Greatest 17 Biography Movies Must-See Released in 1940

The story of legendary Notre Dame football player and coach Knute Rockne. Look into Knute Rockne All American / IMDB / YouTube

Humble Abraham Lincoln gains the respect of his Illinois neighbors, growing in stature and respect until he is elected President in 1860 and departs for Washington. Find out about Abe Lincoln in Illinois / IMDB / YouTube

Although loudmouthed braggart Jerry Plunkett alienates his comrades and officers, Father Duffy, the regimental chaplain, has faith that he'll prove himself in the end. Look into The Fighting 69th / IMDB / YouTube

True story of the doctor who considered it was not immoral to search for a drug that would cure syphillis. Look into Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet / IMDB / YouTube

82-year-old inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Alva Edison is honored in 1929 and he reflects back on his sixty-year career of scientific achievement. Explore Edison, the Man / IMDB / YouTube

Anti-semitic Nazi propaganda biography of the Rothschilds, a German Jewish family whose members rose to the top of the European banking community during the Napoleonic era. Details on The Rothschilds / IMDB / YouTube

Since he was a child, Thomas Alba Edison began carrying out his first chemical experiments in the basement of his house. In addition, he had to practice multiple occupations before he could register his first patent. More about Young Tom Edison / IMDB / YouTube

In 1844, after the assassination of Mormon leader Joseph Smith by an angry mob in Illinois, the Mormons choose Brigham Young as their new leader and follow him to a new promised land in Utah. More about Brigham Young / IMDB / YouTube

Starting with a small flock of carrier pigeons, nineteenth-century entrepreneur Julius Reuter turns his small company into Europe's most respected news wire service. See more about A Dispatch from Reuters / IMDB / YouTube

The life story of the musical star from her discovery in 1890 by bandleader Tony Pastor until her retirement in 1912, when she married newspaperman Alexander Moore. Find out about Lillian Russell / IMDB / YouTube

Steamboat inventor Robert Fulton shows up in New York in 1807. Tavern keeper Pat O'Day believes in him, but her boyfriend doesn't. All seems lost after sailors, afraid of losing their jobs, burn his boat. Check out Little Old New York / IMDB / YouTube

More fictional than factual biography of Stephen Foster. Songwriter from Pittsburgh falls in love with the South, marries a Southern gal (Leeds), then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out. See more about Swanee River / IMDB / YouTube

Picking up where Victoria the Great (1937) left off, this sequel has Anna Neagle return to the role of Queen Victoria in another colorful account of the revered British monarch's reign. This film offers a stellar chronicle of Victoria's relationship with Prince Albert (Anton Walbrook) as well as the political and military upheavals that characterized her time as Queen. Details on Queen of Destiny / IMDB / YouTube