Famous Americans : a directory of museums, historic sites, and memorials / Victor J. Danilov.

People who are considered "famous" can be found in many different fields. This book describes 472 museums, historic sites, and memorials about 409 people in 26 categories:

Actors Explorers Playwrights

Architects First Ladies Poets

Artists/Sculptors Frontiersmen Presidents

Athletes Journalists/Publishers Public Officials/

Author/Writers Medical Innovators Political Figures

Aviators/Astronauts Military Figures Religious Leaders

Business/Industrial/Financial Musicians/Singers/ Scientists/Engineers/

Figures Composers Inventors

Educators Outlaws Social Activists

Entertainers Patriotic Figures Socialites

They include such people as Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Georgia O'Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, Sinclair Lewis, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Will Rogers, Daniel Boone, Buffalo Bill Cody, William Randolph Hearst, Douglas MacArthur, Robert E. Lee, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Betsy Ross, Carl Sandburg, Jesse James, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster, Billy Graham, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jane Addams, Frederick Douglass, Doris Duke, Helen Keller, Wilbur and Orville Wright, and all the Presidents, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Among the sites of the museums and other tributes are such places as the Katharine Hepburn Museum, Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio, Babe Ruth Museum, Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, Mark Twain House and Museum, Charles A. Lindberg Historic Site, Lincoln Memorial, Morgan Library and Museum, Kit Carson Home and Museum, Clara Barton National Historic Site, Stonewall Jackson's Home, Marian Anderson Residence/Museum and Birthplace, Stephen Foster Memorial Museum, Tennessee Williams Birthplace/Home, Mount Vernon: George Washington's Estate and Gardens, Roger Williams National Memorial, Rachel Carson Homestead, Rosa Parks Library and Museum, and Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

In addition to the chapters and directory, the book includes a geographical guide to the sites, selected bibliography, index, and 29 photographs.

Author Notes

Victor J. Danilov is the president emeritus and retired director of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, founder and director of the Museum Management Program at the University of Colorado, and the author of 27 books (including 17 on museums).

Reviews (3)

Booklist Review

This listing of locales dedicated to honoring famous American actors, authors, entertainers, presidents, social activists, and more canvasses 472 museums, historic sites, and memorials of 407 important personages from across the country. Each entry contains pertinent biographical material, descriptions of housing institutions, contact information, hours of operation, and admission prices. As with any volume of this type, the quandaries that will lead to much head-scratching are those institutions not making the cut. But none can argue that every institution listed is deserving of inclusion, whether the J. P. Morgan Library and Museum, in New York City, or the Paul W. Bryant Museum, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This volume will be great in assisting history buffs and literature readers in making travel plans, and it is recommended for public libraries.--Odom, Brian Copyright 2014 Booklist

Choice Review

Danilov (former president/director, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago; founder/director, Museum Management Program, Univ. of Colorado) has previously written nearly 30 books, many of which focus on museums. The introduction to Famous Americans discusses the development and preservation of sites that honor famous and some infamous persons, and offers historical overviews of categories of fame. The directory lists 472 museums, historic sites, and memorials honoring 409 persons. Though the coverage is overwhelmingly American, some non-Americans, e.g., Pancho Villa and Winston Churchill, are included. The entries are organized into 26 categories ranging from "Actors" through "Socialites." Each entry includes historical detail on the person, the site, attendance, location, contact information (address, phone, fax, e-mail and website), hours of operation, and fees. Persons noted for fame in multiple areas have see references. Included are scattered black-and-white photos, a geographical guide to sites, a one-page bibliography, and an index of persons, sites, movements, and events. History buffs, vacationers, and beginning researchers all will find this directory useful. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-level undergraduates; general readers. P. A. Frisch Our Lady of the Lake University

Library Journal Review

This directory of 472 museums, monuments, and other sites associated with 409 famous Americans is divided into 26 chapters, with the subjects categorized by occupations or achievements. The primary entry for each person includes a brief, objective biographical sketch that summarizes his or her background, rise to prominence, and legacy. The last few paragraphs describe the related museum or monument, complete with address, contact information, and admission price. Articles for additional sites (there are 14 for George Washington alone) immediately follow the primary entry. Museum and other site descriptions are accurate, based upon this reviewer's visits to several of the venues. The occasional black-and-white photos that accompany the text are dark and, unfortunately, add nothing to the overall presentation. An appendix also lists sites by state. This book provides some useful information but is weakened by its organizational structure. Because the famous people are categorized, users must successfully identify the reason for the subject's fame before they can find the appropriate entry and, despite limited cross-referencing, in many cases will have to use the index to navigate. Additionally, much of this information can be easily found with simple online searches or even in Wikipedia articles about those covered. VERDICT This title will be helpful to adult travel planners who use public or academic libraries, but it will be of limited use to those doing research or reports.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Pub. Schs., MO (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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