Walt Disney, Creator of Mickey Mouse and Disneyland
Although Walt Disney’s first illustration company went broke, the ambitious animator took his sketchbook to Hollywood where he made it big with a mouse...
Elinor Ostrom, First Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Economics
Elinor Ostrom won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for her against-the-grain studies of how self-imposed regulation of common resources can be more efficient...
Federico García Lorca, Spanish Poet and Playwright
Before the Spanish Civil War, scholars, literary figures and artists from all of Europe found a home in Spain, a nation of contrasts, diverse...
Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister
Known as the “Iron Lady,” British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to lead a Western democracy, a position she held for...
Horace Mann, “Father of American Education”
Horace Mann was an educational pioneer. At a time when many saw considerable problems in American education, he stepped forward to address the issues,...
Robert A. Heinlein, Author of “Stranger in a Strange Land”
Science fiction Grand Master Robert A. Heinlein inspired many readers with his predictions of technologies to come, his vivid descriptions of outer space, and...
Coretta Scott King, First Lady of Civil Rights
Coretta Scott King was more than just the wife of a legend, she was a singer, an organizer and an activist in her own...
Fred Astaire, Dancing Film Star and Elegant Showman
A Broadway star who ventured to Hollywood mid-career, Fred Astaire quickly became the era’s icon of grace, style and perfection. Alone or with a...
Jules Verne, Science Fiction Author
Jules Verne was a pioneer in literature. With a powerful interest in writing and an imagination that was ahead of his time, Verne became...
Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Pioneer
Born into a life of religion, Martin Luther King Jr. used his faith to help guide a divided nation toward racial equality, breaking barriers...
