Books in Signature%20Lives:%20Modern%20America series

As a young boy, Thomas Alva Edison was fascinated with technology and chemical experiments. Later, his attempt to improve the telegraph led to his first creation, the phonograph, that set the stage for his life of discovery and invention. His incandescent light bulb made him a popular hero, and many dubbed him the Wizard of Menlo Park. Driven by his curiosity and desire to make life easier for everyone, Edison ended up changing the world.

Amelia Earhart gained worldwide fame in 1928 when she became the first woman to fly an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean. Her lifelong accomplishments as an aviator influenced pilots in the United States and throughout the world. Her bravery encouraged women to learn to fly and fulfill their dreams. On her attempt to circumnavigate the globe at the equator, Earhart and her plane vanished and were never found. But her memory endures as a symbol of adventure, courage, and perseverance.

Growing up in the South at a time when discrimination against African Americans was at its peak, Percy Lavon Julian was fascinated by his father’s writings about various plants. After going to college to study various sciences, he was denied several jobs because of his race. Through his persistence, he received his chance to do research in his field. After he created a medical breakthrough, he was hired to head a research laboratory, where he continued to create new advancements in medicine and chemistry. Julian’s accomplishments made him one of the greatest chemists of the 20th century.

From the late 19th century into the 21st century, technological and cultural advancements transformed the world into a new and modern place. These advancements changed the way people lived, worked, and thought about themselves and the world. The combination of all these changes continues to produce what we know as the modern world. Madam C.J. Walker dreamed of a place where African-Americans were given equal rights and the chance for a better life. Determined to succeed, she worked her way up from washing clothes to selling her own line of beauty products. Her hair-care products, made especially for black women, helped her become America’s first black female millionaire. A philanthropist and an equal rights advocate, her success and support gave hope to others.

Revolutionary inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla has been called the father of the 20th century. The eccentric physicist developed the alternating current electric power system that lights up the world today. He also invented radio and had to spend years proving it. Tesla hoped the world would find peace and riches through his inventions. Even with his great intelligence, he had trouble finding either of those in his own life.

From the late 19th century into the 21st century, technological and cultural advancements transformed the world into a new and modern place. These advancements changed the way people lived, worked, and thought about themselves and the world. The combination of all these changes continues to produce what we know as the modern world. Born into slavery in 1864, George Washington Carver was determined to educate himself despite the lack of opportunities for African-Americans. He was a talented painter, but he eventually decided to dedicate his life to the study of plants. Carver rose to prominence at the Tuskegee Institute, where he was a popular teacher and esteemed researcher. Carver is best known for his work with peanuts, inventing more than 300 products from the humble "goober."

Born on April 10, 1930, Huerta learned to be outspoken at a young age from her mother, who was a businesswoman and an activist. As a young woman, she battled segregation and pushed for better public services through the Community Service Organization, which she co-founded. Huerta soon realized that the needs and rights of farmworkers needed support. She worked with Cesar Chavez, a fellow activist for farmworkers, to organize the farmworkers into a single union. From organizing boycotts to lobbying for the farmworkers’ job conditions, Huerta relentlessly strove to help others.