Sonia Sotomayor, First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice

Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic and the third female justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Hailing from a working-class background, Sotomayor...

Samuel Johnson, Dictionary Writer and Biographer

Not only did Samuel Johnson’s work define the literature of the 18th century, his dictionary defined the language. Sometimes called “the great convulsionary” for...

Willie Nelson, Country Music Sensation

Willie Nelson, country singer-songwriter, long-haired hippie and philanthropist, has had a prolific music career. He began playing when he was 10 years old and...

Albert Einstein, Physicist Who Developed Theory of Relativity

Albert Einstein grew up in Munich, Germany and spent much of his life as a scholar in Berlin. He wrote several monumental papers that...

Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-Winning Author

Toni Morrison grew up in a house of African-American storytellers and developed a love for books. After earning a masters degree in English and...

Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-Winning Economist

Milton Friedman was inspired by the dire financial circumstances of the Great Depression, and became convinced that economic burdens could be lifted through encouraging...

Cecil B. DeMille, Hollywood Director

Cecil B. DeMille was one of the most successful directors in Hollywood. Not only did he produce and direct more than 70 films to...

Enrico Fermi, Nuclear Physicist

Enrico Fermi’s pioneering work in the field of nuclear fission won him a Nobel Prize, and ushered in the nuclear age. His discoveries led...

Roger Bannister, First Runner to Break the Four-Minute Mile

In 1954, British medical student Roger Bannister became the first man to break the four-minute mile barrier, earning him international admiration and to receive...

Madeleine Albright, First Female Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state, served as the face of U.S. foreign policy during Bill Clinton's second term as president....