ray Simpson (1862 - 1940)

Folk Figure. William Ray Simpson owned a hardware store in Delta, Colorado. On September 7, 1893, the McCarty outlaw gang rode into Delta and attempted to rob the Farmers and Merchants Bank. The McCarty Gang was made up of brothers Tom and Bill McCarty and Bill’s son, Fred McCarty. They were loosely associated with Butch […]

Grace Gassette (1871 - 1970)

Painter, Sculptor, Decorated With Highest Honors from France During World War One. Founder Women’s Athletic Club in Chicago. While in Paris was a student of Mary Cassat and friend of Gertrude Stein. The Smithsonian has her painting, “Fishing Boat Beached On The Shore.” Best known in the 1910s for her knowledge of the human anatomy […]

Cyrus Wells “Doc” Shores (1844 - 1934)

‘Doc’ Shores was a famous and well-respected lawman of the early days on Colorado’s Western Slope. He served as the sheriff of Gunnison County when it was still “wild” and was noted as the lawman who captured Alferd Packer, the infamous “Colorado Cannibal.” Shores also served as a deputy U.S. marshal, a railroad detective and […]

Charles Garnier (1825 - 1898)

Architect.  Born Jean-Louis Charles Garnier in Paris. His father was originally from Sarthe, and had worked as a blacksmith, wheelwright, and coachbuilder before settling down in Paris to work in a horse-drawn carriage rental business. He married Felicia Colle, daughter of a captain in the French Army. Famed as the creator of the Paris Opera […]

Charles Alexander Shibell (1841 - 1908)

Western Lawman. He headed west to California in 1860 and in 1862 he was a teamster employed by the California Infantry which took him across Arizona. He began ranching near Sonoita, Arizona and lost a number of stock to the Indians. During this time, he was also engaged in mining and some freighting. Later, he […]

Alexander Gardner (1821 - 1882)

Civil War Photographer. He was born in Paisley, Scotland, and was reared in poverty, and left school at 14 to work as a jeweler’s apprentice. To further his education, he took evening classes at the Glasgow Athenaeum, studying astronomy, optics, physics and chemistry. At 21 he joined the Glasgow Sentinel as a reporter. By the […]

William Shea (1907 - 1991)

Lawyer. He is best known for his role in the expansion of Major League Baseball and the existance of the New York Mets franchise. In 1957 New York Mayor Robert Wagner asked him to head a committee to return the National League back to the city. After several attempts to lure an established franchise failed, […]

Émile Galle (1846 - 1904)

Artist. He studied philosophy, botany, and drawing and from 1864-1866 was enrolled at a private art school in Weimar. In 1867 he completed his practical training at the glassworks in Meisenthal which is in the northern part of the Lorraine region. From 1871-72 he studied in Paris and London where he was exposed to Japanese […]

Susie Marshall Sharp (1907 - 1996)

The first woman state Supreme Court Chief Justice in the United States. The first woman Superior Court Judge in North Carolina. Susie Sharp attended Reidsville Public Schools, North Carolina College for Women, and the University of North Carolina Law School. In 1928 she became licensed to practice law and joined her father, James Sharp, in […]

Sears Gallagher (1869 - 1955)

Artist. He was recognized as one of America’s leading watercolorists and etchers during the early twentieth century. His style of art is a variety of themes, ranging from European subjects to New England scenery.  (bio by: Laurie)

Samuel E. Sewall (1652 - 1730)

Printer, Merchant, Legislator, Judge, Chief Justice. He arrived in the colonies as a child, his education was towards becoming a minister, having earned several degrees in theology from Harvard College Cambridge. However, his marriage to the daughter of a prosperous Boston family, changed those plans and he would instead become a wealthy and highly respected […]

Thomas Gainsborough (1727 - 1788)

Artist. An English portrait and landscape painter, in 1740 he went to London and became the assistant and pupil of the French engraver Hubert Gravelot. He is celebrated for the elegance, vivacity, and refinement of his portraits, which were greatly influenced by the work of Van Dyck. Outstanding among his well-known works are Perdita, The […]

Manuel Gago García (1925 - 1980)

Comic Book Artist. He was born in Valladolid (Castilla y León, Spain) and died in Valencia. He is fondly remembered for his comic “El Guerrero del Antifaz,” a story about a warrior during the Spanish Reconquest. Others works are “El Pequeño Luchador,” “El Hombre de Piedra,” “El Espadachín Enmascarado,” “Puños de Hierro,” “El Corsario sin […]

John Henry Selman (1839 - 1896)

Folk Figure. ‘Old John’ Selman was an American frontier character who spent time on both sides of the law. He was an outlaw in the John Larn gang in Shackelford County, Texas, barely escaping with his life after Larn was dispatched by vigilantes. Old John later served as a city constable in El Paso, Texas, […]

Carl Frederick Gaertner (1898 - 1952)

Artist, Author. Through his entire adult life, Gaertner was both a painter and a teacher. His work was represented by the Macbeth Gallery in New York. In the Cleveland tradition. Gaertner painted both in oil and watercolor. His pictures address a variety of subjects but his scenes of industrial Cleveland and Pittsburgh are among his […]

Gilbert Hilton Scribner (1831 - 1910)

Hon. Gilbert Hilton Scribner, Lawyer, author and former Secretary of State of New York. Republican member of the New York State Assembly, Westchester Co., first district in 1869 and in 1870 became Secretary of State, which office he held until 1873. Was President of the Belt Line Street Railroad of New York. Was a writer […]

Patricia Gadea (1970 - 2006)

Artist. She was born in Palencia, Castilla-León, Spain. She began her work in the late 70s, with paintings in Pop-art style. She triumphed in the 80s during the period known as La Movida. In this period, she moved to New York and founded the group Estrujenbank along with the artist Juan Ugalde. In her works, […]

Fred Joseph Scolari (1922 - 2002)

Professional Basketball Player. A native of San Francisco, California, he entered the National Basketball Association in 1946. Known as “Freddie” and  “Fat Freddie”, he played the position of Guard for the Washington Capitols from 1946 to 1950, Syracuse Nationals from 1949 to 1952, Baltimore Bullets from 1951 to 1952 (of which he also coached), Fort […]

Frank Furness (1839 - 1912)

Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, Architect. Served as Captain and commander of Company F, 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry (“Rush’s Lancers”). He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Trevailian Station, Virginia on June 12, 1864. His citation reads “Voluntarily carried a box of ammunition across an […]