Malcolm X, Civil Rights Activist
Though often eclipsed by Martin Luther King, Jr. in the historical record, Malcolm X was a leading figure of the mid-20th century civil rights...
Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha”
Warren Buffett, was the richest man in the world in 2008. But despite his fortune, the American investor remains dedicated to the ethics of...
Mary Lyon, Champion of Women’s Higher Education
Mary Lyon was a progressive educator and pioneer of women’s higher education. In 1837 she founded the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley,...
Ursula K. Le Guin, Writer
Novelist, poet and translator Ursula Le Guin is best known for creating worlds of fantasy and of the far future, but that is only...
Stephen Crane, Author of “The Red Badge of Courage”
Although he is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, Stephen Crane’s life and career were cut short before his...
Auguste Escoffier, Innovative Chef and Inventor of the Chef’s Hat
Modern cuisine owes many of its practices to the great French chef Auguste Escoffier: he changed public dining in hotels and restaurants worldwide by...
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...
Melvin Van Peebles, Writer, Director and Actor
Melvin Van Peebles has been called a renaissance man, displaying his multi-genre talents writing screenplays, novels, plays and music, in addition to acting in...
Pablo Picasso, Painter
From his Cubist works to his famous Blue Period, painter Pablo Picasso changed the face of art forever.
Pablo Picasso's Early Days
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was...
Leo Szilard, Physicist and Contributor to the Manhattan Project
Leo Szilard, the Hungarian Jewish physicist, molecular biologist and inventor, worked on the Manhattan Project but expressed himself as a “scientist of conscience,” using...
