Edmund Hillary, First Man to Summit Mt. Everest

An explorer at heart, humble New Zealand beekeeper Edmund Hillary became the first man to reach the peak of Mount Everest in 1953, and...

Roger Bannister, First Runner to Break the Four-Minute Mile

In 1954, British medical student Roger Bannister became the first man to break the four-minute mile barrier, earning him international admiration and to receive...

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...

Roald Dahl, Children’s Author

Remembered for his bestselling children’s novels, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” author Roald Dahl’s life was nearly as dark...

D.H. Lawrence, Author of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”

At the end of his life, D.H. Lawrence wrote, “For man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be...

Luciano Pavarotti, World Famous Opera Singer

Luciano Pavarotti, the so-called “King of the High Cs,” brought opera to the masses with his clear, pitch-perfect voice. In a life that began...

Pearl Buck, 1938 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature

Pearl Buck is best known for her novel “The Good Earth,” which received the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 and helped earn her the Nobel...

Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States

Some consider Ronald Reagan the greatest president in contemporary American history: under his watch, the country saw the longest period of peacetime prosperity in...

Joseph Pulitzer, Founder of the Pulitzer Prizes

Hungarian immigrant Joseph Pulitzer was a lawyer, politician, journalist and publisher of the nation’s most widely circulated newspaper. He is remembered best as the...

Niccolò Paganini, Violinist and Composer

Playing with a skill so dazzling and in so eerie a manner that it was seen as supernatural, violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini is...