Ayn Rand, Proponent of “The Virtue of Selfishness”
Outlier and icon, enemy of altruism and champion of the free market, writer and philosopher, Ayn Rand was too extreme to be categorized by...
Scott Joplin, Ragtime Composer of “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag”
American composer Scott Joplin, the “King of Ragtime,” composed dozens of legendary ragtime songs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, including such iconic...
Joseph Haydn, “the Father of the Symphony”
Known as “the Father of the Symphony,” Joseph Haydn's contribution to the world of music can be heard in every arrangement of melody, rhythm...
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...
Oleg Cassini, Fashion Designer
The elegant designs worn by Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly came to embody American fashion during the 1950s and 1960s. The man responsible for...
Saul Bellow, American Novelist
“The backbone of 20th-century American literature”—this was novelist Philip Roth’s assessment of Saul Bellow. His struggle with modernism, his Jewish upbringing, his feelings of...
Elizabeth Blackwell, First Female Physician in America
When Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1821, there were no formally trained female physicians in the Western world. But Blackwell graduated first in her...
Catherine Hughes, Radio and TV Executive
From a high school dropout and single teenaged mother to the first woman owner of a number one radio station and the first African-American...
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Fashion Icon and First Lady
Her pillbox hat, her love of family and her passion for the arts compose the portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. As a young widow,...
Roger Bannister, First Runner to Break the Four-Minute Mile
In 1954, British medical student Roger Bannister became the first man to break the four-minute mile barrier, earning him international admiration and to receive...
