Hi-Lo Biographies

At the age of 23, Althea Gibson broke the colour barrier when she played in the U.S Open. She was the first black person to win the U.S. Open and W...

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people. His Holiness often says, "I am just a simple Buddhist monk—no more, no ...

Emily Carr (1871-1945) is one of Canada's most honored artists. As a female artist in the 1900s, she struggled to make ends meet. Emily tried to ...

Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She was a shy, awkward child who became an orphan at the age of ten. Elean...

On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first human beings to conquer Mount Everest.

David Suzuki has become a household name in Canada and much of North America. He has spent the past 40 years educating the public about environment...

Elizabeth visited Newgate prison in 1812. She was horrified by the crowded and dirty prison conditions. The women did their own cooking and washing...

Fannie Lou Hamer grew up in the South at the time of the Jim Crow laws. “Sick and tired” of being treated like a second-class citizen, Hamer overca...

Learn about three women who had the “right stuff”: Valentina Tereshkova, Sally Ride, and Roberta Bondar. The U.S.S.R. sent Valentina Tereshkova int...

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery around 1822. Between 1850 to 1860, Harriet helped about 70 slaves escape to freedom. She relied on the Undergr...

Jimi Hendrix, a rock and roll legend, overdosed on pills and alcohol at the age of 27. He grew up in a home with alcoholic parents and a father who...

June Callwood's career was marked by a strong concern for social justice, especially on issues affecting children and women. She became one of Cana...

Riel helped win some rights for the Métis during the 1800s. He was hanged for treason. Today, many people think Louis Riel is a hero.

Laura Secord found herself caught up in the War of 1812 after U.S. troops took over her family’s home. She overheard the U.S. troops’ plans to ambu...

Marilyn Monroe is remembered most for her beauty and the controversy around her death. Was it suicide or murder? Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean...

Maria Tallchief (1925-2013) was a famous prima ballerina. Born to a father from the Osage tribe and a mother with Scottish and Irish heritage, Mari...

Martin Luther King Jr. was the dominant force in the civil rights movement during its decade of greatest achievement, from 1957 to 1968. He believe...

Robert Peary and Matthew Henson opened up the gateway to the North Pole. In 1909, they became the first people to reach the North Pole.

Norman Bethune (1890-1939) was a doctor who devoted his life to helping others. Bethune's fame in Canada has resulted from his status as a hero in...

Poundmaker (1842-1886) was a Plains Cree chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people.

Oskar Schindler risked his life to protect the lives of the Jewish people who worked for him during the reign of Hitler. As the horror of the Holoc...

At the age of 15, Rick Hansen suffered an accident and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Unwilling to let his disability hold ...

In 1955, a young black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. This act of courage sparked the Montgomery...

An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer. His right leg was amputated 15 cen...

Many people have not heard of The Famous Five. Yet, these five women fought for women's rights in the early 1900s. They helped women win the right ...

Tommy Prince (1915-1977) grew up on the Brokenhead Reserve, part of the Ojibway Nation. He joined the Canadian Army and quickly became a part of th...

Tom Longboat, an Onondaga Aboriginal, was raised in a log cabin on the Six Nations reserve. In 1907, Tom entered the most famous race in the world:...

Wayne Gretzky is a household name across North America. In 1998, he was named the greatest player in National Hockey League history by The Hockey N...

Big Bear was a famous Cree leader who hoped for peace between the white settlers and the Cree. He signed a peace treaty with the Blackfoot, believi...

To some, Bruce Lee remains the greatest martial artist of all time. Born in San Francisco, he spent much of his childhood in Hong Kong, where he de...

In 1977, Wangari Maathai formed the Green Belt Movement, an organization that paid poor women to plant trees. The movement started in Kenya and soo...

Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic on June 18-19, 1928. She disappeared in 1937, as she attempted to become the first...

Cesar Chavez quit school after Grade 8 to help support his family. He laboured in the fields as a migrant farm worker. In 1962, Cesar founded and l...

Charles Lindbergh, an American aviator, made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-21, 1927.

As a young girl, Jane Goodall dreamed of going to Africa to live with animals. Her dream came true and she spent over 25 years studying chimpanzees...

Gandhi became one of the most respected political and spiritual leaders of the 1900s. He lived a spiritual and simple life of prayer, fasting, and ...