Tammy Wynette, Country Music’s First Lady
By the age of 20, Tammy Wynette was divorced with three children, and working two jobs. At the time, the singer performed just to...
Allen Ginsberg, Beat Poet
Allen Ginsberg helped launch a literary revolution in the United States during the mid-20th century. As a central figure in the Beat generation, Ginsberg’s...
Nat King Cole, Singer and Jazz Pioneer
Nat King Cole’s musical upbringing forged a career that would delve the nuances of the jazz trio and fashion a more subtle approach to...
Marian Wright Edelman, Children’s Defense Fund Founder
Crowned by Harper’s Bazaar as “America’s Universal Mother,” and a winner of the Library of Congress Living Legend award, Marian Wright Edelman has dedicated...
Lou Gehrig, the Yankees’ “Iron Horse”
Lou Gehrig anchored the Yankees’ “Bronx Bomber” teams of the 1920s, playing in a record-setting 2,130 consecutive games over 14 seasons. His career would...
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author and Abolitionist
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s most memorable contribution to society was her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The responses to Stowe’s work were so powerfully divisive that...
Abigail Adams, First Lady
First Lady Abigail Adams became the first presidential wife to live in the White House when she joined her husband, John Adams, in Washington...
Dave Brubeck, American Jazz Pianist
One of America’s most revered and respected jazz and classical pianists and composers, Dave Brubeck had a prolific career spanning six decades of performing...
Studs Terkel, Author and Oral Historian
For 45 years, Studs Terkel conducted interviews with people from all walks of life. Through his radio program and published oral histories, Terkel was...
John Foster Dulles, Former Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles was hailed as a “master craftsman” of foreign policy. Decades before his work as secretary of state under President Dwight Eisenhower,...
