Pelé, Brazilian Soccer Star
Pelé turned a childhood of playing soccer in a small Brazilian village into athletic stardom. Known as “The King of Football,” he spent his...
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...
Rainer Maria Rilke, Author of “Letters to a Young Poet”
Rainer Maria Rilke spent his life traveling the globe. Despite a variety of lovers and locales—Prague, Munich, Rome, Paris and Switzerland—Rilke remained alone, seeking...
Ingrid Bergman, Star of “Casablanca”
“I work so hard before the camera and on the stage that I have neither the desire nor the energy to act in my...
Maimonides, Jewish Philosopher and Theologian
Maimonides’ ability to harmonize philosophies of the Greco-Roman, medieval Western, Jewish and Islamic civilizations in the context of his own religious beliefs has established...
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Author of “The Little Prince”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote one of the most popular books ever published, “The Little Prince.” His adventurous spirit prompted him to become a pilot...
Fats Waller, Jazz Entertainer and Composer
Fats Waller's piano virtuousity and outsize personality made him a jazz legend. But his talents didn’t stop there; he was also a vaudeville performer,...
Stephen Jay Gould, Paleontologist and Science Writer
Renowned for both his revolutionary contributions to evolutionary biology and his ability to make science accessible to the public, Stephen Jay Gould drew upon...
Abraham Lincoln, “The Great Emancipator”
Abraham Lincoln worked his way from a log cabin to the White House, teaching himself law and earning the faith of the electorate through...
Shigeru Miyamoto, Father of Modern Video Games
Beginning with the seminal arcade game Donkey Kong nearly three decades ago, Nintendo’s chief game developer and the father of modern video games, Shigeru...
