Financial Modeling analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Modeling analysis - Essay Example Another assumption is progressive growth in sales for the existing stores. As reflected in the financial forecast account, Lowe’s will make increasing sales for the first years, drop the pick-up and maintain a continuous growth of sales till the fifth year. Since the company will bring new products to metropolitan dweller, it will make more sales within the two year. In the third year, 2003, Lowe’s will try to adjust for the long-term investment decision hence leading to drop in sale. However, after adjusting its resources effectively, it will pick up and its sale will be expected to progressively grow. Lowe’s is planning to reach more professional customer using its online website. This means it will be collecting cash instantly thus as reflected by the high receivable turnover rates. In addition to that, it is assumed that Lowe’s will need huge financing if they have a goal of reaching metropolitan markets. In assuming a high receivable turnover rate, the company will minimize debtor ratio and will therefore have more cash at hand for the investment purpose. In addition to that, the model assumes a more that 100% inventory and P&E turn over. Though such a turnover rate may seem unachievable, it is important to set it so that Lowe’s can achieve its goal of competing with Home Depot. The model finally assumes a constant rate in â€Å"other current liabilities / sale† entity. For the company to be able to plan working capital, they need to have a rate that does not change. Financial forecast model developed by Value Line Publishing shows a higher 5 year average gross margin of approximately 30.52% as compared to Lowe’s model whose 5 year average gross margin is 29.3%. this simply means that VLP’s model is focused in seeing Home Depot to make more earning for every dollar it spend is sales while Lowe’s modes is focused to seeing

Best Leader Essay Example for Free

Best Leader Essay INTRODUCTION That I had chosen is Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad which is our Malaysian fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is one of a good Malaysian politic leader. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysias longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years. Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir excelled at school and became a medical doctor. He became active in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysias largest political party, before entering parliament in 1964. He served one term before losing his seat, before falling out with the then Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman and being expelled from UMNO. When Abdul Rahman resigned, Mahathir re-entered UMNO and parliament, and was promoted to the Cabinet. By 1976, he had risen to Deputy Prime Minister, and in 1981 was sworn in as Prime Minister after the resignation of his predecessor, Hussein Onn. ACHIEVEMENTS Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad had achieved lot of achievement during being a Prime Minister of Malaysia. He brings many good programs, mission and vision to Malaysia such as â€Å"Wawasan 2020†, first Malaysia cars†Proton â€Å", good education system and many more. There were lots of changes happen in Malaysia during his Management. Although he was rise from an ordinary family, he becomes a successful person in his life. This is indeed the great achievement of Tun Dr Mahathir in his twenty-two years as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. In my opinion an award is given to Tun Dr Mahathir in recognition for his achievement in changing, the mental altitude of the Malaysians. We can say that Tun Dr Mahathir is able to change to a certain extent the negative mental attitude of the Malaysians to a positive mental attitude. Tun Dr Mahathir has come with the slogan that change the negative mental outlook of the Malaysians to become positive mental outlook and this has becomes the basi s towards making Malaysia an advance country by the year 2020. Tun Dr Mahathir has set the vision that Malaysia is to become an advance country by the year 2020. An advance country to Tun Dr Mahathir is not only advancing materially but also spiritually. He wants Malaysia to becomes advance in all fields and to become advance in their thinking and achievements. In order to achieve vision 2020 all Malaysians especially the Prime Ministers must cling to the vision, slogan set by Tun Dr Mahathir. Unfortunately the Prime Ministers Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi comes with the vision of Islam Hadari, and the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak comes with the slogan of Satu Malaysia. In my opinion, we should stick to the vision, slogan set by Tun Dr Mahathir. All of us should work hard to achieve the vision that is to make Malaysia an advance country in the year 2020. During the times when Tun Dr Mahathir becomes the Prime Minister of Malaysia, there were so many infrastructure developments in Malaysia. We have the north and south highways built during his time, the twin towers, once the highest building in the world, the airport and many others built during his time as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Malaysians are sent abroad to study and acquire knowledge and it is during his time that Malaysia start sending students to Japan and Korea. Tun Dr Mahathir is in the opinion that we do not sent student only to acquire knowledge but also to acquire good working attitudes. Since the Japanese and Koreans have better working attitudes than the Americans and Europeans, the decision made by Tun Dr Mahathir to send our students to these countries to learn good working attitudes are commendable. Tun Dr Mahathir knows very well that having only knowledge without good working attitudes will not make Malaysia an advance country. In order to become an advance country Tun Dr Mahathir want the Malaysians to acquire knowledge as well as to acquire good working attitude. CHANGES IN MALAYSIA CONCLUSION As a conclusion, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad is a great man and a very good leader which I saw in my life. A simple normal man changes the country to become a one of the top country in the world. He is a good and intelligent leader, bring along our Malaysia community to a become a successful community by his good management.

