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...
Joan Miró, Surrealist Painter and Abstract Artist
A man who worked in many styles and mediums, Joan Miró is regarded as one of Spain’s best abstract artists. He’s known for pushing...
Cal Ripken, Jr., Baseball’s “Iron Man”
Cal Ripken, Jr. revolutionized the shortstop position while playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games, all for the Baltimore Orioles. His record-breaking 2,130th straight...
John Updike, Prolific Novelist, Critic and Poet
John Updike is one of America’s most beloved authors, known for “The Witches of Eastwick,” the “Rabbit” novel series and his final work, “The...
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...
Noah Webster, Educator and Dictionary Writer
Noah Webster was a pioneering thinker devoted to books and learning. After the American Revolution, he set out to help the United States develop...
Georges Seurat, Pointillist Painter
Although his artistic career lasted only a decade, Georges Seurat’s influence has stood the test of time. Popularized with his famous work “Sunday Afternoon...
Salvador Dalí, Spanish Surrealist Artist
The artistic career of surrealist master Salvador Dalí transcends the limitations of medium, encompassing painting, writing, sculpture and filmmaking. Dalí’s wild imagination made a...
Allen Ginsberg, Beat Poet
Allen Ginsberg helped launch a literary revolution in the United States during the mid-20th century. As a central figure in the Beat generation, Ginsberg’s...
Charles Atlas, Famed Bodybuilder
Legendary bodybuilder Charles Atlas became an icon in the 1920s as the man who transformed himself from a skinny weakling into a muscle-bound celebrity.
Charles...
