Leo Szilard, Physicist and Contributor to the Manhattan Project
Leo Szilard, the Hungarian Jewish physicist, molecular biologist and inventor, worked on the Manhattan Project but expressed himself as a “scientist of conscience,” using...
Edward R. Murrow, Pioneering Broadcast Journalist
Reporter during World War II, host of radio and television news shows, and head of the United States Information Agency, Edward R. Murrow was...
Samuel Johnson, Dictionary Writer and Biographer
Not only did Samuel Johnson’s work define the literature of the 18th century, his dictionary defined the language. Sometimes called “the great convulsionary” for...
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...
Sandra Day O’Connor, First Female Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor endured a great deal of gender-based prejudice before she became the first woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice. During...
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,...
John Philip Sousa, “The March King”
John Philip Sousa is the American composer behind such marching band classics as “The Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Semper Fidelis.”
John Philip Sousa's Early...
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...
Jacques Cousteau, Deep Sea Pioneer
Jacques Cousteau is known for developing the aqualung, the one-man submarine and an underwater village off Sudan. While a measure of controversy surrounds his...
George Sand, Groundbreaking Writer
She may have adopted a male name and male attire, but French novelist Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, aka George Sand, moved female emancipation and independence forward...
