biography

Biography/Genealogy Resource Expands Native American Content

| By Tara Atterberry | In honor of National Native American Heritage Month, Gale’s Biography and Genealogy Master Index has expanded coverage of Native Americans from the late 1500s through the present day in an effort to highlight groups that have been underrepresented and often marginalized in traditional reference content. Biography and Genealogy Master Index’s … Read more

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll

| By Traci Cothran | When pop sensation Lizzo appeared on Saturday Night Live in December, her guitarist, Celisse Henderson (pictured at left, below), paid tribute to the late Sister Rosetta Tharpe (at right) via her guitar, outfit, and shredding. But who was Sister Rosetta and what should we know about her? Her career as … Read more

The Infamous Case of Recy Taylor

| By Traci Cothran | In this day of the deliberate proliferation of fake news, the facts are more important than ever. But it’s a dire time, as newspapers and journalists struggle to survive to bring us all the facts and uncover truths. I was reminded recently that it’s not only what is written that … Read more

2019 Nobel Prizes in Science

| By K. Lee Lerner | Citing their joint “contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded equal shares of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics to Canadian-born American physicist James Peebles (1935‒), the Albert Einstein Professor of Science at … Read more

Remembering Toni Morrison

| By Laura Avery | Toni Morrison is one of the most highly respected authors in contemporary American literature. Beginning with the publication of her first novel, The Bluest Eye, Morrison earned increasing critical and popular acclaim. Her novels highlight the struggles of black people to rediscover and maintain connections to their cultural history and to … Read more

Discovering the Black Hole

| By Gale Staff | As the first-ever picture of a black hole was unveiled last week, the world reacted with excitement to an image of an orange ring of light, surrounded by the deep, black abyss. Scientist Katie Bouman, a postdoctoral fellow who contributed to the project, instantly became a hero for women in … Read more

Nevertheless, She Persisted – Celebrating Women’s History Month Honorees

| By Deb Kirby | A couple of days after Senator Elizabeth Warren’s attempted silencing on the floor of the U.S. Senate during Attorney Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearings, I ordered a tee shirt featuring the now famous phrase, Nevertheless, She Persisted. That evening as my husband and I waited in the noisy lobby of Ann … Read more

What is Autism?

Posted on April 22, 2016

By Traci Cothran

Have you heard of it?  It’s Autism Awareness Month – the Cairo Tower in Egypt, the Empire State Building in the US, City Hall in Tel Aviv, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and many other buildings around the world were bathed in the color blue on April 2 to raise global awareness of Autism.

So what do you know about this disorder?  Are you up on the latest medical developments?  No?  Then grab that mouse and start looking in our Gale products for the answers!

Here are a few bits to pique your interest:

  • Did you know that Autism was apparent in people prior to the Civil War (but not diagnosed as such)? See 2016 Smithsonian magazine in General One File
  • You may have heard of animal behavioral scientist and author, Temple Grandin, but are you aware of her widespread impact on the livestock industry? See Biography In Context
  • From our Gale eBooks (GVRL) collection, The Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders delivers lots of authoritative information
  • Not sure how to approach the topic with younger kids? Try our Kids InfoBits article, “Autism Spectrum Disorder,” (Diseases and Conditions, Gale, 2016) – it offers clear facts at an appropriate reading and comprehension level.

Read moreWhat is Autism?

The Future is Now in Biography in Context

By Traci J. Cothran

“Roads?  Where we’re going we don’t need roads!” – Doc Brown

It’s hard to believe the first Back to the Future movie – starring Michael J. Fox – was released thirty years ago – 30 YEARS AGO!  It may also surprise you to note that the “future” date visited via the time-traveling DeLorean in the movie is October 21, 2015 … which puts us officially in The Future.

Our editors on Biography in Context uncovered this fast fact recently, and currently feature Michael J. Fox (a.k.a. Marty McFly or Calvin) on the home page. We recently launched a new hotspotter feature in Biography in Context  allowing users to hover on the pulsing circles on the picture to explore more facts about the subject (in this case, Parkinson’s Disease).

Read moreThe Future is Now in Biography in Context

Product Update: Gale’s In Context

Posted on July 6, 2015

Over the past several weeks we’ve added and updated content in many of your favorite Gale In Context databases. Take a look what’s now available for your studies.

Biography In Context

July has new homepage spotlights including:

  • Harper Lee, whose much-awaited book Go Set a Watchman debuts on July 14
  • Dr. Seuss the well-known children’s author has a new book What Pet Should I Get releasing during the month of July
  • General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and America’s highest ranking military leader
  • Marta, the Brazilian soccer star who made goal-scoring history in this year’s Women’s World Cup
  • Raven-Symoné, known for her roles on “The Cosby Show” and the Disney Channel, and now ABC’s “The View,” where she is the newest co-host
  • New featured homepage video: “American History: Declaration of Independence”.

New portals that have been added to Biography In Context are:

  • Haifaa al-Mansour, Saudi Arabian filmmaker
  • Sarah Vowell, American author
  • Sonia Manzano, actress and writer for Sesame Street
  • Jordan Spieth, pro golfer and winner of the 2015 U.S. Open Golf tournament.

Read moreProduct Update: Gale’s In Context