Ayn Rand, Proponent of “The Virtue of Selfishness”
Outlier and icon, enemy of altruism and champion of the free market, writer and philosopher, Ayn Rand was too extreme to be categorized by...
Romualdo Pacheco, California’s First Latino Governor
Romualdo Pacheco, born October 31, 1831, was the first Hispanic representative of a state in Congress and to date, California’s only Latino governor.
Romualdo Pacheco's...
Al Hirschfeld, Caricature Artist
Al Hirschfeld demonstrated prodigious artistic talent at an early age. As an adult, his technique was deceptively simple; he harnessed the power of a...
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...
Dr. Spock, Pioneering Pediatrician
Pediatrician and psychoanalyst Dr. Benjamin Spock revolutionized modern child care when he encouraged parents to openly express affection and eschew physical discipline for their...
Menachem Begin, Israeli Prime Minister
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin is best remembered for signing the 1978 Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and a subsequent 1979...
Jimmy Stewart, Award-Winning Actor and War Hero
Whether playing a sardonic journalist, earnest politician, recalcitrant cowboy or a man at his wit’s end, Jimmy Stewart stuttered and shuffled his way into...
Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Lawyer and Supreme Court Justice
Before Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court, he was also the most successful person to argue cases before the...
Samuel Adams, One of the United States’ Founding Fathers
Rebel, patriot and politician Samuel Adams helped organize protests against the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Tea Act of 1773 and developed a...
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
Early on, it hardly seemed as if Harry S. Truman—a farmer, an army captain in World War I and a haberdasher—was on track to...
