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Learn more about colleges and universities at Britannica School!

Rising Costs

A line graph shows the cost of a year of college between 1963 and 2020 decreasing slightly before starting an increase after 1979.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

© Nirat Makjuntuk/Dreamstime.com; Infographic Encycopædia Britannica, Inc.

College tuition has increased steadily over the years. The chart above shows this increase.  

The numbers have been adjusted for inflation, which means that in 1963, the cost of college was the same as $10,408 today.

So Many Schools

Many people opt for vocational training after high school. What’s it all about?

© Industryviews/Dreamstime.com

Learn more at Britannica School!

WORD OF THE DAY

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PART OF SPEECH:

verb

Definition:

: to teach (someone) in a way that improves the mind or character

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In Case You Missed It

Queen Elizabeth has died after a long and eventful reign.

09.13.22

Nervous delegates, arguments, and a heat wave. These were just a few of the things the Founders dealt with as they wrote the United States Constitution.

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The Tasmanian tiger has been extinct since the 1930s. But a team of scientists is working to bring it back

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April 22, 2025
Twelve-year-old Prasiddhi Singh is working to get more trees planted around the world.
April 17, 2025
One supermarket chain says it will give food away in an effort to reduce the amount of food it throws away.
April 15, 2025
One type of hummingbird chick looks a lot like a caterpillar, for a very good reason.
April 10, 2025
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April 8, 2025
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April 3, 2025
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April 1, 2025
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March 27, 2025
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March 25, 2025
Zara Lachlan is the first woman to row solo from Europe to South America.
March 21, 2025
Hundreds of people took part in a snowball fight in Uonuma, Japan.
March 17, 2025
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March 14, 2025
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March 12, 2025
An artist built a little red house and launched it into space. If all goes as planned, the house will be placed on the Moon’s surface.
March 6, 2025

When Sergio Romo played his last Major League Baseball game, he wore a very special hat.

04.11.23

Engineers made a piece of cake, but they didn’t use an oven. They used a printer!

04.07.23

The Houston Zoo welcomed three tortoise hatchlings!

04.04.23

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03.31.23

Ryan Redington is the winner of the Iditarod, the world’s most famous sled dog race!

03.28.23

Kids in Iceland work hard to help baby puffins get where they need to go.

03.24.23

Mia Brookes did an amazing trick on snowy slopes. Now she’s a snowboarding champion!

03.21.23

Scientists plan to figure out what time it is on the Moon!

03.17.23

A scientist discovered an insect in a part of the world where it hasn’t been seen for years.

03.14.23

Aptera’s new car doesn’t need gasoline or electricity. It can run on the power of the Sun!

03.10.23

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03.07.23

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03.03.23

Kids in Australia are finding cool books in unusual places!

02.28.23

Scientists found a meteorite—a rock from space—in Antarctica.

02.24.23

Scientists made the world’s first vaccine for bees!

02.17.23

Here’s the story of a young girl who helped change the country for the better.

02.14.23

Nine-year-old Molly Sampson discovered the fossil of a shark tooth that’s bigger than her hand!
02.07.23
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01.31.23
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01.27.23

Jude Kofie is an amazing piano player!

01.24.23

Scientists say an animal that lived millions of years ago was as long as three school buses!

01.20.23

Bernice King is the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. Find out how she is continuing her father’s work.

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Jonathan the tortoise just celebrated his 190th birthday!

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01.06.23

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On November 15, 2022, the world population reached eight billion.

12.06.22

Alejandro Buxton started his own candle company.

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11.29.22

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11.18.22

Some famous stone lions had to be repaired, so an artist made a replacement out of LEGO!

11.15.22

Jeans that were made in the late 1800s were found in an old mine. And they look a lot like today’s jeans!

11.11.22

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11.08.22

Some people are mosquito magnets. They get bitten a lot! Scientists think they know why.

11.04.22

Four women just got jobs working in Antarctica, which is the coldest place in the world.

11.01.22

You won’t believe how much the world’s largest pumpkin weighs!

10.28.22

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10.25.22

Nicole Mann is the first American Indian woman to travel to space!

10.21.22

Ilia Malinin is the first figure skater to land a quadruple axel during a competition.

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Which toys will be chosen for the National Toy Hall of Fame?

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Students at a school in Georgia found a way to make their playground less hot.

