Colorful Coloradans Biographies

Biographies of important Coloradans featuring digitized sources from the Western History collection to provide young researchers with high quality, primary source material for their history projects. Ideal for 4th grade and up.

Otto Perry (1894-1970)

Railroad photographer who predominantly photographed railroads in Colorado. He also took photos of railroads in all 48 continental United States. He was able to capture the history of railroads in the Rocky Mountains through his photography.

Studio portrait of Mrs. Leonel Ross Anthony O'Brien holding an umbrella with lace trim. She wears leather gloves and a dress with a pleated waist line, buttons, and lace collar.

Polly Pry (1857 - 1938)

Adventurous newspaper writer, gossip columnist, and social activist who became one of the first women to run her own newspaper.

Bob Ragland (1938 - 2021)

Robert L. Ragland was a prolific artist who spent his life helping young artists make a living through art.

Portrait of Daddy Bruce Randolph, African-American restaurateur and philanthropist, in (possibly) Denver, Colorado.

"Daddy" Bruce Randolph (1900 - 1994)

Bruce Randolph started a popular barbeque restaurant in Denver and went on to feed and serve those in need for decades.

Sage Douglas Remington (1942 - 2018)

Sage Douglas Remington was a political and environmental activist whose causes ranged from gay rights to water rights in Colorado.

Helen Rich (1894-1971)

Helen Rich was a bestselling author, a traveling writer and the first female journalist for the Colorado Springs Telegraph.

Black and white photographic portrait of Jane Silverstein Reis taken in August 1961.

Jane Silverstein Ries (1909 - 2005)

Denver's first female landscape architect, Jane Silverstein Ries, created gardens around the state that were easy to grow in Colorado's unique environment.

Pauline RobinsonLibrarian N.A.A.C.P. freedom activist in her college years; responsible for the integration of Lakeside Amusement Park; coordinator of Children's Services, Denver Public Library; 1964, recipient of the Nell I Scott Memorial Award for outstanding Library service; college instructor, guest lecturer. Listed in Who's Who in American Women, Who's Who in the West, and Who's Who in Library Services. Inducted 1973.

Pauline Short Robinson (1915 - 1997)

Pauline Robinson was the first African American librarian in Denver and fought for equal rights and better educational opportunities for children. This is a special biography brought to us from the staff of the Pauline Robinson Branch Library.

Helen Ring Robinson (1860-1923)

Helen Ring Robinson was the first woman to serve as senator in the Colorado Legislature.

Cleo Parker Robinson (1948 - )

Cleo Parker Robinson grew up in Denver's Five Points neighborhood and developed an innovative dance school that operates to this day.