Nelson Mandela, First Black President of South Africa
Nelson Mandela was elected during the first election when South African blacks were allowed to vote. A leader of the resistance for years, Mandela...
Willie Nelson, Country Music Sensation
Willie Nelson, country singer-songwriter, long-haired hippie and philanthropist, has had a prolific music career. He began playing when he was 10 years old and...
Georges Seurat, Pointillist Painter
Although his artistic career lasted only a decade, Georges Seurat’s influence has stood the test of time. Popularized with his famous work “Sunday Afternoon...
Sir Isaac Newton, Mathematician and Physicist
Physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton was one of the most influential figures of the scientific revolution. He made significant contributions to calculus and his...
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...
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...
Noam Chomsky, Influential Linguist and Activist
The founder of modern linguistics and one of the most esteemed (and controversial) political theorists and activists of our age, Noam Chomsky has inspired,...
George Pullman, Inventor of the Sleeper Car
Inventor and industrialist George Pullman literally raised Chicago from the sewer and built luxury railroad cars for the elite. The media praised his “utopian”...
Joseph Pulitzer, Founder of the Pulitzer Prizes
Hungarian immigrant Joseph Pulitzer was a lawyer, politician, journalist and publisher of the nation’s most widely circulated newspaper. He is remembered best as the...
William Faulkner, American Novelist
William Faulkner, revered modernist writer, historian and sociologist, is known for capturing the raw beauty of the rural South in all its dark complexity....
