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...
Joseph Heller, Author of “Catch-22”
Brooklyn-born author Joseph Heller is best known for coining the phrase “Catch-22” in his tragicomic World War II novel of the same name.
Joseph Heller’s...
Clarence Darrow, Renowned American Lawyer
Clarence Darrow participated in many controversial and highly publicized trials, tirelessly defending the underdog and fighting for civil rights. Never afraid to speak his...
Richard Wright, Groundbreaking Author of “Black Boy” and “Native Son”
Richard Wright, the first African-American man to make a living as an author, is known for landmark books like “Native Son” and “Black Boy.”
Richard...
Studs Terkel, Author and Oral Historian
For 45 years, Studs Terkel conducted interviews with people from all walks of life. Through his radio program and published oral histories, Terkel was...
William Faulkner, American Novelist
William Faulkner, revered modernist writer, historian and sociologist, is known for capturing the raw beauty of the rural South in all its dark complexity....
Scott Joplin, Ragtime Composer of “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag”
American composer Scott Joplin, the “King of Ragtime,” composed dozens of legendary ragtime songs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, including such iconic...
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author and Abolitionist
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s most memorable contribution to society was her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The responses to Stowe’s work were so powerfully divisive that...
Wyatt Earp, Legendary Tombstone Lawman
Wyatt Earp has become an icon in American lore, known as the legendary lawman who, with his brothers and Doc Holliday, battled the Clanton...
Pablo Picasso, Painter
From his Cubist works to his famous Blue Period, painter Pablo Picasso changed the face of art forever.
Pablo Picasso's Early Days
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was...
