Eugene Debs, Labor Leader
Eugene V. Debs spearheaded labor movements, led the American Socialist Party and is remembered today for being an agitator who never shied from passionately...
Dave Brubeck, American Jazz Pianist
One of America’s most revered and respected jazz and classical pianists and composers, Dave Brubeck had a prolific career spanning six decades of performing...
Neil Gaiman, Writer of “Coraline” and “The Sandman”
Neil Gaiman transformed a writing career penning rock and roll biographies into a multinational success story. In less than three decades writing comics, graphic...
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...
Marlon Brando, Stage and Motion Picture Star
Arguably the greatest actor of his generation, Marlon Brando combined his talent for subtle emoting with a rejection of the traditional methods of approaching...
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was Shah of Iran for more than 30 years. His reforms transformed his country into a substantial Middle Eastern economic and...
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...
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...
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Author of “The Great Gatsby”
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of 20th century America’s greatest authors. His short stories and novels explored the wealth, hopes and moral indifference of...
Saul Bellow, American Novelist
“The backbone of 20th-century American literature”—this was novelist Philip Roth’s assessment of Saul Bellow. His struggle with modernism, his Jewish upbringing, his feelings of...
