Research giants of the twentieth century
Student guide
In this activity, you will research give history makers from the last century,
write short biographies of them, investigate the historical context, and enter all
your information in a shared database.
Step 1
Research five history makers
•
1.
Think about the greatest achievements of the 20th century, in any and all fields of human
endeavor. Who made them happen? What names come to mind? Thomas Edison? Madame Curie?
Pablo Picasso? Nelson Mandela? Mother Teresa? Pick five people whose accomplishments you
admire most or about whom you would like to learn more. Make sure that your list includes:
2.

History makers from several different countries and continents

People from a variety a fields: science, art, politics, sports, and so on.

Men and women.
Using Encarta Reference or other online encyclopedias, history Web sites, and search engines,
search for information about the men and women you've chosen. Request permission to reproduce
images if permission is not explicitly given in the source. Cite all sources you use. These sites will
help you get started:

About.com: Twentieth Century (http://history1900s.miningco.com/). A wellorganized, word-searchable site with lots of history links, focusing on politics, art,
science, and technology.

Information about people and events in science, technology, and medicine over
the last 100 years (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/)

Famous.people.co.uk (http://www.famouspeople.co.uk/). Comprehensive list of
people from around the world in many vocations, searchable by name or the field
in which they worked.

Famous, people.com. Brief biographies of famous people, from Ross Perot to
Nelson Mandela (http://www.famouspeople.com/famouspeople.html)

American Cultural History: The twentieth century. Comprehensive site created by
reference librarians linking to many sources and searchable by decade
(http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decades.html)

Bing visual search (http://www.bing.com/visualsearch)
You can use Microsoft Access to collect information about your history makers.
3.
Use the Office Access form your teacher has created to collect information about each person,
including area of influence, and the decade and nature of his or her major contribution(s).
4.
When you enter information in the Name and Decade fields, it will appear blue and underlined.
These are hypertext links, but they won't work properly until you connect them to their
appropriate destinations in Step 4 in Student Guide B.
5.
Select a picture of each of your chosen history makers, and include it the Office Access record. For
help attaching graphics to records in your database:

Office Access 2007 (http://office.microsoft.com/enus/access/HA012138521033.aspx?pid=CH100728901033)

Office Access 2003 (http://office.microsoft.com/enus/access/HP052802251033.aspx?pid=CH063648351033)
Step 2
Research and write short biographies of your history makers
•
1.
As a class, create a list of all the people represented in your database. Your teacher will help you
divide the list evenly among all the students in your class.
2.
Use Encarta Reference and other online encyclopedias and Web resources to research and write
short biographies on the individuals assigned to you―no more than a page each. Each biography
should be a separate Word document.
3.
Make sure you use the same margins, font, and other formatting as your classmates so that all
your biographies share a common look.
4.
Use the subjects' last names for your file names, and save them to a shared directory your teacher
will set up.