The Importance of Service Learning :: Service Learning Teaching Education

When a woman approached Benjamin Franklin following the concluding session of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the fall of 1787 and asked what sort of government the delegates had come up with, Franklin famously replied: "A republic, madam, if you can keep it." The relevance of that notable statement transcended centuries and applied itself not only to national politics. The People’s participation in maintaining an agreeable government depends on a collective activism regarding both state and local civic affairs. Arizonans must become more active in the multiple facets of public service. In a state that has experienced tremendous population growth over the past couple decades, these migrants have found themselves disconnected from their new communities. In addition, there is a demand to increase the rate of volunteering, as more communities struggle with the current recession and state budget cuts. There is also a need to boost voter participation; citizens of a diverse state such as Arizona should take advantage of available political forums to contribute their varied opinions and solutions – or else legislation passed won’t reflect the true wishes of the people. One way to ensure a civically engaged population is to nurture and promote amongst youth and teenagers the value of participating in one’s community, with the hope that involvement will continue into adulthood. Most school districts in Arizona do not require students to volunteer as a graduation requirement. Those that do, necessitate a number of hours to be completed and logged individually; for example, Deer Valley Unified School District in Maricopa County requires eight hours of volunteering during a student’s senior year. Of course any opportunity for one to help society should be applauded – however, this particular process negates cooperative long-term attachment to a beneficial project and does not incorporate knowledge learned in class, or apply meaning in a real-life context. The implementation of Service-learning programs into public school curriculum would uphold useful skills associated with community involvement and citizenship, as well as address problems in real settings rather than do repetitious tasks in seclusion. Service-learning is defined as a â€Å"course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students (a) participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and (b) reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility† (Bringle & Hatcher, 1995).

The Outsider’s

How would you like it if people considered you to be poor or rich? The outsiders is a novel of conflicts and is about two teen gangs that live on different sides and the country. Greaser's against socks in other words the poor against the rich. The book by S. E. Hilton and is about how the rich kids call the poor kid's socks and get beat up. Pony boy is a 14-year-old teen boy that is a sock and gets beat up quite a lot. Pony boy is really sensitive, intelligent and observant. â€Å"Pony boy reminds me of a house cat hat always know what's going on†.Body Paragraph 1 Throughout the novel pony boy is really observant because many different reasons that I will explain. He might not have that much common sense but he always knows what's around him and what's going on whatever the situation is. In the book his brothers say â€Å"he might lack a bit of common sense but he always knows what's happening†. This is really true it's like he keeps an extra eye somewhere and is one o f a kind. Also he is observant because in the book he says this mfou take up for your uddies, no matter what they do.When you're a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don't stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang anymore. It's a pack. A snarling, distrustful, bickering pack like the Socks in their social clubs or the street gangs in New York or the wolves in the timber. â€Å"(34) he is helping has brothers and the greasers and is observing and telling them before hand what they are. Body Paragraph 2 In the other hand pony boy is a really sensitive kid in this novel.When something oesn't go right has emotions well let loose and you will easily find out what kind mood he is really in. In the book it says â€Å"don't cry pony don't cry we'll be okay (75)†. Pony boy is in bed with soda and soda says remind about last night and pony starts tearing up and tells him to shut up. Another reason why I think he's sensitive is because in the book i t says â€Å"l wanted to cry, but Greasers don't cry in front of strangers. Some of us never cry at all. Like Dally and two-bit and Tim Shepard–they forgot how at an early age. 102) Pony was in the hospital and has throat was hurting and he was thinking of has brothers and was about to cry but kept it together because strangers where there. Body Paragraph 3 Finally pony is a really intelligent person you might think he's not but he sure is. In school he gets really good grades and is the best student from all the characters he excuses Darry tor getting bad grades and not doing g â€Å"He is always having a nose in a book. (13)† That's what Darry and has brothers say about pony boy in the novel would always read and loves doing it.Also he is a good writer to he gets put in the A class. Also his brothers say that he is really good in school and stuff but his street smarts aren't so good and don't really have any. Conclusion In conclusion pony boy is Just like house cat that always knows what's happening and might do something bad here and there. Overall pony boy is a good house cat that knows what to do most of the time. Finally remember it doesn't matter what people consider you poor or rich you are what you are and let people think what they think.

