Tony Kushner, Writer of “Angels in America”
“My day job is playwright. My citizen job is activist...I succeed and fail at both my jobs, but I try to do them both.”...
Francis Scott Key, Author of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Francis Scott Key was a Federalist, a lawyer, attorney general of Washington, D.C., a husband and the father of 11 children. An ancestor and...
Mark Spitz, Swimming Legend
Mark Spitz was a brash swimming prodigy who overcame disappointment in the 1968 Olympics to win seven gold medals in 1972, setting a record...
Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha”
Warren Buffett, was the richest man in the world in 2008. But despite his fortune, the American investor remains dedicated to the ethics of...
Billie Jean King, Tennis Star and Feminist Pioneer
Tennis star Billie Jean King spent her career campaigning for gender equality in sports. Her win in 1973’s highly publicized “Battle of the Sexes”...
Osamu Tezuka, Japan’s “God of Comics”
Osamu Tezuka has been called the “god of comics” in Japan. After writing his first comic strip in third grade, Tezuka published his first...
Niccolò Machiavelli, Author of “The Prince”
Niccolò Machiavelli lived through one of the most tumultuous periods in Italian history. An early alliance with the wrong faction suspended his political career;...
Miriam Makeba, Singer and Anti-Apartheid Activist
Miriam Makeba, widely known as “Mama Africa,” was exiled from her home of South Africa for her revolutionary words and songs, but was widely...
Buster Keaton, Silent Film Star
One of the biggest stars of the silent film era, actor and director Buster Keaton revolutionized the art of physical comedy. From a childhood...
Nat King Cole, Singer and Jazz Pioneer
Nat King Cole’s musical upbringing forged a career that would delve the nuances of the jazz trio and fashion a more subtle approach to...
