Saul Bellow, American Novelist
“The backbone of 20th-century American literature”—this was novelist Philip Roth’s assessment of Saul Bellow. His struggle with modernism, his Jewish upbringing, his feelings of...
Charlie Chaplin, Silent Movie Star
Charlie Chaplin is one of the most familiar faces of the silent film era. With his expressive demeanor and comedic wit, this pioneering actor...
John D. Rockefeller, America’s First Billionaire
As the main shareholder of the notorious Standard Oil Trust, John D. Rockefeller was not only America’s first billionaire, he was also one of...
Nat King Cole, Singer and Jazz Pioneer
Nat King Cole’s musical upbringing forged a career that would delve the nuances of the jazz trio and fashion a more subtle approach to...
Neil Armstrong, First Man to Walk on the Moon
A pilot at 16, astronaut Neil Armstrong’s early years were spent in the skies, but his later years have been grounded in academia and...
Friedrich Nietzsche, Philosopher
“Nietzsche’s actual thought is a…system, at the beginning of which stands the death of God…the ensuing nihilism, and at its end the self-surmounting of...
Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister
Known as the “Iron Lady,” British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to lead a Western democracy, a position she held for...
Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Author of “Out of Africa”
Karen Blixen may be the best-known Danish writer of the 20th century, authoring books such as “Seven Gothic Tales,” “Winter’s Tales” and “Out of...
Romualdo Pacheco, California’s First Latino Governor
Romualdo Pacheco, born October 31, 1831, was the first Hispanic representative of a state in Congress and to date, California’s only Latino governor.
Romualdo Pacheco's...
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...