Campbell Soup Case Essay

Synopsis The Campbell Soup Company has dominated the soup â€Å"industry† since the company developed a cost-effective method of producing condensed soup products in 1899. Throughout most of the twentieth century, Campbell was known as one of the most conservative companies in the United States. In 1980, Campbell startled the business world by selling debt securities for the first time and by embarking on a program to lengthen and diversify its historically â€Å"short† product line. Despite a sizable increase in revenues, the diversification program failed to improve Campbell’s profitability, which prompted the company’s executives to refocus their attention on their core business, namely, manufacturing and marketing soup products. Unfortunately, by the end of the twentieth century, the public’s interest in soup was waning. Faced with a shrinking market for its primary product, Campbell’s management team allegedly began using a series of questionable business practices and accounting gimmicks to prop up the company’s reported profits. A class-action lawsuit filed in early 2000 by disgruntled Campbell stockholders charged top company executives with misrepresenting Campbell’s operating results in the late 1990s. The principal allegation was that the executives had used a variety of methods to inflate the company’s revenues, gross margins, and profits during that time frame. Eventually, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Campbell’s independent audit firm, was named as a co-defendant in the case. The plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit claimed that PwC had recklessly audited Campbell, which effectively allowed Campbell’s executives to continue their illicit schemes. This case examines the allegations filed against PwC by Campbell’s stockholders with the primary purpose of illustrating the audit objectives and procedures that can and should be applied to a client’s revenue and revenue-related accounts. The case also provides students with important insights on how the Private  Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has affected auditors’ civil liability in lawsuits filed under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Campbell Soup Company–Key Facts 1.During much of its history, Campbell Soup was known as one of the most conservative large companies in the U.S. economy. 2. Campbell’s conservative corporate culture abruptly changed in the 1980s when the company sold debt securities for the first time and embarked on an ambitious program to diversify and expand its product line. 3.In the late 1990s, after the diversification program had produced disappointing financial results and when market data indicated that the public’s interest in soup was waning, Campbell executives allegedly began using several illicit methods to meet Wall Street’s earnings targets for the company. 4.A class-action lawsuit filed in 2000 charged that Campbell had offered customers large, period-ending discounts to artificially inflate sales, accounted improperly for those discounts, recorded bogus sales, and failed to record appropriate reserves for anticipated sales returns. 5.PwC, Campbell’s audit firm, was named as a defendant in the class-action lawsuit and was charged with recklessly auditing Campbell’s financial statements. 6.Because the class-action lawsuit was filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the federal judge presiding over the case had to decide whether the allegations involving PwC satisfied the new â€Å"pleading standard† established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 7.The PSLRA’s pleading standard requires plaintiffs to plead or allege facts  suggesting that there is a â€Å"strong inference of scienter† on the part of a given defendant. 8.To satisfy the PSLRA pleading standard in the Third Circuit of the U.S. District Court in which the Campbell lawsuit was filed, a plaintiff, at a minimum, must allege that the given defendant acted with â€Å"recklessness.† 9.After reviewing PwC’s audit workpapers, the federal judge ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to satisfy the PSLRA pleading standard, which resulted in PwC being dismissed as a defendant in the case. 10.In February 2003, Campbell settled the class-action lawsuit by agreeing to pay the plaintiffs $35 million, although company executives denied any wrongdoing. Instructional Objectives 1.To demonstrate that even the largest and highest profile audit clients can pose significant audit risks. 2.To identify discretionary business practices and accounting â€Å"gimmicks† that can be used to distort a company’s reported operating results. 3.To identify audit procedures that should be applied to a client’s sales and sales-related accounts. 4.To examine the implications that the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has for the civil liability of independent auditors in lawsuits filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 5.To examine the concepts of recklessness and negligence in the context of auditors’ civil liability. Suggestions for Use The â€Å"high-risk† accounts that are the focus of this case are sales and sales-related accounts. This case focuses students’ attention on schemes that companies can use to enhance their reported operating results. These schemes involve both â€Å"discretionary† business practices and accounting gimmicks. Auditing textbooks generally ignore the fact that audit clients often manage or manipulate their reported profits by using discretionary business practices—such as delaying advertising or maintenance expenditures. This case requires students to address this possibility and consider the resulting audit implications. After discussing this case, I hope my students recognize that companies that use discretionary business practices to â€Å"rig† their