Melvin Van Peebles, Writer, Director and Actor
Melvin Van Peebles has been called a renaissance man, displaying his multi-genre talents writing screenplays, novels, plays and music, in addition to acting in...
Desmond Tutu, Former Archbishop of Cape Town and Anti-Apartheid Activist
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the strongest crusaders for peace in the last century, has fought for equality since he was a young man....
Jane Addams, Social Settlement Worker
Jane Addams was a pioneer in the field of social work and co-founder of the Hull House, a settlement house for lower class immigrants...
Erik Erikson, German Psychologist
German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson is best known for his groundbreaking theories about the psychosocial stages of development, for coining the term “identity crisis,” and...
Hedy Lamarr, Actress and Inventor
Hedy Lamarr was a woman perpetually ahead of her time. She shocked the world with some racy roles in the 1930s, and a decade...
James Madison, American President Who Authored the Bill of Rights
James Madison played a great role in defining, defending and establishing the United States as we know it. A major contributor to the Constitution,...
Helen Keller, Blind and Deaf Author and Activist
Helen Keller lost her vision and hearing before age 2. But with help from her tutor, Anne Sullivan, Keller learned how to speak, read...
Hetty Green, the “Witch of Wall Street”
Hetty Green was a successful American businesswoman who was as renowned for her Wall Street savvy and fantastic wealth as she was for her...
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...
T.S. Eliot, Nobel Prize Winning Writer
As a philosopher, theologian, poet, playwright and essayist working in the early 20th century, T.S. Eliot saw and described the American and European landscape...