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Sonia Sotomayor, whose parents were from Puerto Rico, is the first Hispanic justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Elizabeth II was queen of the United Kingdom for 70 years—longer than anyone else.

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Carson Pickett became the first athlete with a limb difference to play on the U.S. women’s national soccer team.

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Someone spotted footprints outside a restaurant in China. It turns out, the footprints were made by dinosaurs!

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Scientists say that migrating monarch butterflies are endangered, but we can act to help them.

08.02.22

A powerful space telescope captured some amazing images of space!

07.26.22

Does this spider look like the face on a can of Pringles potato chips? The people at Pringles think so!

07.19.22

Scientists at NASA hope to find out more about the strange stuff people have seen in the sky.

07.12.22

A man walked high above a crowd–on a tightrope!

06.28.22

Hyundai’s new cars are called UMVs, and they don’t need roads to get where they’re going!

06.21.22

A 14-year-old named Harini Logan won the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

06.14.22

What was the very first roller coaster like?

06.07.22

A scientist says a tree in Chile may be the oldest tree in the world!

06.03.22

Zeus is the world’s tallest living dog, and his family loves him for it!

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Scientists taught a robot how to peel a banana. They’re excited to find out what else robots can learn to do.

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Astronaut Jessica Watkins is the first Black woman to live and work in space.

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Can you open an Oreo cookie and get the same amount of creamy filling on both sides? One scientist wanted to find out.

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05.13.22

All over the world, people love Xeo Chu’s paintings.

05.10.22

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Mabel Lee was an immigrant from China who helped women win the right to vote in the U.S.

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There was a solar eclipse last month. Did you miss it? That could be because this eclipse was viewed from Mars!

05.03.22

This art project aims to get people to use less plastic.

04.29.22

Scientists have discovered a new species of very colorful fish.

04.26.22

It’s Earth Day, and Mattel has a present for our planet.

04.22.22

“Give me liberty, or give me death!”

04.19.22

More than 20 shelter dogs found homes, thanks to letters that were written by students!

04.15.22

Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the newest justice on the United States Supreme Court.

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The Joro spider is a gentle giant.

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A story that’s positively pre-PASTA-rous!

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The BMW iX Flow can change from white to gray and back again.

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In Case You Missed It

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April 24, 2025
Bit by bit, children are helping to restore the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and its ecosystem.
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At 17, surfer Erin Brooks is at the top of her sport.
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March 21, 2025

Major League Baseball’s new rules are designed to make baseball more exciting to watch.

04.11.23

Scientists believe there might be life on planets that don’t rotate, or spin.

04.07.23

Chloe Ricketts is the youngest person ever to sign with the National Women’s Soccer League.

04.04.23

For decades, space suits were designed with men in mind. But now NASA is introducing new space suits that will fit people of many different sizes.

03.31.23

TikTok is limiting the amount of time kids and teens can use the video-sharing app.

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A group of students did a space experiment and learned something NASA didn’t even know.

03.24.23

Crystalyne Curley is the first female Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council.

03.21.23

Many people work five days a week. But studies show that a four-day workweek might be good for workers and companies.

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03.14.23

Eighth graders used engineering to help people who are facing challenges.

03.10.23

Writer, photographer, and filmmaker Benjamin Mack-Jackson’s images of Ukraine tell the story of a war.

03.07.23

In celebration of Women’s History Month, here’s the story of an all-female battalion that played a vital role in World War II.

03.03.23

Amina Luqman-Dawson’s award-winning novel takes readers to a real-life place where people made a home after escaping enslavement.

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Companies are releasing search engines powered by artificial intelligence. But how well do these search engines work?

02.24.23

Scientists built a robot that can go from solid to liquid to solid again.

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A new study shows that cats do listen to people…sometimes.
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Archaeologists are studying objects from a famous shipwreck in the hopes of finding out what happened.

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Scientists have identified a planet that has many of the characteristics needed to support life. What do they know so far?

01.24.23

LeBron James is about to become the highest scorer in NBA history!

01.20.23

Dr. Martin Luther King’s daughter, Dr. Bernice King, is carrying on her father’s work.

01.13.23

Scientists were able to get more energy out of a nuclear fusion reaction than they put in. They say this is a milestone in the search for clean energy.

01.10.23

What is it like to live in a place that’s dark all winter—even during the day?

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Amazon says it’s working to combat a serious problem: Some of the products sold on its site are fake.

