One of the ways of learning about our past is to study biographies of people who accomplished extraordinary things in their lives. This article is about Alexander Lucius Twilight, an American who lived from 1795 to 1857.

Twilight was born in Vermont. As a poor youngster less than 10 years old, he got a job working for a neighboring farmer. He saved his money and was finally able to afford to attend a local high school when he was 20.

Over the next six years Twilight completed high school and two years of college-level courses. This allowed him to transfer to prestigious Middlebury College, fro...