Václav Havel, Playwright and Former President of the Czech Republic
Václav Havel was a revolutionary, a poet, a playwright and a president. Although he was reluctant to become a public figure, he has been...
Melvin Van Peebles, Writer, Director and Actor
Melvin Van Peebles has been called a renaissance man, displaying his multi-genre talents writing screenplays, novels, plays and music, in addition to acting in...
Jim Thorpe, the “Greatest Athlete in the World”
Jim Thorpe is acknowledged to be one of the greatest ever all-around athletes, a man who excelled in football, track, baseball and any other...
Niccolò Paganini, Violinist and Composer
Playing with a skill so dazzling and in so eerie a manner that it was seen as supernatural, violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini is...
Mildred Loving, Activist for Interracial Marriage
Mildred Loving, a black woman married to a white man, missed her home in Virginia. But a state ban against interracial marriage prevented the...
Ursula K. Le Guin, Writer
Novelist, poet and translator Ursula Le Guin is best known for creating worlds of fantasy and of the far future, but that is only...
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...
Louis Armstrong, Legendary Jazz Musician and Singer
“Louis Armstrong is jazz,” said Wynton Marsalis. “He represents what the music is all about.” Armstrong was an innovative jazz musician who not only...
Alfred Hitchcock, Master of Suspense Films
Known for thrillers like “Rear Window” and “The Birds,” Alfred Hitchcock is a master of bringing audiences to the edge of their seats.
Alfred Hitchcock’s...
Wangari Muta Maathai, Conservationist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner
In 2004, Wangari Muta Maathai became the first African Woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai is known as the founder of the...
