Brigham Young, Mormon Prophet

He led a church through its infancy, guided thousands of pioneers on a historic cross-country migration, helped settle the state of Utah and was...

Eugene Debs, Labor Leader

Eugene V. Debs spearheaded labor movements, led the American Socialist Party and is remembered today for being an agitator who never shied from passionately...

Leo Szilard, Physicist and Contributor to the Manhattan Project

Leo Szilard, the Hungarian Jewish physicist, molecular biologist and inventor, worked on the Manhattan Project but expressed himself as a “scientist of conscience,” using...

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Ambassador to Vietnam

A senator and ambassador to Vietnam, Henry Cabot Lodge was a key player in the Cold War, and an adored political figure among Republicans....

Nadine Gordimer, 1991 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature

Writer Nadine Gordimer has devoted her life to fighting for the rights and health of the less fortunate and oppressed. She won the Nobel...

Samuel Lightnin’ Hopkins, Pioneer of Texas Blues

Blending southern poetry and a loose, all-encompassing handling of the guitar, Lightnin’ Hopkins brought a Texas accent to the masses with one of the...

Amelia Earhart, Record-Breaking Pilot

Amelia Earhart set the gold standard for “enlightened feminism.” She was dubbed “Lady Lindy” because of her likeness to aviator Charles Lindbergh, and because...

Omar Khayyam: Persian Mathematician, Astronomer and Poet

Omar Khayyam was a brilliant mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and physician of the 11th century. He contributed to the basic principles of algebra and developed...

Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Religion

Iranian spiritual leader Bahá'u'lláh founded the Bahá’í religion in 1863. Today, it has five million followers from around the world. Bahá'u'lláh's Early Days Mirza Hoseyn Ali...

Stephen Jay Gould, Paleontologist and Science Writer

Renowned for both his revolutionary contributions to evolutionary biology and his ability to make science accessible to the public, Stephen Jay Gould drew upon...