Cal Ripken, Jr., Baseball’s “Iron Man”

Cal Ripken, Jr. revolutionized the shortstop position while playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games, all for the Baltimore Orioles. His record-breaking 2,130th straight...

Napoleon Bonaparte, French Military Leader

Napoleon Bonaparte is known for being a highly ambitious military leader, leading France in conquests throughout the Middle East and Europe, but he was...

Fats Waller, Jazz Entertainer and Composer

Fats Waller's piano virtuousity and outsize personality made him a jazz legend. But his talents didn’t stop there; he was also a vaudeville performer,...

George Pullman, Inventor of the Sleeper Car

Inventor and industrialist George Pullman literally raised Chicago from the sewer and built luxury railroad cars for the elite. The media praised his “utopian”...

Aimee Semple McPherson, Founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel

Some people see Aimee Semple McPherson as one of the first feminists, while others believe she is one of the 20th century’s greatest spiritual...

Stephen Jay Gould, Paleontologist and Science Writer

Renowned for both his revolutionary contributions to evolutionary biology and his ability to make science accessible to the public, Stephen Jay Gould drew upon...

Jack Kerouac, Beat Author of “On the Road”

Jack Kerouac’s beatnik persona has reached near mythical levels. But the author of “On the Road” never enjoyed his celebrity status, and lived a...

Noam Chomsky, Influential Linguist and Activist

The founder of modern linguistics and one of the most esteemed (and controversial) political theorists and activists of our age, Noam Chomsky has inspired,...

Rupert Murdoch, Media Mogul

Rupert Murdoch and his conglomerate News Corporation own divisions in virtually every form of today’s media: book publishing, newspapers and television. Whether fan or...

Maya Angelou, Author, Actor and Activist

Poet, author, playwright, educator, civil rights activist, singer, actress: these were the many faces of Maya Angelou. A living testament to the strength of...