Of Holidays and Great Men (& Women) - Barbara Jean Hicks

from the inquiring mind of
children's book author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks,
Guest Columnist

Despite the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971 (an act which retailers surely embraced with enthusiasm), today, February 22, is the birthday of George Washington. By almost any account of U.S. history, Washington was a Great Man.

The mid 19th century spawned two opposing views of history. Thomas Carlyle espoused the Great Man Theory, the idea that history can be largely explained by "great men"--persons of great charisma, intelligence or political skill who used their powers in ways that changed life, for either good or ill, for the human race. Herbert Spencer countered that such "great men" (no mention of women in either argument!) were simply the products of the societies into which they were born, men who appeared at the right moment to promote changes that were already underway in a larger social context.

I remember being fascinated by these two opposing views in a 19th century literature class in college. I always liked the idea of "great men," and in my mind, whether someone personally initiated change out of his or her strength of character or simply promoted change that was inevitable, the influence of a person such as George Washington (or Thomas Carlyle or Herbert Spencer, for that matter) is difficult to deny.

In a time that's ripe for nonfiction in children's literature, biography is a genre we might seriously consider.

With that in mind, and thinking about Washington as the Father of our Country, I did a quick Internet search on other figures who are considered the Father or Mother of something. Here's a quick list of people, some old favorites and some of whom you've probably never heard, who might be of interest to kids.

I'm admittedly being liberal with my definition of "greatness" here--what's great to me as an adult might be very different from what an elementary school kid finds great, and that's who we're writing for!

If anyone here grabs your interest... Well, maybe your next project is calling:

The Father of Video Games, Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's and created the video game Pong.

The Mother of Science Fiction, Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.

The Father of the U.S. Cavalry, Kazimierz Pulaski, brigadier-general and commander of the cavalry of the Continental Army in the 1770's.

The Mother of the Blues, Ma Rainey.

The Godfathers of Skateboarding, Vinny Raffa (East Coast) and Bruce Walker (Florida).

The Mother of Home Economics, Ellen Swallow Richards, who believed the home was the basic unit of civilization and brought the discipline of science into family and consumer matters.

The Father of Moderrn Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku.

The Mother of Feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft.

The Father of Architecture, Imhotep, who built the first pyramid.

The Mother of Nursing, Florence Nightingale.

The Father of Modern Engineering, Al-Jazari, who invented the first programmable humanoid robot--in 1206!

The Father of Computing, Charles Babbage, who designed an Analytical Engine that was the basis for modern computers.

The Mother of Computing, Ada Lovelace, who wrote the world's first computer program--for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.

The Fathers of the Internet, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn (no, not Al Gore!), who co-invented Internet Protocol and Transmission Control Protocol.

The Mother and Father of Nuclear Science, Marie and Pierre Curie.

The Father of the Instant Noodle, Momofuku Ando. Now there's a handle!

Is there a modern invention that fascinates you? An organization you admire? A product that makes your life easier? Do a little research and find out who stands behind those things. A Great Man or a Great Woman, however you define that term, could be the subject of your next children's book or magazine article!