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...

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...

Sidney Poitier, Pioneering African-American Actor

Sidney Poitier was the child of tomato farmers in the Bahamas. He moved to New York as a teenager and worked as a dishwasher...

Nina Simone, “The High Priestess of Soul”

Jazz singer Nina Simone revolutionized popular music and emerged as one of the finest songwriters and musicians of her time. In addition to captivating...

Chuck Yeager, American Pioneer of Flight

Driven by an unshakable sense of duty and a love of life in the air, Chuck Yeager has spent decades pushing the boundaries of...

Marlene Dietrich, Glamorous Siren of the Silver Screen

1901 An icon of sexuality and sensuality who captured her public with understated beauty and nonchalant charm, the German-born Marlene Dietrich was one of the...

Stanley Kunitz, American Poet

Stanley Kunitz was destined to be a poet. Kunitz once said, “There was so much joy in playing with the language that I couldn’t...

Elizabeth Taylor, Hollywood Actress

Elizabeth Taylor spent her life on camera. She took her first screen test in 1939 at age seven and worked as an actress until...

Madame Marie Tussaud, Wax Sculptor and Museum Owner

After showing early artistic skill, Marie Tussaud apprenticed under one of the greatest wax modelers of her time. She made it—just barely—through the French...

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...