Dr. Spock, Pioneering Pediatrician

Pediatrician and psychoanalyst Dr. Benjamin Spock revolutionized modern child care when he encouraged parents to openly express affection and eschew physical discipline for their...

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...

James Audubon, Artist, Ornithologist and Naturalist

Many a bird watcher will recognize the name of John James Audubon, the famous naturalist who made a name for himself by painting and...

Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese Walt Disney

Animator Hayao Miyazaki is often called the Japanese equivalent of Walt Disney. His prodigious imagination has given rise to Japan’s most popular manga, animated...

Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel, Daredevil

Evel Knievel was one of the world’s most famous daredevils. In honor of his birthday, we explore his rise to fame, his bone-breaking stunts...

Butch Cassidy, Wild West Outlaw

Butch Cassidy was a famed outlaw in the dying days of the Old West, leading the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang and the Wild Bunch in daring...

Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister

Known as the “Iron Lady,” British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to lead a Western democracy, a position she held for...

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...

Charles Horace Mayo of the Mayo Clinic

A member of one of the most well-known families in medicine, Charles Horace Mayo was introduced to the medical profession at an early age....

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...