Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-Winning Author
Toni Morrison grew up in a house of African-American storytellers and developed a love for books. After earning a masters degree in English and...
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.”...
Brigham Young, Mormon Prophet
He led a church through its infancy, guided thousands of pioneers on a historic cross-country migration, helped settle the state of Utah and was...
Martin Scorsese, Director of “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull”
“It’s easy to think of Scorsese as a kind of poet of the underworld,” the American Film Institute reflected when they granted him a...
Pablo Sarasate, Spanish Composer and Violin Virtuoso
Violinist Pablo Sarasate is a figure of tremendous national and international regard. The distinctly Spanish flavor of his compositions, combined with his masterful technique...
Woody Guthrie, Folk Musician
Woody Guthrie was a folk music master. During his career, he gave the world more than 1,000 songs, including notable classics like “This Land...
Eugene Debs, Labor Leader
Eugene V. Debs spearheaded labor movements, led the American Socialist Party and is remembered today for being an agitator who never shied from passionately...
Flip Wilson, TV’s First Black Superstar
Through his ingenious comedy sketches, Flip Wilson and his eponymous variety show connected a racially divided world with laughter. On his birthday, we remember...
Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-Winning Economist
Milton Friedman was inspired by the dire financial circumstances of the Great Depression, and became convinced that economic burdens could be lifted through encouraging...
Walt Disney, Creator of Mickey Mouse and Disneyland
Although Walt Disney’s first illustration company went broke, the ambitious animator took his sketchbook to Hollywood where he made it big with a mouse...
