Abbreviated Bios

Follow Abbreviated Bios
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

Abbreviated Bios are short biographies of Americans and others, who made an impact on this country and who should be better known.

Steven R. Yoder


    • Apr 14, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 7m AVG DURATION
    • 43 EPISODES


    Search for episodes from Abbreviated Bios with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from Abbreviated Bios

    General Samuel Armstrong: Mentor to Booker T. Washington

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2025 5:56


    General Samuel Armstrong opened a school for former slaves after the Civil War to train them in how to make a living.

    Joseph Warren: the forgotten Patriot Leader

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2025 6:38


    Joseph Warren was one of the most important Patriot leaders in the events just prior to the American Revolution. He is mostly forgotten today because he died at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

    George Chaffey: Irrigating Southern California

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2024 8:50


    George Chaffey was a pioneer in irrigation. He developed towns in California and Australia, electrified them and created the Imperial Valley.

    Benjamin Church: The hero of King Philip's War

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2024 9:31


    Benjamin Church is known and the first army ranger and used those tactics to defeat King Philip's forces in the war of that name.

    Charles Curtis: Native American Vice President

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2024 8:22


    Charles Curtis started out life on an Indian Reservation and made it all the way to the Vice-Presidency.

    George Bancroft: creating the U.S. Naval Academy

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2024 7:23


    George Bancroft was America's first great historian but more importantly established the U.S. Naval Academy.

    Timothy Dwight: Standing against French Deism

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2023 7:40


    Timothy Dwight, as president of Yale, resisted the influence of French Revolution ideas, which resulted in revival breaking out.

    Judith Reisman

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2023 8:32


    Judith Reisman is the woman who exposed Alfred Kinsey's experiments as a fraud.

    John Russell Pope

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2023 6:46


    John Russell Pope was one of the last neo-classical architects in the U.S. The buildings he designed are some of the most beautiful in the country.

    Robert Smalls: Using his slavery skills to escape

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2023 9:45


    Robert Smalls, as a slave, was trained to be a wheelman on a steamboat. He would use those skills to escape and turn the ship over to the Union Navy.

    George Wythe: The Founder who was Murdered

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2023 8:04


    George Wythe was a founder who was far ahead of most of the others on race relations and wrote legal opinions to undermine slavery.

    Nathaniel Hawthorne: America's First Great Writer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2023 7:20


    Nathaniel Hawthorne was America's first great novelist. He wrote one of the most required books to read in high school, The Scarlet Letter

    James Wilkinson: The Spy Who got Away With It.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2023 8:58


    General James Wilkinson was for 12 years the senior soldier in the U.S. Army. All during that time, he was a paid agent of the Spanish empire. He was never definitively caught during his lifetime.

    Russell Kirk

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2023 5:18


    Russell Kirk was a public intellectual and writer who gave conservatism its name.

    Elizabeth Bentley

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2023 8:41


    Elizabeth Bentley was a Soviet spy who switched to the American side, disrupting KGB operations throughout the U.S.

    Medgar Evers

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2023 7:12


    Medgar Evers was an important civil rights leader in Mississippi. He was assassinated in 1963.

    Frederick T. Gates

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2022 8:23


    Frederick Gates was the man most responsible for the rise in scientific medicine which led to Big Pharma.

    David Hosack

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2022 6:25


    David Hosack was not only the attending physician at the Hamilton-Burr duel, he also found the first botanic garden in America to train medical students. He was the first American doctor to regularly use the stethoscope.

    america american hamilton burr
    William Jennings Bryan

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2022 8:09


    William Jennings Bryan, the Old Commoner, was a 3-time presidential candidate who later became a Secretary of State. Sadly, he is only remembered for a wildly inaccurate portrayal of him in the movie "inherit the Wind." Learn who he really was.

    Andrew Mellon

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2022 9:14


    Andrew Mellon served 3 Presidents as Secretary of State and helped create the Roaring 20s economy. He made a big profit from it, too.

