Pablo Picasso, Painter

From his Cubist works to his famous Blue Period, painter Pablo Picasso changed the face of art forever. Pablo Picasso's Early Days Pablo Ruiz Picasso was...

Franz Kafka, Author of “The Metamorphosis”

Living a life tortured by his own insecurity and lack of connection to the world around him, Franz Kafka found comfort in his writing,...

W.E.B. Du Bois, Civil Rights Pioneer and Social Historian

A tireless activist and scholar, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote “The Souls of Black Folk” and was a founding member of the National Association for...

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...

Mae West, Hollywood Star of the 1930s

Comic actress and playwright Mae West was known for her bold sensuality, clever one-liners and resurrection of Paramount Studios. She was the first actress...

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...

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...

Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel, Daredevil

Evel Knievel was one of the world’s most famous daredevils. In honor of his birthday, we explore his rise to fame, his bone-breaking stunts...

Romualdo Pacheco, California’s First Latino Governor

Romualdo Pacheco, born October 31, 1831, was the first Hispanic representative of a state in Congress and to date, California’s only Latino governor. Romualdo Pacheco's...

Hetty Green, the “Witch of Wall Street”

Hetty Green was a successful American businesswoman who was as renowned for her Wall Street savvy and fantastic wealth as she was for her...