Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer of “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker”
Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky has given the world many classical music compositions, including the famous holiday staple “The Nutcracker,” and other memorable pieces like “1812...
Jack Dempsey, Legendary Boxer
Jack Dempsey was one of the great figures of the “golden age of sports” in the 1920s, a ruthless fighter known for brutal early-round...
Catherine Hughes, Radio and TV Executive
From a high school dropout and single teenaged mother to the first woman owner of a number one radio station and the first African-American...
Maimonides, Jewish Philosopher and Theologian
Maimonides’ ability to harmonize philosophies of the Greco-Roman, medieval Western, Jewish and Islamic civilizations in the context of his own religious beliefs has established...
Ingrid Bergman, Star of “Casablanca”
“I work so hard before the camera and on the stage that I have neither the desire nor the energy to act in my...
William Shakespeare, Playwright, Poet and Actor
“He was not for an age but for all time,” said Ben Jonson in the dedication to William Shakespeare’s 1623 First Folio. It may...
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...
Nadine Gordimer, 1991 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature
Writer Nadine Gordimer has devoted her life to fighting for the rights and health of the less fortunate and oppressed. She won the Nobel...
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...
Nat King Cole, Singer and Jazz Pioneer
Nat King Cole’s musical upbringing forged a career that would delve the nuances of the jazz trio and fashion a more subtle approach to...
