Al Hirschfeld, Caricature Artist

Al Hirschfeld demonstrated prodigious artistic talent at an early age. As an adult, his technique was deceptively simple; he harnessed the power of a...

Alberto Giacometti, Sculptor

Famous for his sculptures of stick-thin figures with razor-sharp, fine features, Alberto Giacometti was an artist who defied categorization. His work flirted with nearly...

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...

Jerry Seinfeld, Comedian and Actor

Jerry Seinfeld is most famous for playing himself on the hit TV show “Seinfeld,” as well as in the documentary “Comedian.” “Seinfeld” the show...

Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s “Dear Leader”

Kim Jong Il assumed power a few years after his father suffered a heart attack. The dictator had a reputation as a somewhat erratic...

Buster Keaton, Silent Film Star

One of the biggest stars of the silent film era, actor and director Buster Keaton revolutionized the art of physical comedy. From a childhood...

Václav Havel, Playwright and Former President of the Czech Republic

Václav Havel was a revolutionary, a poet, a playwright and a president. Although he was reluctant to become a public figure, he has been...

Hans Christian Andersen, Poet and Author of Fairy Tales

Fairy tales may seem to have existed since the beginning of storytelling, but Hans Christian Andersen is the acknowledged father of the modern form....

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...

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...