Marie Curie, Discoverer of Radium
The first woman in France to receive a doctorate degree, scientist Marie Curie is remembered for her discoveries in radioactivity and radioactive elements. Her...
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...
Elizabeth Blackwell, First Female Physician in America
When Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1821, there were no formally trained female physicians in the Western world. But Blackwell graduated first in her...
Claude Monet, Leader of the Impressionist School of Painting
French painter Claude Monet was the central figure of the Impressionist movement in the late 19th century, producing colorful, vibrant studies of natural and...
Candice Bergen, Film and Television Star
Candice Bergen came from a show business family and starred in numerous films in the 1960s and 1970s. But it wasn’t until her 10-year...
Auguste Escoffier, Innovative Chef and Inventor of the Chef’s Hat
Modern cuisine owes many of its practices to the great French chef Auguste Escoffier: he changed public dining in hotels and restaurants worldwide by...
Charles Darwin, Developer of the Theory of Natural Selection
Charles Darwin was never a great student—but he was an avid collector of beetles. After graduating from college, the budding naturalist accepted a position...
Pablo Sarasate, Spanish Composer and Violin Virtuoso
Violinist Pablo Sarasate is a figure of tremendous national and international regard. The distinctly Spanish flavor of his compositions, combined with his masterful technique...
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...
George Pullman, Inventor of the Sleeper Car
Inventor and industrialist George Pullman literally raised Chicago from the sewer and built luxury railroad cars for the elite. The media praised his “utopian”...
