Carole King, Chart-Topping Singer-Songwriter
Carole King started playing the piano at age 4 and hasn’t stopped since. Out of college in the 1960s King was writing some of...
Cole Porter, Broadway Lyricist and Composer
A talented writer and musician, Porter took Broadway by storm with his piercing wit. “Anything Goes” and “Kiss Me, Kate” are considered classics and...
Rocky Marciano, Undefeated Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Boxer Rocky Marciano is legendary for being the only heavyweight champion in history to win every single one of his 49 professional fights, with...
Catherine Hughes, Radio and TV Executive
From a high school dropout and single teenaged mother to the first woman owner of a number one radio station and the first African-American...
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...
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...
Madeleine Albright, First Female Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state, served as the face of U.S. foreign policy during Bill Clinton's second term as president....
Leo Tolstoy, Author of “War and Peace”
Leo Tolstoy proclaimed, “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.” His rebellion toward society, and his philosophical and idealistic outlook fashioned his...
Hedy Lamarr, Actress and Inventor
Hedy Lamarr was a woman perpetually ahead of her time. She shocked the world with some racy roles in the 1930s, and a decade...
Tony Kushner, Writer of “Angels in America”
“My day job is playwright. My citizen job is activist...I succeed and fail at both my jobs, but I try to do them both.”...
