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...
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...
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...
Primary Sources About George Washington, Father of Our Country
As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, George Washington led American troops to victory against the more powerful British forces in the Revolutionary War. After...
Madame Marie Tussaud, Wax Sculptor and Museum Owner
After showing early artistic skill, Marie Tussaud apprenticed under one of the greatest wax modelers of her time. She made it—just barely—through the French...
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Father of Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson—essayist, minister, poet and philosopher from New England—was the founding father of the transcendentalist movement and the creator of many literary works...
Samuel Lightnin’ Hopkins, Pioneer of Texas Blues
Blending southern poetry and a loose, all-encompassing handling of the guitar, Lightnin’ Hopkins brought a Texas accent to the masses with one of the...
Saul Bellow, American Novelist
“The backbone of 20th-century American literature”—this was novelist Philip Roth’s assessment of Saul Bellow. His struggle with modernism, his Jewish upbringing, his feelings of...
Albert Einstein, Physicist Who Developed Theory of Relativity
Albert Einstein grew up in Munich, Germany and spent much of his life as a scholar in Berlin. He wrote several monumental papers that...
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...