profits are likely inclined to use accounting gimmicks for the same purpose. As an out-of-class assignment, you might ask students to find in the business press recent examples of companies that have attempted to manage their earnings without violating any accounting or financial reporting rules. Have students present these examples and then discuss them when addressing case question No. 1. I think you will find that students have very different opinions on whether it is ethical for public companies to â€Å"massage† their income statement data while complying with the technical requirements of GAAP. You might consider packaging this case with the Health Management, Inc., case (Case 1.4). The Health Management case provides a general discussion of the PSLRA. The Campbell Soup case contributes to students’ understanding of the PSLRA by examining in more depth the â€Å"pleading standard† established by that federal statute and the impact that standard has on lawsuits filed against auditors under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Suggested Solutions to Case Questions 1.Here are a few examples of discretionary business practices that corporate executives can use to influence their company’s revenues and/or expenses. ââ€" ºDeferring advertising, maintenance, or other discretionary expenditures until the following period. ââ€" ºSlowing down (or accelerating) work on long-term construction projects or contracts for which the percentage-of-completion accounting method is used to recognize revenue. ââ€" ºUsing economic incentives to stimulate sales near the end of an accounting period (a technique used by Campbell). Are the practices just listed â€Å"ethical†? Typically, students suggest that since these practices do not violate any laws, GAAP, or other â€Å"black and white† rules, the practices cannot be considered â€Å"unethical†Ã¢â‚¬â€a roundabout way of arguing that they are ethical. That general point-of-view seems consistent with the following comment that Judge Irenas made regarding Campbell’s period-ending â€Å"trade loading:† â€Å"There is nothing inherently improper in pressing for sales to be made earlier than in the normal course . . . there may be any number of legitimate reasons for attempting to achieve sales earlier.† For what it is worth, I believe that corporate executives who defer needed maintenance expenses or who postpone advertising programs that would likely produce sizable sales in future periods are not acting in the best interests of their stockholders. In other words, I do not believe such practices are proper or â€Å"ethical.† Likewise, corporate executives who take advantage of the inherent flexibility of the percentage-of-completion accounting method, ostensibly to serve their own economic interests, are not individuals who I would want serving as stewards of my investments. In my view, it is a little more difficult to characterize the â€Å"trade loading† practices of Campbell as unethical. Why? Because, allegedly, the company’s competitors were using the same practice. If Campbell chose not to offer large, period-ending discounts to their customers, the company would likely have lost sales to its competitors. [Note: Campbell’s CEO who resigned in 2000 announced in mid-1999 that his company was discontinuing trade loading.] 2. I would suggest that companies that use various â€Å"legitimate† business practices to â€Å"manage† their earnings are more prone to use illicit methods (accounting gimmicks, etc.) for the same purpose. As a result, auditors could reasonably consider such business practices as a â€Å"red flag† that mandates more extensive and/or rigorous audit tests. [Note: Professional auditing standards suggest that corporate executives who place excessive emphasis on achieving earnings forecasts may be prone to misrepresenting  their company’s financial statement data.] 3.SAS No. 106, â€Å"Audit Evidence,† identifies three categories of management assertions implicit in an entity’s financial statements that independent auditors should attempt to corroborate by collecting sufficient appropriate audit evidence. The third of these categories is â€Å"presentation and disclosure.† Included in the latter category is the following item: â€Å"Classification and understandability. Financial information is appropriately presented and described and disclosures are clearly expressed.† [AU 326.15] Likewise, one of the five transaction-related assertions is entitled â€Å"Classification.† This latter assertion suggests that, â€Å"Transactions and events have been recorded in the proper accounts.† Here are examples of â€Å"spin† techniques that can be used to enhance income statement data without changing net income: ââ€" ºClassifying cost of goods sold components as SG&A expenses to inflate gross profit on sales. ââ€" ºReporting items that qualify as operating expenses/losses as nonoperating expenses/losses to inflate operating income. (One of the most common variations of this â€Å"trick† in recent years has been including legitimate operating expenses in â€Å"restructuring† losses.) ââ€" ºTreating â€Å"other losses† as extraordinary losses to inflate income from continuing operations. 4.Shipping to the yard: Year-end sales cutoff tests are intended to identify misclassification of sales occurring near the end of a client’s fiscal year. Auditors will typically choose a small sample of sales that the client recorded in the final few days of the fiscal year and a comparable sample of sales that occurred in the first few days of the new fiscal year. Then, the relevant shipping and other accounting documents for those sales will be inspected to determine that they were recorded in the proper period. This standard test might have revealed the fact that Campbell was booking some unusually large sales near the end of accounting periods. Even though the shipping documents for these sales might have suggested that they were valid period-ending sales, a curious auditor might have  investigated the sales further. For example, that auditor might have attempted to determine whether the resulting receivables were collected on a timely basis. During the course of such an investigation, the auditor would likely have discovered that the sales were reversed in the following period or dealt with in some other nonstandard way. Accounts receivable confirmation procedures might also have resulted in the discovery of these â€Å"sales.