Martin Scorsese, Director of “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull”
“It’s easy to think of Scorsese as a kind of poet of the underworld,” the American Film Institute reflected when they granted him a...
Brian Wilson, Co-founder of the Beach Boys
From the living room of his parents’ house to the world stage, Brian Wilson worked to establish the classic California surf sound with his...
William Carlos Williams, Writer and Physician
Celebrated writer William Carlos Williams is noted for his influence on the development of the short story form in 20th century American literature. His...
Noah Webster, Educator and Dictionary Writer
Noah Webster was a pioneering thinker devoted to books and learning. After the American Revolution, he set out to help the United States develop...
Sir Laurence Olivier, Stage and Screen Actor
Considered by many to be the greatest actor of the 20th century, Laurence Olivier changed the landscape of theater and film in his time,...
Miriam Makeba, Singer and Anti-Apartheid Activist
Miriam Makeba, widely known as “Mama Africa,” was exiled from her home of South Africa for her revolutionary words and songs, but was widely...
Claude Monet, Leader of the Impressionist School of Painting
French painter Claude Monet was the central figure of the Impressionist movement in the late 19th century, producing colorful, vibrant studies of natural and...
Osamu Tezuka, Japan’s “God of Comics”
Osamu Tezuka has been called the “god of comics” in Japan. After writing his first comic strip in third grade, Tezuka published his first...
Sam Walton, Founder of Walmart
For good or for ill, Walmart founder Sam Walton changed the retail landscape of America with his chain of discount stores.
Sam Walton's Early Days
Samuel...
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...
