Quentin Tarantino, Director of “Pulp Fiction”

A self-taught filmmaker who has nevertheless displayed a profound knowledge of film history, Quentin Tarantino has built an oeuvre upon sharp dialogue, gritty violence...

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...

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...

Sam Walton, Founder of Walmart

For good or for ill, Walmart founder Sam Walton changed the retail landscape of America with his chain of discount stores. Sam Walton's Early Days Samuel...

Johnny Cash, Country, Folk and Rockabilly Musician

Johnny Cash—the “Man in Black”—is an American legend. His music epitomizes the life and landscape of the American South, and has influenced generations of...

Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese Walt Disney

Animator Hayao Miyazaki is often called the Japanese equivalent of Walt Disney. His prodigious imagination has given rise to Japan’s most popular manga, animated...

Joseph Pulitzer, Founder of the Pulitzer Prizes

Hungarian immigrant Joseph Pulitzer was a lawyer, politician, journalist and publisher of the nation’s most widely circulated newspaper. He is remembered best as the...

Coretta Scott King, First Lady of Civil Rights

Coretta Scott King was more than just the wife of a legend, she was a singer, an organizer and an activist in her own...

Marlene Dietrich, Glamorous Siren of the Silver Screen

1901 An icon of sexuality and sensuality who captured her public with understated beauty and nonchalant charm, the German-born Marlene Dietrich was one of the...

Jack Kemp, Football Star and Politician

After a successful career as an AFL quarterback, Jack Kemp entered politics and spent 18 years in Congress before becoming secretary of Housing and...