Elizabeth Blackwell, First Female Physician in America
When Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1821, there were no formally trained female physicians in the Western world. But Blackwell graduated first in her...
Nina Simone, “The High Priestess of Soul”
Jazz singer Nina Simone revolutionized popular music and emerged as one of the finest songwriters and musicians of her time. In addition to captivating...
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...
Miriam Makeba, Singer and Anti-Apartheid Activist
Miriam Makeba, widely known as “Mama Africa,” was exiled from her home of South Africa for her revolutionary words and songs, but was widely...
Sidney Poitier, Pioneering African-American Actor
Sidney Poitier was the child of tomato farmers in the Bahamas. He moved to New York as a teenager and worked as a dishwasher...
Jules Verne, Science Fiction Author
Jules Verne was a pioneer in literature. With a powerful interest in writing and an imagination that was ahead of his time, Verne became...
Abraham Lincoln, “The Great Emancipator”
Abraham Lincoln worked his way from a log cabin to the White House, teaching himself law and earning the faith of the electorate through...
James P. Johnson, Jazz Pianist
The 1920s were a dynamic time in American history. Flappers tested the limits of fashion. Bootleg liquor fought prohibition. In music, the era became...
Charles Lindbergh, American Aviator
Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly a plane non-stop across the Atlantic at age 25. Though he experienced fame for his heroism,...
Steve Jobs, Creator of Apple Computers
Derided by some, held up as a technological savior by others, Steve Jobs helped launch a wave of personal computer use that has redefined...
