Pablo Neruda, the “People’s Poet” of Chile

One of the most beloved and widely read Latin American poets, Pablo Neruda defies categorization. His work was as stylistically varied—from sensuous love poetry...

Billie Jean King, Tennis Star and Feminist Pioneer

Tennis star Billie Jean King spent her career campaigning for gender equality in sports. Her win in 1973’s highly publicized “Battle of the Sexes”...

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...

Jane Addams, Social Settlement Worker

Jane Addams was a pioneer in the field of social work and co-founder of the Hull House, a settlement house for lower class immigrants...

Doris Lessing, Social Commentator and Nobel Prize Winner in Literature

A powerful, politically minded and acerbic Nobel Laureate, Britain's Doris Lessing was a treasured social commentator and novelist who continued her prolific and award-winning...

Mary Lyon, Champion of Women’s Higher Education

Mary Lyon was a progressive educator and pioneer of women’s higher education. In 1837 she founded the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley,...

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author and Abolitionist

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s most memorable contribution to society was her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The responses to Stowe’s work were so powerfully divisive that...

H.L. Mencken, Reporter Who Covered Scopes “Monkey Trial”

H.L. Mencken, the “Sage of Baltimore,” was an outspoken journalist whose caustic tongue and scathing criticism of many segments of American society inspired anger...

Terry Bradshaw, Quarterback of the Steelers Dynasty

Terry Bradshaw has made a career out of exceeding expectations. Though derided by fans as a country bumpkin, he deftly guided the Steelers to...

Charles Darwin, Developer of the Theory of Natural Selection

Charles Darwin was never a great student—but he was an avid collector of beetles. After graduating from college, the budding naturalist accepted a position...