Forgotten Heroes By: Laramie Kipp

When we started this unit, it really got me thinking about all of the heroes that are forgotten over the progressing time. As I thought about how the memories of so many heroes are beginning to fade away, it made me upset. So, I wanted to talk about some stories about heroes who I felt shaped society or stood up for injustices:

Note: The heroes I mention may be well known to you but, I picked heroes that I felt should be more recognized.

Elizabeth Jennings Graham(1827-1901):

Graham was an activist and she was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Jennings. Thomas was one the first African American to hold a patent in America. One day on July 16, 1854, she was running late for church so, she decided she wanted to board the streetcar of the Third Avenue Railway Company (Since it's 1854 African Americans aren't allowed to board the streetcar). The conductor allowed her to board the car as long as she wasn't "disturbing" passengers. But, the conductor saw a police officer and forcefully threw her out of the streetcar. When people learned about this,  there was a mass protest from the African American community of the Railway Company. All across the country, people were supporting the protest. Her father Thomas Jennings sued the railroad company and the court ruled it was illegal for her to get thrown off by the conductor solely because of her ethnicity. The court awarded her $225. Even though this case did not stop segregation it set a precedent for future trials. Some historians believe that Elizabeth could have influenced Rosa Parks famous bus boycott.

The "Unknown Protester" or "Tank Man" (June 1989):

In 1989 the Chinese government (pro-democracy) ordered the armies/police to shoot student protesters. One man stood out from the crowd and stood in front of a tank in defiance. He risked his life, very well knowing he could have died.  The man symbolizes the "bloody uprising in Beijing". The man's defiance actually slowed down the "government crackdown in Tiananmen Square". Once the man put up his hand up in a "stop motion" the tanks actually did stop. The man then talked to a crew member as the other tanks tried to go around the protester but, he repeatedly stopped them. Two government officials forcefully removed the man from the streets.

Note: All photos of the Tank Man are banned by the Chinese Government.

Margaret Hamilton:

Hamilton was an American computer scientist and she was one of the first computer software programmers. She was the lead software engineer who worked on the Apollo. Margaret even wrote her code by hand. During this time period, no college in America offered software engineering classes so, she (and other engineers) had to figure out all the knocks and crannies by themselves. If there was an issue with the Apollo's code the entire mission would fail and result in death. With all her hard work and dedication the Apollo Mission was a success and Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. Recently, she has been getting a lot more attention because former President Obama nominated her for Presidental Medal of Freedom.

Side Note: I asked a couple of my friends if they thought she was a forgotten hero because I knew who she was and how important she was. They had no clue who she was so, I guess I have my answer.

Fun Fact: She created the word "software engineer"

Alec Jefferys (1950-?)

Alec Jefferys is known as the "Father of Forensic DNA" and it all started when the police arrested a murder suspect in 1986. A man named Dawn Ashworth was convicted of the murder of multiple girls and was discovered a few feet away from the crime scene. He was captured and brought into questioning and gave a confession (obviously Dawn is not a hero at all he just helps with the story). The police were okay with this confession but, Jefferys wasn't. At the time of the murder, Jefferys was working with the police department and he was working on his new forensic techniques. He realized that the DNA at the crime scene and the Dawn's DNA did not match. Dawn was freed (and no I don't know why he confessed- I don't know if he was pressured or crazy or what). The police got the correct suspect after DNA testing over 4000 possible men. Alec's DNA techniques lead to many wrongful convictions be overturned and birth the "Innocence Project". Jefferys created the DNA fingerprint and has used his technology to resolve paternity issues and correctly solving crimes.  Jeffery's DNA techniques are the reason so many murders and crimes are solved today.

Here's a quote relating to the Innocence Project: "That it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer, is a Maxim that has been long and generally approved"~ Ben Franklin

Frederick G.Banting and Charles Best:

Side Note: So, there's a controversy over who truly discovered insulin and I'm not going to list the other guy who "discovered" insulin because he's a terrible person.

Frederick and Charles are credited for discovering insulin. Banting was the first man to isolate islet cells and use them as a treatment for diabetes. Banting discovers why scientists kept failing at extracting insulin from the pancreas and it was because the enzymes were destroyed the insulin molecules. Even though I hate the method Banting and Best used to discover a "cure" for diabetes, they are heroes to all the diabetics because without them most diabetics would have either died or had a horrible life.

As time progresses heroes all around the world are slowing disappearing from our knowledge. So many of these heroes should be honored and not forgotten. It makes me sad how that these people impacted the world in such major ways but, yet their memory is forgotten. In the future, I hope to better knowledge myself and keep the memory of many heroes alive.

Here are the links I quoted from:  https://www.history.com/news/who-was-the-tank-man-of-tiananmen-square

https://www.americasfootprints.com/blog/detail.php?10-Women-From-History-Whose-Footprints-Will-Astound-You-223