Louis XV, King of France

King Louis XV of France was known as “the Well-Beloved,” although he apparently did little to earn the name. He reigned for nearly 60...

Truman Capote, Investigative Journalist and Author

Writer Truman Capote emerged from the small town of Monroeville, Alabama, to become one of the most visible writers of the 1950s and ’60s....

Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-Winning Economist

Milton Friedman was inspired by the dire financial circumstances of the Great Depression, and became convinced that economic burdens could be lifted through encouraging...

Robert Louis Stevenson, Author of “Treasure Island”

Although weak in health himself, Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson will always be associated with vigorous adventure, thanks to such thrilling tales as “Kidnapped”...

Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Lawyer and Supreme Court Justice

Before Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court, he was also the most successful person to argue cases before the...

George Crockett Jr., Lawyer, Politician and Civil Rights Activist

George Crockett Jr. was a prominent attorney and politician with a career that lasted nearly six decades. An outspoken man who didn’t shy away...

Ed Asner, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s” Lou Grant

Actor and political activist Ed Asner has earned critical acclaim both on Broadway and in Hollywood. He is best known for his Emmy and...

Rosa Parks, Mother of the Civil Rights Movement

Rosa Parks was a seamstress and NAACP secretary whose simple act of civil disobedience—her refusal to give up her seat on the bus to...

Pablo Picasso, Groundbreaking Painter

From his Cubist works to his famous Blue Period, painter Pablo Picasso changed the face of art forever. Picasso's Early Days Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born...

James P. Johnson, Jazz Pianist

The 1920s were a dynamic time in American history. Flappers tested the limits of fashion. Bootleg liquor fought prohibition. In music, the era became...