† Customers to whom such sales were charged would likely have identified them as differences or discrepancies on returned confirmations. Subsequent investigation of these items by the auditors may have revealed their true nature. As pointed out by the plaintiffs in this case, during physical inventory counting procedures auditors typically take notice of any inventory that has been segregated and not counted—for example, inventory that is sitting in parked trucks. If there is an unusually large amount of such segregated inventory—which was apparently true in this case, the auditors should have inquired of the client and obtained a reasonable explanation. The old, reliable â€Å"scanning year-end transactions to identify large and/or unusual transactions† might also have led to the discovery of Campbell’s sales â€Å"shipped to the yard.† Guaranteed sales: During the first few weeks of a client’s new fiscal year, auditors should review the client’s sales returns and allowances account to determine whether there are any unusual trends apparent in that account. Auditors should be particularly cognizant of unusually high sales returns and allowances, which may signal that a client overstated reported sales for the prior accounting period. Accounts receivable confirmation procedures may also result in auditors discovering an unusually high rate of â€Å"charge-backs† by the client’s customers. In some cases, clients will have written contracts that document the key features of sales contracts. Reviewing such contracts may result in the discovery of â€Å"guaranteed sales† or similar transactions. Finally, simply discussing a client’s sales policies and procedures with client personnel may result in those personnel intentionally or inadvertently â€Å"tipping off† auditors regarding questionable accounting practices for sales, such as shipping to the yard or guaranteed sales. 5. Here are definitions of â€Å"negligence† and â€Å"recklessness† that I have referred to in suggested solutions for questions in other cases. These definitions were taken from the following source: D.M. Guy, C.W. Alderman, and A.J. Winters, Auditing, Fifth Edition (San Diego: Dryden, 1999), 85-86. Negligence: â€Å"The failure of the CPA to perform or report on an engagement with the due professional care and competence of a prudent auditor.† Recklessness: â€Å"A serious occurrence of negligence tantamount to a flagrant or reckless departure from the standard of due care.† After reviewing the definition of â€Å"negligence,† ask your students to define or describe a â€Å"prudent auditor.† Then, ask them whether they believe that definition/description applies to the PwC auditors assigned to the 1998 Campbell audit. Here are two hypothetical examples drawn from this case involving what I would characterize as â€Å"reckless auditors.† ââ€" ºA client employee tells PwC auditors that many year-end sales are â€Å"guaranteed† and that no reserve has been established for the large amount of returns that will likely be produced by those sales. PwC decides not to investigate this allegation because of manpower constraints on the engagement. ââ€" ºWhile reviewing receivables confirmations returned by Campbell customers, PwC auditors discover that approximately one-fourth of those customers indicate that their balances include charges for large amounts of product purchased near the end of the year, product that they did not order or receive. PwC dismisses this unusually large number of similar reported differences as a â€Å"coincidence.† 6.Here is a list of key parties that have been affected by the PSLRA. ââ€" ºInvestors who suffer large losses that they believe were caused by reckless or fraudulent conduct on the part of a given company’s management team, its auditors, or other parties associated with the company’s financial statements. At least some of these investors have likely found it more  difficult and costly to recover their losses because of the barrier to securities lawsuits erected by the PSLRA. [Note: Granted, the PSLRA has little impact on the ability of investors to recover losses in those cases involving obvious gross fraud or malfeasance by corporate management or other parties.] ââ€" ºSome parties have argued that the PSLRA diminishes the overall efficiency of the stock market. These parties argue that by making it more difficult for investors to file lawsuits under the 1934 Securities Act, the PSLRA has resulted in a larger portion of scarce investment capital being squandered by irresponsible corporate executives, which, in the long run, diminishes the strength of our economy and our nation’s standard of living. ââ€" ºGenerally, corporate executives have benefited from the PSLRA since it has reduced, to some degree, their exposure to civil liability. ââ€" ºAs pointed out in the Health Management, Inc., case (Case 1.4), the PSLRA apparently has not been very beneficial to large accounting firms. For whatever reason, in recent years, there has been a general upward trend in federal securities cases alleging accounting irregularities. Not only are independent auditors more likely to be named as defendants in such cases, the settlements in those cases tend to be considerably higher than in other lawsuits filed under the federal securities laws.

