Fats Waller, Jazz Entertainer and Composer
Fats Waller's piano virtuousity and outsize personality made him a jazz legend. But his talents didn’t stop there; he was also a vaudeville performer,...
Anne Frank, Holocaust Diarist
Holocaust victim and diarist Anne Frank lived 15 years, yet her legacy has lived on for decades. In the book known in English as...
Ray Charles, Legendary Musician
Nicknamed “The Genius” for his ability to weave musical genres together and excel in all areas of performance, Ray Charles was a distinctly American...
D.H. Lawrence, Author of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”
At the end of his life, D.H. Lawrence wrote, “For man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be...
W.E.B. Du Bois, Civil Rights Pioneer and Social Historian
A tireless activist and scholar, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote “The Souls of Black Folk” and was a founding member of the National Association for...
Jack Kirby, Creator of Comic Book Superheroes
Jack Kirby was as much of a hero to the comic book industry as the characters he created. An innovator in the industry for...
Dr. Seuss, Children’s Book Writer
Theodor Geisel, more popularly known as Dr. Seuss, created quirky characters, lively rhymes and idiosyncratic illustrations. These qualities have ensured that his children’s books...
Elinor Ostrom, First Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Economics
Elinor Ostrom won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for her against-the-grain studies of how self-imposed regulation of common resources can be more efficient...
Jean Piaget, Developmental Psychologist
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget was the first to realize that the cognitive processes of children differ from those of adults. Over his 75-year career...
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...