12.13.22

Ninth grader Leanne Fan won the 2022 3M Young Scientist Challenge for inventing headphones that can treat ear infections.

12.06.22

Eighteen-year-old Christopher Slayton used a video game to recreate the whole universe.

12.01.22

A museum in Massachusetts has returned some of the objects in its collection to their rightful owners—members of the Lakota Sioux.

11.29.22

More and more schools are banning cell phones. Should school be a phone-free zone?

11.18.22

Bella Rasmussen is the first female high school football player in her state to score two touchdowns in a varsity game.

11.15.22

In a village in India, people take a 90-minute break from their screens every night—for a good reason.

11.11.22

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11.08.22

A new U.S. quarter honors Anna May Wong, the first Asian American movie star.

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The prime minister of the United Kingdom resigned after just 45 days in office. Will the new prime minister be successful?

11.01.22

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10.28.22

A fire swept through the island of Rapa Nui, damaging the island’s famous ancient statues.

10.25.22

“Best by” dates on food labels are contributing to a big problem: Food waste.

10.21.22

Scientists believe they know the origin of Saturn’s famous rings.

10.18.22

Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols brought baseball fans to their feet this past season with home run after home run.

10.14.22

NASA says a collision between a spacecraft and an asteroid went according to plan.

10.11.22

October 10 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States. 

10.04.22

The Merriam-Webster dictionary added some new—and somewhat surprising—words to its pages.

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The owner of Patagonia, an outdoor clothing company, is giving away the entire company.

09.27.22

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08.30.22

Scientists have discovered a type of meat-eating plant that lives underground.

08.26.22

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08.23.22

Basketball legend Bill Russell, who led the Boston Celtics to eight straight championships, has died.

08.16.22

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08.09.22

Extreme heat is affecting many parts of the world—even places where summers are not usually very hot.

08.02.22

The first images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope have been released, and they don’t disappoint!

07.26.22

July 19 is the anniversary of the first day of the Seneca Falls Convention, a two-day meeting where attendees spoke out for women’s rights.

07.19.22

Instagram is testing a form of technology that’s designed to tell which users are younger than 18.

07.12.22

Kelsie Whitmore is the highest ranked female baseball player in decades.

06.28.22

Elizabeth Bonker found her voice, and she wants to help others do the same.
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A giant ancient shark called megalodon may have faced some serious competition for food.

06.14.22

Tired of messy mealtimes, a group of students invented tape that prevents burritos, tacos, and other foods from busting apart.

06.07.22

Scientists have been able to grow plants in soil from the Moon!

06.03.22

U.S. women’s soccer players will now be paid the same amount as the men’s players.

05.27.22

A 12-year-old woodworker from England found a creative way to help children in Ukraine.

05.24.22

Scientists expect that the James Webb Space Telescope will allow them to see space like never before.

05.20.22

Scientists have made a reconstruction of a woman who lived in what’s now Sweden 4,000 years ago.

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Jacky Hunt-Broersma ran 104 marathons in 104 days, breaking a record.

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05.06.22

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05.03.22

Scientists say fish can actually do math!

04.29.22

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04.26.22

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04.22.22

Companies claim their devices make people and objects invisible.

04.19.22

Olivia Rodrigo won cheers and trophies at the 2022 Grammy Awards.

04.15.22

The United States Senate has voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the nation’s highest court.

04.12.22

Scientists discovered something very interesting about the way orangutans communicate.

04.08.22

Two college students are using their web skills to help Ukrainian refugees.

04.05.22

On March 31, 1989, a UFO was spotted in the sky over London, England.

04.01.22

For more than 100 years, a ship called the Endurance was hidden under the icy waters near Antarctica.

03.29.22

TikTok test

TikTok Test

 text.

Wang and Pan et al., Sun Yat-Sen University, under CC BY-SA

These images show how a shape-shifting robot was able to get through “prison bars” by going from solid to liquid.

A robot that can turn from solid to liquid and back to solid again has scientists excited for the future. The technology used to create the shape-shifting robot could allow scientists to build devices that can get into hard-to-reach places.

Scientists in the United States and China built the robot using a metal called gallium, which they embedded with tiny magnetic particles. Gallium has a melting point of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius), which is low compared to other metals. Scientists can melt the robot into liquid by exposing the embedded particles to an alternating magnetic field. This creates electricity, which heats the metal. Scientists can then cool the metal to make it solid again. The magnetic particles also allow scientists to move the robot by putting external magnets near it.

Scientists have built plenty of robots from either hard or soft materials. But hard robots can’t always get into tight spots, while soft robots can be difficult to control. A shape-shifting robot is flexible when liquid but sturdy when solid. 

Scientists did several tests to determine what the robot could do. A video of one test shows the robot escaping from behind “prison bars.” In the video, the robot melts down, gets through the bars, and returns to a solid on the other side. In another test, scientists put a ball in a model of a human stomach and used the robot to remove the ball. The solid robot reached the ball, melted down, and wrapped itself around the ball. Then it became solid again and carried the ball out of the stomach. This test suggests that robots like these might be useful for removing harmful objects from the human body.

The technology could be used in many ways, but scientists are especially enthusiastic about its potential in the medical field.

Find out at Britannica School

In Case You Missed It

Michael Platt isn’t just a talented baker. He’s also on a mission to fight inequality.

02.14.23

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02.10.23

A small number of people love to use an old way of communicating called Morse Code.

02.03.23

Here’s the story of the man who worked to make sure the experiences and achievements of Black Americans would be celebrated.

01.31.23

breaking-news-l2-article-only-test

Breaking News: TBD

Announcement text.

Headshot of Juan Felipe Herrera

Wang and Pan et al., Sun Yat-Sen University, under CC BY-SA

These images show how a shape-shifting robot was able to get through “prison bars” by going from solid to liquid.

A robot that can turn from solid to liquid and back to solid again has scientists excited for the future. The technology used to create the shape-shifting robot could allow scientists to build devices that can get into hard-to-reach places.

Scientists in the United States and China built the robot using a metal called gallium, which they embedded with tiny magnetic particles. Gallium has a melting point of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius), which is low compared to other metals. Scientists can melt the robot into liquid by exposing the embedded particles to an alternating magnetic field. This creates electricity, which heats the metal. Scientists can then cool the metal to make it solid again. The magnetic particles also allow scientists to move the robot by putting external magnets near it.

Scientists have built plenty of robots from either hard or soft materials. But hard robots can’t always get into tight spots, while soft robots can be difficult to control. A shape-shifting robot is flexible when liquid but sturdy when solid. 

Scientists did several tests to determine what the robot could do. A video of one test shows the robot escaping from behind “prison bars.” In the video, the robot melts down, gets through the bars, and returns to a solid on the other side. In another test, scientists put a ball in a model of a human stomach and used the robot to remove the ball. The solid robot reached the ball, melted down, and wrapped itself around the ball. Then it became solid again and carried the ball out of the stomach. This test suggests that robots like these might be useful for removing harmful objects from the human body.

The technology could be used in many ways, but scientists are especially enthusiastic about its potential in the medical field.

Find out at Britannica School

In Case You Missed It

Michael Platt isn’t just a talented baker. He’s also on a mission to fight inequality.

02.14.23

A bronze sword that experts thought was fairly new is actually very old.

02.10.23

A small number of people love to use an old way of communicating called Morse Code.

02.03.23

Here’s the story of the man who worked to make sure the experiences and achievements of Black Americans would be celebrated.

01.31.23

Breaking News Article Only Test

Breaking News: TBD

Announcement text.

Headshot of Juan Felipe Herrera

© Mirko Graul/Shutterstock.com

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor poses with a statue that is now on display in the Bronx, where she grew up.

When bees get sick, it can cause big problems for people. In 2023, scientists said they created a vaccine that can help honeybees stay healthy. It’s the world’s first vaccine for honeybees.

A vaccine is something that is put in an animal’s body to help protect the animal from a certain disease. There are vaccines for humans and many other species of animals. The vaccine that scientists made for honeybees protects them against a disease called foulbrood. Foulbrood can kill off entire hives of honeybees. 

Honeybee health is very important to people. That’s because honeybees are pollinators. They fly to plants that have flowers to collect pollen and nectar. The pollen and nectar are food for all the bees in the hive. When bees visit flowers, they end up spreading pollen from flower to flower. If plants aren’t pollinated, they can’t grow seeds to make new plants. And all the fruits and vegetables we eat come from plants. Without pollinators like bees, we wouldn’t have a lot of our food.

So, the bee vaccine isn’t meant to help just the bees. It’s meant to help humans, too, by protecting our food supply.

Many vaccines are given by needle, but bees are way too small for that. The bee vaccine is fed to the queen bee—the bee that lays all the eggs for the hive. Once the queen bee is protected from the disease, all the eggs she lays will be protected from the disease as well.

In Case You Missed It

Here’s the story of a young girl who helped change the country for the better.

02.14.23

A team of people took home the top prize at a contest for snow sculptures!

02.10.23

Nine-year-old Molly Sampson discovered the fossil of a shark tooth that’s bigger than her hand!
02.07.23
During his life, Wilson Bentley took more than 5,000 photos of snowflakes.
02.03.23

DUMMY PAGE ES

To celebrate Black History Month, we’ve put together a slideshow of some important people in Black History. You can learn more about them at Britannica School!

Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784)

Wheatley was kidnapped from Africa and enslaved when she was a child. She became the first Black American to write a book when her poetry was published in 1773.

Frederick Douglass (1817 or 1818–1895)

Douglass was enslaved until he escaped in 1838. He went on to write and make speeches about his experiences as an enslaved person. He worked to end slavery.

Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1831–1895)

Crumpler was the first Black woman doctor in the United States. She helped many Black Americans receive medical care. She also wrote a book about medicine and health care. There are no known photos of Crumpler.

Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993)

Marshall was the first Black justice (judge) on the U.S. Supreme Court, the most powerful court in the United States. He spent his career working for equal rights for Black Americans.

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (1912–2002)

Davis was commander of a group of talented military pilots called the Tuskegee Airmen. He fought in World War II. Davis also helped desegregate the U.S. military so soldiers of all races would serve together.

Claudette Colvin (born in 1939).

In 1955, when Colvin was 15, she would not give up her bus seat to a white person. This was against the law, and Colvin was arrested. Colvin worked to change laws that allowed Black people to be treated unfairly.

To celebrate Black History Month, we’ve put together a list of some amazing people you might not have heard about. You can learn more about them at Britannica School!

Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1831–1895).

The first Black woman doctor in the United States, Crumpler helped expand access to medical care for Black Americans. She also wrote A Book of Medical Discourses, one of the first medical books to be authored by a Black American.  There are no known photos of Crumpler.

Cathay Williams (1844–1893)

Enslaved at birth, Williams volunteered to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War, hiding the fact that she was a woman. She was part of a legendary Black regiment called the Buffalo Soldiers.

Lewis Latimer (1848–1928)

After serving in the Union Army in the Civil War, Latimer became an important inventor. Among other things, he made improvements to the electric light bulb, devising the threaded socket that allows bulbs to be screwed into fixtures. Latimer was also a poet and musician.

Matthew Alexander Henson (1866–1955)

Henson was an explorer who accompanied explorer Robert Peary on many of his expeditions to the Arctic. Although Henson played a key role in these expeditions, Peary (who was white) received the credit.

Dick Gregory (1932–2017)

Gregory became famous as a stand-up comedian but was also an activist. In the 1960s, he used his fame to draw attention to the civil rights movement and he worked commentary about racism and poverty into his stand-up routines.

Tarana Burke (born in 1973)

Business leader and activist Tarana Burke launched the Me Too movement in the early 21st century to raise awareness about sexual violence and harassment. The movement spread worldwide in 2017 after allegations of misconduct by key public figures came to the surface. Burke has also worked to increase opportunities for underserved youth and in support of voting rights.

Eight Billion People! – Duplicate – [#11010]

Eight Billion People!

On November 15, 2022, the world population reached eight billion.

A woman lies in a bed holding a newborn baby as a healthcare worker holds a cake reading Symbolic 8 Billionth Baby

Courtesy of Commission on Population and Development, National Capital Region, Philippines

Vinice Mabansag, who was born in the Philippines, was one of the babies named as Earth’s eight billionth person. (There’s no way to know which baby was truly the eight billionth.)

November 15, 2022, was a big day for the entire planet. On that day, the world population reached eight billion!

How big is eight billion? If you write it out, it looks like this: 8,000,000,000. That’s a lot of people! Experts say the world population has grown by one billion in just the past 12 years. 

What’s causing the population to grow? Experts say people are living longer than ever before. That’s because more people have clean drinking water and other resources to help them stay healthy. Plus, many diseases have become easier to treat. Overall, the world population is healthier than ever. 

Another thing that can cause the population to grow is the birth of many babies. But experts say families have fewer children than they used to. So the birth rate (the number of babies born each year) is slower than it once was. The United Nations (UN) believes that the population will continue to grow until about the year 2080, when there will be a little more than 10 billion people in the world. 

The UN says it’s important for everyone around the world to help make sure that the planet is healthy, safe, and peaceful. That way, all eight billion people can live happy, healthy lives.

Move your mouse along the line on the graph. You can see the world population in many years between 1500 and 2020.

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Fun Fact

Some countries have a lot more people than other countries. China is the country with the highest population, at 1,426,000,000 people. However, experts believe that the population of India will soon grow to be the largest in the world.

Check out this map of the world population. The countries that are shaded in darker colors have more people. Scroll over any country to see its population.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

What Is the United Nations?

© Palinchak/Dreamstime.com

At the United Nations, representatives from many countries meet to talk about issues affecting the whole world.

You may have heard about the United Nations, or the UN. The UN is keeping track of the world population. But why? What is the UN, and what does it do?

The UN is an international (worldwide) organization in which nations work together on problems that affect the whole world. Right now, 193 nations are members of the UN. Together, members talk about and work on solutions for problems like war, hunger, and climate change. They recognize that solving problems like these can lead to a healthier, more peaceful planet.

You can learn more about the United Nations at Britannica School.

You can learn more about the United Nations at Britannica Library.

Every Person Counts!

Three people with U.S. Census bags and IDs walk down a snowy road with low lying buildings.

© bullet_chained, zozulinskyi/stock.adobe.com; Animation Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

There are a lot of people in the world. How do countries count their populations? Many countries have what’s called a census. It’s an official count of a population. 

You can learn more about why the census is important at Britannica School!

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Word of the Day

tally

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: a recorded count of scores, votes, etc.

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September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. Sonia Sotomayor, whose parents were from Puerto Rico, was the first Hispanic American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Grid showing all six women who have or will serve on the Supreme Court including Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson

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When Sonia Sotomayor was a kid in New York City, a TV show about a lawyer inspired her to dream about working in a courtroom. Eventually, that dream turned into a career—and a seat on the bench of the most powerful court in the country.

Sotomayor is one of the nine justices (judges) on the United States Supreme Court. Supreme Court justices are appointed by the U.S. president and approved by the Senate. Their decisions impact every American because they rule on whether laws are fair according to the U.S. Constitution. When Sotomayor joined the Supreme Court in 2009, she became the first Hispanic American justice. 

 Sotomayor, whose parents were from Puerto Rico, grew up in a part of New York City called the Bronx. In September 2022, Sotomayor returned to her old neighborhood to see the unveiling of a statue that was created in her honor. The statue is now on display in a shopping center that’s not far from her childhood home.

“[The statue is] quite amazing,” Sotomayor told the Associated Press. “Looks a lot like me.” 

Although Sotomayor now works in Washington, D.C., where the Supreme Court is located, she’s proud to be from the Bronx and continues to feel a connection to it. 

“I love the Bronx. I love my community,” she said.

Sotomayor is still a huge fan of the New York Yankees, the baseball team that plays its home games in the Bronx. When she wasn’t watching baseball games, young Sotomayor watched Perry Mason, a TV show about a lawyer. The show influenced her decision to become a lawyer, which put on her a path that eventually led to the Supreme Court.  

“[Being chosen for the Supreme Court] was the most electrifying moment of my life,” she once told TV host Oprah Winfrey. “[It was] a moment in which you sit and realize that you’ve gone further than any dream you ever had, that you’ve reached something that never seemed possible.”

BREAKING NEWS

Hurricane Fiona Hits Puerto Rico

Debris from destroyed houseboats is scattered across the road near Houseboat Roy in Key West, Fla., on Friday, Sept. 25, 1998 as 90 mph winds batter the island city as the eye of Hurricane Georges passes by.

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On September 18, 2022, Hurricane Fiona slammed into Puerto Rico, which is located in the Caribbean Sea. The storm’s strong winds and heavy rain left most of the island flooded and without power and running water. From Puerto Rico, the hurricane traveled northwest to the Dominican Republic before hitting the islands of Turks and Caicos.

Hurricane Fiona has caused widespread destruction. Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. territory, is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Maria, which hit the island in 2017.

Did You Know?

Map of the U.S. showing a few caps and diplomas to represent few college graduates in 1940 changes to a map with many caps and diplomas to represent 2021.
© Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com, © notviper–iStock/Getty Images; Animation Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

In 1940, around 5 percent of Americans had a college degree. In 2021, around 38 percent had a college degree.

 

Learn more about colleges and universities at Britannica School!

Rising Costs

A line graph shows the cost of a year of college between 1963 and 2020 decreasing slightly before starting an increase after 1979.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

© Nirat Makjuntuk/Dreamstime.com; Infographic Encycopædia Britannica, Inc.

College tuition has increased steadily over the years. The chart above shows this increase.  

The numbers have been adjusted for inflation, which means that in 1963, the cost of college was the same as $10,408 today.

So Many Schools

Many people opt for vocational training after high school. What’s it all about?

© Industryviews/Dreamstime.com

Learn more at Britannica School!

WORD OF THE DAY

edify

PART OF SPEECH:

verb

Definition:

: to teach (someone) in a way that improves the mind or character

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Gabriel’s Gift

A 12-year-old woodworker from England found a creative way to help children in Ukraine.
A tool is used to carve a wooden bowl.
© cgering—E+/Getty Images

Gabriel Clark loves woodworking. The 12 year old from Cumbria, England, has been making things out of wood ever since he was given his grandfather’s hammer about eight years ago. Recently, Gabriel found a way to use his talent to help children in Ukraine.

Gabriel hatched his idea after his work gained newfound popularity, thanks to a shoutout from his dad. Gabriel was selling handmade bowls and cutting boards and planned to use the money to buy a new mountain bike. To help, his dad posted on Twitter, suggesting his followers might check out Gabriel’s products on Instagram. The post went viral, and Gabriel soon had more than 200,000 Instagram followers. He also had thousands of orders for wooden bowls. Gabriel realized he could use his platform for good.

On April 2, Gabriel announced that he would hold a raffle. The prize would be one of his homemade bowls, and the money would be given to Save the Children’s Children’s Emergency Fund. The fund is currently being used to help children in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February. The bowl Gabriel made, which he named “My Bowl For Ukraine,” is etched with blue and yellow rings, in honor of the Ukrainian flag.

On April 17, Gabriel made an announcement on Instagram.

“We have a winner!!” he wrote. “My Bowl For Ukraine has a new home. Even though the raffle is finished, we’ve kept the [donation] page open until next weekend as donations are still flooding in.”

Gabriel had initially set a fundraising goal of 5,000 British pounds (about 6,155 U.S. dollars). As of April 25, he had raised 255,000 pounds (about 313,950 U.S. dollars). “I want to know that I can make other children’s lives better by doing a little bit of something in my own life,” Gabriel told People magazine.

Fun Fact

Credit

On average, soccer players run 7 miles (11 km) per game. This is more than athletes in any other sport. World Cup soccer players run as many as 9.5 miles (15 km) in one game.

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Gen Z Cares

Copeny – © Loui Brezzell. Courtesy of Mari Copeny; Nakate – © Stefano Guidi/Getty Images News; Malala – © JStone/Shutterstock.com; Bastida – Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Global Citizen; Artis: © A Kids Book About; Zhukovsky/Dreamstime.com

Members of Generation Z, which includes today’s teenagers, care deeply about a wide range of issues. Here are some of them.

Climate Change

Generation Z has been at the forefront of the fight to solve the climate crisis. A recent survey by Pew Research showed that Gen Zers and millennials are discussing climate change more than older adults are. They’re also more likely to participate in rallies and protests.

Racial Inequality

Research shows that members of Generation Z may be more concerned about racial inequality than older generations. In 2020, the organization DoSomething.org surveyed its Gen Z members and found that 72 percent had started reading, listening to, or watching content to gain a better understanding of racism in the United States. Fifty-eight percent said they had had a conversation with friends about what they could do to take action against racism.

Poverty and Hunger

Members of Generation Z want poverty and hunger to be addressed. Research by media company Cone Communications found that nearly 30 percent of Gen Zers are concerned about these issues. Not only that, but they say that fighting poverty and hunger is more important than economic development—the growth of businesses.

What’s Happening in Ukraine?

Learn more about Ukraine and the war there.
© Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

WORD OF THE DAY

champion

PART OF SPEECH:
noun
Definition:
: someone who fights or speaks publicly in support of a person, belief, cause, etc.
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