Consequences of the civil war essays

Consequences of the civil war essays The time following the civil war was hard for the South economically. However they were not the only ones who were having problems. The only difference is that other parts of the United States were very prosperous. One major issue, no matter what part of the country you worked in, was labor. In the time period of 1865-1880 the United States went through some major reforms regarding labor as well as some major technological advancements of agricultural production. After the Civil war the cotton king was dethroned in the U.S. In the Mississippi Valley grain farmers were becoming very prosperous. They were becoming specialists in not only the agricultural benefactors of farming but were becoming key players in the banking, manufacturing, and railroad industry. Competition was fierce. A farmer had to keep up with the latest technological advancement in farming if he wanted to make any type of profit. This entailed buying expensive machinery in order to plant and harvest crops. The speed of planting and harvesting was greatly increased. In California it was described as a country of plantations not gold. The new country was carving up Mexican land into vast fruit and vegetable crops. Cheep land was purchased from the Mexicans, and agriculture was ironically the first big business in California. Farmers had to be careful not to become chained to a one crop economy. For while prices were high farmers did well on one crop. If prices dropped, like they did in 1880 with wheat and corn, the farmers would be put into a situation very similar to the south and the cotton plantations. With the emancipation of the slaves after the Civil War, the South attempted to maintain their dominance of the blacks with the instatement of the black codes. Mississippi was the first to adopt the code but other states followed, each with its own variation. Te black codes gave Negros their basic ri ...

Matthew B. Brady essays

Matthew B. Brady essays Mathew B. Brady: Civil War Photographer Mathew B. Brady: Civil War Photographer was written by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk. Elizabeth Van Steenwyk has written many good books for young people including: Saddlebag Salesmen, The California Missions, Frederic Remington, The California Gold Rush: West with the Forty-Niners, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett: Woman of Courage. Elizabeth now lives in San Marino, California with her husband. Mathew B. Brady was born somewhere between 1823 and 1824. His early life is somewhat a mystery. He was born in Warren County in New York and his parents might have been Irish immigrants. His middle name was even a mystery, when asked what the B stood for he said that he inserted it because it seemed more distinguished. When he turned 16 he met William Page, a man wanting to become an artist. The both of them worked together, and Pages artistic abilities were most likely Bradys starting interest in becoming a photographer. In 1839 or 1840 Brady and Page moved to New York City. Meanwhile, a French inventor named Louis-Jacques-Mand Daguerre was inventing something that would change Bradys life. In 1839 Daguerre invented his camera. Samuel F. B. Morse went over to France to check out Daguerres camera. He wrote back to a magazine saying that it was perhaps the greatest invention in this age. When Samuel Morse returned to New York City and started a school for learning how to use the camera. Brady, very interested in the camera, signed up for lessons. Several years later Brady graduated and started his own little photography business on Broadway. In 1844 Brady won first place in the first photographic contest in America. Winning the contest also won Brady a lot of clients. He became very popular in New York. He took pictures of twenty-five famous people and therefore published The Gallery of Illustrious Americans. He opened an ...