Robert Fikes, Author at • Page 21 of 26

Independent Historian

Robert Fikes, Jr., a 1970 graduate of Tuskegee University, earned graduate degrees in modern European history and library science at the University of Minnesota. Retired since 2017, he worked as a reference librarian at San Diego State University where he was also a subject bibliographer for Africana Studies, European, American, Middle Eastern, and African history. Fikes has published numerous journal articles, essays, encyclopedia entries, newspaper and magazine contributions, bibliographies, and several print and online books pertaining to history, art, and literature.

Malcolm Gladwell (1963- )

Bestselling author, journalist, and public intellectual Malcolm Gladwell was born in Fareham, Hampshire in southern England on September 3, 1963, the second son of Graham Gladwell, a British mathematics professor, and Joyce Nation, a psychotherapist from Jamaica. The couple first met at University College in … Read MoreMalcolm Gladwell (1963- )

John Kitzmiller (1913-1965)

Far better known as a popular and versatile actor in Italy and parts of Europe than in his native country, the United States, John Kitzmiller was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, on December 4, 1913, one of two children of John B. and Mary E. … Read MoreJohn Kitzmiller (1913-1965)

Jean-Léonard Touadi (1959- )

Born January 25, 1959 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, Jean-Léonard Touadi, one of 10 children of a civil servant, immigrated to Italy in 1979 where he became a journalist, university lecturer, the author of several books, and a pioneering politician. A devout Roman Catholic … Read MoreJean-Léonard Touadi (1959- )

Lawrence E. Brownlee Jr. (1972- )

Larry Everston Brownlee, Jr., one of six children, was born on November 24, 1972 in Youngstown, Ohio. His father, a General Motors plant worker who was also choir director at Phillips Chapel Church of God in Christ, commanded his son to perform so often that … Read MoreLawrence E. Brownlee Jr. (1972- )

Mercedes Frias (1962- )

Politician and immigrant and women’s rights advocate Mercedes Lourdes Frias was born in the municipality of San Antonio de Guerra, Dominican Republic, on October 28, 1962. The daughter of a stevedore and a washerwoman, she earned her degree in geography at the Autonomous University of … Read MoreMercedes Frias (1962- )

Denny Méndez (1978- )

Beauty pageant queen, model, and actress Denny Andreina Méndez de la Rosa was born on July 20, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Her mother, Lidia Chavez, who had divorced her biological father, met a vacationing Italian, Sergio Casabianca, who became her stepfather. At age five, … Read MoreDenny Méndez (1978- )

Michele Amatore (1826?-1883)

As a six-year-old boy named Quetto, Michele Amatore witnessed his village of Commi in the Nuba Mountains of southern Sudan decimated by Egyptian soldiers and their leaders who profited from the slave trade. The oldest of four children, his father was a village chief named Bolingia; … Read MoreMichele Amatore (1826?-1883)

Harold Bradley (1929- )

Expatriate former athlete, actor, entrepreneur, and entertainer Harold Willard Bradley Jr. was born on October 13, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. Raised in a racially-diverse middle class neighborhood, his father, Harold Sr., had been one of the early African American professional football players prior to working … Read MoreHarold Bradley (1929- )

Andrea Lee (1953- )

Expatriate novelist, journalist, and memoirist Andrea Lee was raised in a well-to-do African American family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The youngest of three children, her father was a Baptist minister and her mother an elementary school teacher. The product of private school education, she recalls both … Read MoreAndrea Lee (1953- )

Cécile Kyenge (1964- )

An Italian government official and medical professional, Cécile Kyenge Kashetu was born in the mining town of Kambove, Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1983 she moved to Italy and worked as a maid while studying medicine and surgery at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore … Read MoreCécile Kyenge (1964- )