Flip Wilson, TV’s First Black Superstar
Through his ingenious comedy sketches, Flip Wilson and his eponymous variety show connected a racially divided world with laughter. On his birthday, we remember...
Walt Whitman, “America’s Poet”
Walt Whitman helped transform the literary scene in the United States during the 19th century, becoming one of the most influential poets of his...
Peggy Lee, Actress and Award-Winning Jazz-Pop Singer
Peggy Lee was a prolific, Grammy Award-winning vocalist, Academy Award-nominated actress and songwriter. Renowned for her emotive voice and sensual delivery, her most famous...
Primary Sources About George Washington, Father of Our Country
As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, George Washington led American troops to victory against the more powerful British forces in the Revolutionary War. After...
Martin Scorsese, Director of “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull”
“It’s easy to think of Scorsese as a kind of poet of the underworld,” the American Film Institute reflected when they granted him a...
Horace Mann, “Father of American Education”
Horace Mann was an educational pioneer. At a time when many saw considerable problems in American education, he stepped forward to address the issues,...
Sultan Abdulhamid II, Ruler of the Ottoman Empire
Sultan Abdulhamid II, who ruled the Ottoman Empire for more than 30 years, earned a reputation both as an oppressive leader and a champion...
Menachem Begin, Israeli Prime Minister
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin is best remembered for signing the 1978 Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and a subsequent 1979...
Stephen Jay Gould, Paleontologist and Science Writer
Renowned for both his revolutionary contributions to evolutionary biology and his ability to make science accessible to the public, Stephen Jay Gould drew upon...
Erik Erikson, German Psychologist
German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson is best known for his groundbreaking theories about the psychosocial stages of development, for coining the term “identity crisis,” and...
