Walter Cronkite, CBS News Anchor
To his colleagues, he was “Old Iron Pants,” and to everyone else, he was “The Most Trusted Man in America.” For more than half...
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Composer of Musical Theater
Considered one of the most successful contemporary composers, Andrew Lloyd Webber has consistently created works that garner international appeal and success. He has created...
Rainer Maria Rilke, Author of “Letters to a Young Poet”
Rainer Maria Rilke spent his life traveling the globe. Despite a variety of lovers and locales—Prague, Munich, Rome, Paris and Switzerland—Rilke remained alone, seeking...
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...
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...
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Father of Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson—essayist, minister, poet and philosopher from New England—was the founding father of the transcendentalist movement and the creator of many literary works...
Meriwether Lewis, Western Explorer
Along with William Clark, Meriwether Lewis led the first expedition through the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, revealing the landscape and nature of the...
Auguste Escoffier, Innovative Chef and Inventor of the Chef’s Hat
Modern cuisine owes many of its practices to the great French chef Auguste Escoffier: he changed public dining in hotels and restaurants worldwide by...
Venus Williams, Tennis Star
Twenty-one Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and a host of other tournament wins make Venus Williams one of the most recognizable figures...
Harvey Pekar, Author of the ‘American Splendor’ Comic Books
Harvey Pekar has made a career out of being an ordinary man. As a comic book writer, he documented the most mundane details of...
