Marian Wright Edelman, Children’s Defense Fund Founder
Crowned by Harper’s Bazaar as “America’s Universal Mother,” and a winner of the Library of Congress Living Legend award, Marian Wright Edelman has dedicated...
Lincoln Steffens, One of the First Muckrakers
Lincoln Steffens was an American journalist active during the early 20th century. A famous muckraker, Steffens is remembered for pioneering a style of critical,...
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...
Danica Patrick, First Woman to Win IndyCar Race
Auto racing has always appeared to be an aggressively masculine activity, with the role of women limited to the bikini-clad beauties handing out trophies....
Pearl Buck, 1938 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature
Pearl Buck is best known for her novel “The Good Earth,” which received the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 and helped earn her the Nobel...
Aesop, Ancient Creator of Fables
Aesop, who was most likely a Greek slave, is credited with creating numerous fables that were originally intended for adults but have evolved, over...
Ray Charles, Legendary Musician
Nicknamed “The Genius” for his ability to weave musical genres together and excel in all areas of performance, Ray Charles was a distinctly American...
W.E.B. Du Bois, Civil Rights Pioneer and Social Historian
A tireless activist and scholar, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote “The Souls of Black Folk” and was a founding member of the National Association for...
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...
William Shakespeare, Playwright, Poet and Actor
“He was not for an age but for all time,” said Ben Jonson in the dedication to William Shakespeare’s 1623 First Folio. It may...
