Sonia Sotomayor, First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic and the third female justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Hailing from a working-class background, Sotomayor...
Horace Mann, “Father of American Education”
Horace Mann was an educational pioneer. At a time when many saw considerable problems in American education, he stepped forward to address the issues,...
Anna Freud, Pioneer in Child Psychoanalysis
Tirelessly devoted to both her renowned father and his revolutionary but controversial psychoanalytic theory, Anna Freud was Sigmund Freud’s youngest daughter, and sole heir...
Ricardo Montalbán, “Fantasy Island’s” Mr. Roarke
For years, Mexican-born actor Ricardo Montalbán played Latin lovers, shady villains and a host of ethnic bit parts. But everything changed when he was...
Walt Disney, Creator of Mickey Mouse and Disneyland
Although Walt Disney’s first illustration company went broke, the ambitious animator took his sketchbook to Hollywood where he made it big with a mouse...
Samuel Johnson, Dictionary Writer and Biographer
Not only did Samuel Johnson’s work define the literature of the 18th century, his dictionary defined the language. Sometimes called “the great convulsionary” for...
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
Early on, it hardly seemed as if Harry S. Truman—a farmer, an army captain in World War I and a haberdasher—was on track to...
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi), Baroque Painter
Michelangelo Merisi, popularly known as Caravaggio, spearheaded the Baroque movement, and his paintings are acclaimed for their realism and their depiction of the violent,...
Berry Gordy Jr., Founder of Motown Records
Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. brought black music to white audiences. He premiered a new sound, and launched the careers of such artists...
Julie Andrews, Actress and Singer
Julie Andrews became famous as the star of Broadway’s “My Fair Lady” and “Camelot” and Hollywood’s “Mary Poppins,” “The Sound of Music” and “Victor/Victoria.”...
