Václav Havel, Playwright and Former President of the Czech Republic

Václav Havel was a revolutionary, a poet, a playwright and a president. Although he was reluctant to become a public figure, he has been...

Louis Armstrong, Legendary Jazz Musician and Singer

“Louis Armstrong is jazz,” said Wynton Marsalis. “He represents what the music is all about.” Armstrong was an innovative jazz musician who not only...

Elinor Ostrom, First Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Economics

Elinor Ostrom won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for her against-the-grain studies of how self-imposed regulation of common resources can be more efficient...

Norman Lear, Television Writer and Producer of “All in the Family”

With four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, accolades from the Writers Guild of America and a National Medal of Arts from President Clinton, Norman...

Oskar Schindler, Keeper of “List” That Saved 1,200 Jews

Oskar Schindler was a Nazi party member, philanderer and war profiteer who saved approximately 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. Schindler is now revered as...

Queen Noor al-Hussein of Jordan

Queen Noor of Jordan has strayed from the comfort of her wealthy upbringing, focusing on difficult humanitarian issues, marrying a Muslim king and speaking...

William Butler Yeats, Irish Poet and Dramatist

William Butler Yeats, a romantic, poet, playwright and senator, drew on national pride, spiritualism and love, and was credited with helping revive interest in...

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,...

Helen Keller, Blind and Deaf Author and Activist

Helen Keller lost her vision and hearing before age 2. But with help from her tutor, Anne Sullivan, Keller learned how to speak, read...

Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction Grand Master

In his approximately 500 books, writer Isaac Asimov explained the universe to us; where it had been, where it is now and where it...