Catherine Hughes, Radio and TV Executive
From a high school dropout and single teenaged mother to the first woman owner of a number one radio station and the first African-American...
Noam Chomsky, Influential Linguist and Activist
The founder of modern linguistics and one of the most esteemed (and controversial) political theorists and activists of our age, Noam Chomsky has inspired,...
Mary Lyon, Champion of Women’s Higher Education
Mary Lyon was a progressive educator and pioneer of women’s higher education. In 1837 she founded the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley,...
Sidney Poitier, Pioneering African-American Actor
Sidney Poitier was the child of tomato farmers in the Bahamas. He moved to New York as a teenager and worked as a dishwasher...
Dr. Seuss, Children’s Book Writer
Theodor Geisel, more popularly known as Dr. Seuss, created quirky characters, lively rhymes and idiosyncratic illustrations. These qualities have ensured that his children’s books...
T.S. Eliot, Nobel Prize Winning Writer
As a philosopher, theologian, poet, playwright and essayist working in the early 20th century, T.S. Eliot saw and described the American and European landscape...
Eliot Ness, Leader of the Prohibition-Era “Untouchables”
Eliot Ness had a distinguished career in law enforcement. He and his team of “Untouchables” fought against Al Capone and illegal bootlegging in Chicago...
Oleg Cassini, Fashion Designer
The elegant designs worn by Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly came to embody American fashion during the 1950s and 1960s. The man responsible for...
Fred Astaire, Dancing Film Star and Elegant Showman
A Broadway star who ventured to Hollywood mid-career, Fred Astaire quickly became the era’s icon of grace, style and perfection. Alone or with a...
Jack Welch, Former CEO of General Electric
Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric for 20 years, beginning his tenure in the midst of 1981’s tough economic conditions and leading the...
