Pearl Buck, 1938 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature

Pearl Buck is best known for her novel “The Good Earth,” which received the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 and helped earn her the Nobel...

Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Lawyer and Supreme Court Justice

Before Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court, he was also the most successful person to argue cases before the...

Robert Louis Stevenson, Author of “Treasure Island”

Although weak in health himself, Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson will always be associated with vigorous adventure, thanks to such thrilling tales as “Kidnapped”...

Margaret Sanger, Founder of Birth Control League (Planned Parenthood)

After seeing what she felt were too many women dying a result of unintended pregnancy, Margaret Sanger decided it was time for a revolution....

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...

Peggy Lee, Actress and Award-Winning Jazz-Pop Singer

Peggy Lee was a prolific, Grammy Award-winning vocalist, Academy Award-nominated actress and songwriter. Renowned for her emotive voice and sensual delivery, her most famous...

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....

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...

Lou Gehrig, the Yankees’ “Iron Horse”

Lou Gehrig anchored the Yankees’ “Bronx Bomber” teams of the 1920s, playing in a record-setting 2,130 consecutive games over 14 seasons. His career would...

Erik Erikson, German Psychologist

German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson is best known for his groundbreaking theories about the psychosocial stages of development, for coining the term “identity crisis,” and...