    Albert G. Spalding

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2022 7:56


    Albert G. Spalding helped establish baseball as America's National Pastime and created a sporting goods company that still supplies sports equipment to people around the world.

    Henry M. Morris

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2022 7:01


    henry Morris is considered the "Father of Creation Science" and was partly responsible for the lessening belief in the theory of evolution.

    Luther Burbank

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 6:13


    Luther Burbank experimented with plants by cross breeding them in order to create disease resistant and tastier fruits and vegetable, most of which we still eat today.

    luther burbank
    Henry J. Kaiser

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 8:18


    Henry J. Kaiser was an amazing businessman who built dams, brought the steel industry to California, constructed ships during WWII, made the Jeep brand popular around the world and created the HMO.

    John C. Calhoun

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2022 8:26


    John C. Calhoun is considered a villain of American History. He considered slavery to be a positive for society. Some progressives are stealing his ideas today.

    Mercy Otis Warren

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 26, 2022 6:06


    Mercy Otis Warren was one of America's Founding Mothers and the writer of the first complete history of the American Revolution.

    Gouverneur Morris

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2022 7:45


    When we read the Constitution, we read Gouverneur Morris' words.

    Thomas Cole

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2022 5:51


    Thomas Cole was an early American artist who founded the Hudson River School of landscape art. Since this is a painter and Anchor now supports, video, this episode is a video presentation.

    Mary Edwards Walker

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2022 8:34


    Mary Walker was the only woman ever to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. She was also considered a freak of nature in the 1800s for insisting on wearing pants. She accomplished a lot in her life.

    James K. Polk

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2022 7:17


    James K. Polk accomplished so many things for the U.S. in his one term that he should be considered one of America's great presidents. But few people have ever heard of him. You will, however, if you listen to this episode.

    William Wells Brown

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2022 6:17


    William Wells Brown wrote the first novel by an African American in America. It took on the topic of President Jefferson fathering children by one of his slaves.

    John Wesley Powell

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2022 6:52


    John Wesley Powell explored the Colorado River by boat over the dangerous rapids of the Grand Canyon. He is also one of the reasons so many Dams were built in the west to save water.

    Thomas Nelson, Jr.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2022 4:47


    Thomas Nelson Jr. was a signer of the Declaration of Independence who lost his fortune because of his support of the Patriot cause. Yet he never regretted his actions.

    Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2022 7:50


    Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was a Conquistador stranded in North America during the 1530s. He went from Conquistador to slave to healer in his struggle to survive. The previous version of this had another episode attached. How? I don't know.

    Frederick Funston

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2021 7:48


    Frederick Funston, at 5 foot 4 and 115 pounds did not look like a great military officer. He overcame those perceptions to become an American hero of the Philippine insurrection.

    William Seward

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2021 6:31


    William Seward was Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State and survived an assassination attempt on the same night Lincoln was killed.

    Lew Wallace

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2021 5:44


    Civil War general Lew Wallace wrote the best-selling American novel of the 1800s, Ben Hur.

    Matthew Maury

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2021 5:35


    Matthew Maury developed the scientific specialty of Oceanography and got the idea for it by reading the Bible.

    James A. Garfield

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2021 7:35


    Garfield was a brilliant and kind man who was shot 3 months into his presidency.

    Phyllis Schlafly

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2021 6:11


    Phyllis Schlafly helped shape the modern Republican Party. Learn about her in this episode of Abbreviated Bios.

    Stephen Collins Foster

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2021 6:05


    Stephen Foster was the first great American songwriter who, unfortunately, died in obscurity.

    Richard Mentor Johnson

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2021 6:14


    Richard Mentor Johnson was the 9th Vice-President of the U.S. who had an unusual personal life for that time in U.S. History.

    history vice president richard mentor johnson
    Introducing Abbreviated Bios Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2021 1:18


    There will be a new Abbreviated Bio each week. Among the people being profiled in upcoming episodes will be James K. Polk, Richard Johnson, Calvin Coolidge, Benjamin Banneker, Phyllis Schlafly, and Pio Pico.

    Claim Abbreviated Bios

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel