World War I People

Who Made It Happen

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) was the 28th President of the United States, serving two terms from 1913-1919. As president of Princeton University and later as governor of New Jersey, Wilson was a lead...

John J. Pershing

John J. "Blackjack" Pershing (1860-1948) was promoted to General of the Armies during World War I, the highest rank ever held in the United States Army. After unsuccessfully pursuing Pancho Villa t...

Gavrilo Princip

Gavrilo Princip (1895-1918) was a Serbian nationalist who became the catalyst for World War I when he assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The murder started...

Joseph Glidden

Joseph Glidden (1813-1906) was a farmer who patented barbed wire, which revolutionized the American West and covered the battlefields of World War I. After seeing a demonstration of a type of wire...

Manfred von Richthofen

Manfred von Richthofen (1892-1918), popularly known as the "Red Baron," was the most successful ace of World War I with over 80 credited air victories. Born in Silesia to a noble family, Richthofen...

Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) is one of many World War I soldiers who turned to poetry to express their horror at the war. Like one-third of all Englishmen born in 1893, he was killed in France, only on...