Elizabeth Taylor, Hollywood Actress
Elizabeth Taylor spent her life on camera. She took her first screen test in 1939 at age seven and worked as an actress until...
Sonia Sotomayor, First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice
Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic and the third female justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Hailing from a working-class background, Sotomayor...
Orville Wright, First Man to Fly an Airplane
Orville Wright was a leading aviation pioneer of the early 20th century. He and his older brother Wilbur are credited for being the first...
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,...
Jacques Cousteau, Deep Sea Pioneer
Jacques Cousteau is known for developing the aqualung, the one-man submarine and an underwater village off Sudan. While a measure of controversy surrounds his...
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...
Meriwether Lewis, Western Explorer
Along with William Clark, Meriwether Lewis led the first expedition through the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, revealing the landscape and nature of the...
Tenzin Gyatso, Tibet’s 14th Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso was recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of 2. He has been serving as Tibet’s political leader since age...
Tom Ford, Fashion Designer and Director
The American designer Tom Ford made his mark as the head designer of Gucci, transforming the brand in the late 1990s from a passé...
Michael Phelps, Record-Breaking Swimmer
Michael Phelps is one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history, with 28 total medals, 23 of which are gold. At the 2008 Beijing...
