Tom Ford, Fashion Designer and Director
The American designer Tom Ford made his mark as the head designer of Gucci, transforming the brand in the late 1990s from a passé...
Venus Williams, Tennis Star
Twenty-one Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and a host of other tournament wins make Venus Williams one of the most recognizable figures...
W.S. Gilbert, Operetta Librettist for “The Pirates of Penzance”
William Schwenck Gilbert, one half of the successful Gilbert and Sullivan duo, had a knack for satire and an eye for staging, producing comic...
Amartya Sen, Nobel-Winning Economist
Economist and philosopher Amartya Sen has been called the “Mother Teresa of economics” for helping improve the lives on the poor through his work...
Cole Porter, Broadway Lyricist and Composer
A talented writer and musician, Porter took Broadway by storm with his piercing wit. “Anything Goes” and “Kiss Me, Kate” are considered classics and...
Walt Disney, Creator of Mickey Mouse and Disneyland
Although Walt Disney’s first illustration company went broke, the ambitious animator took his sketchbook to Hollywood where he made it big with a mouse...
Allen Ginsberg, Beat Poet
Allen Ginsberg helped launch a literary revolution in the United States during the mid-20th century. As a central figure in the Beat generation, Ginsberg’s...
Mark Spitz, Swimming Legend
Mark Spitz was a brash swimming prodigy who overcame disappointment in the 1968 Olympics to win seven gold medals in 1972, setting a record...
Johann Sebastian Bach, Baroque Organist and Composer
During his lifetime Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist, harpsichordist and organ builder than as a composer. It wasn’t until...
T.S. Eliot, Nobel Prize Winning Writer
As a philosopher, theologian, poet, playwright and essayist working in the early 20th century, T.S. Eliot saw and described the American and European landscape...
