Mildred Loving, Activist for Interracial Marriage
Mildred Loving, a black woman married to a white man, missed her home in Virginia. But a state ban against interracial marriage prevented the...
Leo Tolstoy, Author of “War and Peace”
Leo Tolstoy proclaimed, “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.” His rebellion toward society, and his philosophical and idealistic outlook fashioned his...
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...
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Father of Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson—essayist, minister, poet and philosopher from New England—was the founding father of the transcendentalist movement and the creator of many literary works...
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Composer of Musical Theater
Considered one of the most successful contemporary composers, Andrew Lloyd Webber has consistently created works that garner international appeal and success. He has created...
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...
Pablo Neruda, the “People’s Poet” of Chile
One of the most beloved and widely read Latin American poets, Pablo Neruda defies categorization. His work was as stylistically varied—from sensuous love poetry...
Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese Walt Disney
Animator Hayao Miyazaki is often called the Japanese equivalent of Walt Disney. His prodigious imagination has given rise to Japan’s most popular manga, animated...
Marie Antoinette, Former Queen of France
The most beautiful daughter of the Austrian emperor, Marie Antoinette was guaranteed a life of privilege. But as the teen bride of French King...
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...
