1. Start with what you know

This may seem like a simple step, but you’d be surprised at how many people overlook this important advice. 

Starting with what you know is easy and fun. The next time you talk to a family member (parent, grandparent, uncle Bob, etc.) ask if they know of any famous family connections. You may find out there’s an old family legend that your family is related to Lady Godiva, Abraham Lincoln, Dracula, or other famous and interesting figures from history. You may also learn that you are related to a current-day celebrity.

All sorts of interesting stories and links may come up as you talk with some of your older relatives. Talking to your relatives is a great place to start because they can give you leads to work with and a direction to follow. Doing so will also help you solve some family myths and mysteries.

Jot down what you find from your discussions with your relatives. Also ask where your family came from as this helps direct your searching. If a part of your family heritage comes from Russia, England, South America, etc., searching for connections in those places may turn up some fun facts and famous ancestor links you may not have thought of at first.

2. Research your family tree

The number one mistake that people make in searching for famous relatives is that they don’t put enough effort into researching their own family tree. By researching your own family tree, you will be able, in a later step, to connect with the large databases out there that hold genealogy records for famous people.

Jot down everything you know and information that your family shares with you about your own family tree. Write birth dates, names, marriage dates and so on. You’ll need them in the next step.

3. Make use of the major genealogy databases

Once you’ve written what you know about your own tree, it’s time to greatly expand that knowledge by connecting with the largest genealogy databases on the web.

FamilySearch.org is a great place to start and is a free resource for searching family tree information. Start entering information for your deceased ancestors into the site’s search box to see if you have any family tree connections to further your research.

With a little bit of work and luck, you may find a lot of information about your ancestors you weren’t aware of at first. Make sure to download and save the information you find.

4. Find common ancestor matches through famous people family tree records

There are a host of databases out there that you can search to find famous relatives. Some are hard to find, but the rewards can be great especially for the sites that will do auto-searching and linking for you.

One site to try is geneastar.org which lists genealogies and family trees for many famous celebrities and historical figures. Search the site for common ancestors (your oldest relatives in your tree). Unfortunately, the site doesn’t do auto-linking, so you’ll be searching by hand at this resource.

5. Put it all together

If you find a match, download or print out the information to share with your family. The key is researching your own family tree back far enough so that your chances of sharing a common ancestor with someone famous increase exponentially.

The 5 steps are enough to get you started, but be aware that there are many more fantastic resources out there you can use to shave a lot of time off your searching and automate the process.

Hairstyles date back hundreds of years and generally reflected what was happening socially at the time. Hairstyles have gone through many changes over the past several decades. The one consistency has been that the hairstyles that were worn by icons of popular culture symbolized what was thought to be the ideal. To find out more about the inspiration for particular hairstyles over the last century, read on.

In the early 1900′s wealthy women set the standard of wearing hair jewels and hats with veils and lace. They dusted their hair with gold and silver powders for the nights. Antoine of Paris created a look of hair parted in middle and swept back in smooth bands over the ears. In 1907 the Marcel wave swept the United States and Europe. In 1910 American nurses in Europe cut their hair short to avoid a flea infestation and the women in America began to cut their hair short for fashion.

The Louise Brooks’s bob became the popular hairstyle in the 1920′s as women began to express their freedom. They also began shedding their corsets to enter the workforce and in 1931 Jean Harlow starred in the movie “Platinum Blonde.” This hair color then swept the nation. Also in the 1930′s, Shirley Temple’s ringlet curls had women of all ages pinning their own hair into tight curls.

During WWII when feminine was ideal, women began copying Hollywood hairstyles. In the 1940′s, Rita Hayworth began the hairstyle trend of side-parted finger waves the sexiest style of that time. Veronica Lake and her cascading blonde hair defined glamour.

The 1950′s brought a trend of highlighting and Lucille Ball’s flaming red hair was an example. Also Doris Day had a helmet like hairstyle that inspired her fans and Audrey Hepburn started the pixie cut.

During the 1960′s people were letting their hair down and the rock group The Beatles, wore their hair long. This ended the gender norm in hairstyles. The Beatle look became a very popular hairstyle for men of all ages.

In the 1970′s, the musical “Hair” came out during a time of sexual revolution. Angela Davis’s afro became a symbol for black pride. One of the most copied hairstyles of the 1970′s was the Farrah Fawcett feathered back hairdo.

The 1980′s were an economic boom and women began the mall bang trend. Big hair and poodle perms were the big thing.

The 1990′s found many women heading to the hair salons looking for the Jennifer Aniston hairstyle. Her hair at the time was an angled, layered, shag haircut. And the millennium brought Sarah Jessica Parker’s flowing curly look back into style.

There have been many hairstyles over the last 100 years. They seem to cycle in and out with some variations.

Introduction

As people are becoming more open and honest about dyslexia, there is a growing number of famous people with dyslexia who are talking about how this condition has affected them. By doing so, these famous stars have the opportunity to become role models to their fellow sufferers- shiny lights of determination and inspiration. Let us not forget though that dyslexia is a complex condition with lots of unknown elements. In this article, I want to examine the dyslexia of famous people whose condition is a source of much debate and who are believed by some people to have dyslexia and by other people to not have dyslexia!

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was in the right place at the right time. Few people can argue with how vital his role was in leading Britain during World War Two. He was a strong and an immensely charismatic figure who lead and inspired his country through some incredibly tough and challenging times. For much of the Second World War, Germany seemed to be the likely victor. He was never better than when he was making speeches- imploring the people of Britain to continue the fight against Germany despite all the hardships. Such strong verbal skills do fit a profile of someone with dyslexia although lots of people believe that Winston Churchill was dyslexic, there are some who believe that he was not. Part of the difficulty with Churchill’s dyslexia is that much of the evidence comes from his own words. Churchill was keen to emphasise how much he struggled at school- but this image of a down trodden person who overcame impossible odds, was crucial to the propaganda of the war!

Walt Disney

Walt Disney is perhaps the most famous name in the cartoon and animation world. Walt was the creative genius behind Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Characters which have all played a part in most of our childhoods. Apart from the characters, it was this mans brainchild to create the theme parks such as Disneyland and Disney World. Walt Disney’s dyslexia is also strongly denied by certain family members. It seems that Walt Disney was believed to have dyslexia because of the numerous stories that there are about him having childhood fatigue and struggling with his schoolwork. However, his fatigue and his inability to get schoolwork done has also been attributed to him having quite a few jobs whilst at school which naturally made him tired and more incapable of getting schoolwork done.

George W. Bush

George Bush was a very controversial President who had a very controversial term of office. Primarily because of his decision to start the war in Iraq but also because of his “Bush-isms”- the mistakes he made whilst talking in public. These simple mistakes provoked very strong reactions and led to much derision about how “stupid” he must be. One of his most famous “Bush-isms” was “I have been in the Bible every day since I have been the president.” His family and Press Office have always denied that he has dyslexia but the mistakes that he made whilst talking were not the mistakes of a stupid man because George Bush is not stupid- despite what some people say. However, what is interesting is that George Bush’s brother does have a diagnosis of dyslexia.

Closing Thoughts

As the size of the Internet grows, so does the ability for information to spread at a very quick rate. Information regarding the dyslexia of famous people is no different. I think that there is very good evidence to suggest that Winston Churchill, Walt Disney and George Bush are not dyslexia sufferers. However they all have characteristics which could be described as being dyslexic and the debate looks set to continue.