Napoleon Bonaparte, French Military Leader

Napoleon Bonaparte is known for being a highly ambitious military leader, leading France in conquests throughout the Middle East and Europe, but he was...

Jean Renoir, French Filmmaker

Lauded after his death as one of cinema’s greatest directors, Jean Renoir earned comparatively few words of praise during his lifetime. From a childhood...

Ravi Shankar, Renowned Indian Musician

Ravi Shankar, India’s most famous sitar player and composer, is credited with popularizing Indian music in the Western world, and with influencing musicians in...

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...

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...

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...

Samuel Adams, One of the US’s Founding Fathers

Rebel, patriot and politician Samuel Adams helped organize protests against the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Tea Act of 1773 and developed a...

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Father of Transcendentalism

Ralph Waldo Emerson—essayist, minister, poet and philosopher from New England—was the founding father of the transcendentalist movement and the creator of many literary works...

Sandra Day O’Connor, First Female Supreme Court Justice

Sandra Day O’Connor endured a great deal of gender-based prejudice before she became the first woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice. During...

Noah Webster, Educator and Dictionary Writer

Noah Webster was a pioneering thinker devoted to books and learning. After the American Revolution, he set out to help the United States develop...