Julie Andrews, Actress and Singer

Julie Andrews became famous as the star of Broadway’s “My Fair Lady” and “Camelot” and Hollywood’s “Mary Poppins,” “The Sound of Music” and “Victor/Victoria.”...

Tim Burton, Director and Animator

Tim Burton is a maverick auteur in a world where filmmakers are often relegated to pleasing Hollywood studios and producers. But his quirky and...

Louis XV, King of France

King Louis XV of France was known as “the Well-Beloved,” although he apparently did little to earn the name. He reigned for nearly 60...

Sultan Abdulhamid II, Ruler of the Ottoman Empire

Sultan Abdulhamid II, who ruled the Ottoman Empire for more than 30 years, earned a reputation both as an oppressive leader and a champion...

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...

Willie Nelson, Country Music Sensation

Willie Nelson, country singer-songwriter, long-haired hippie and philanthropist, has had a prolific music career. He began playing when he was 10 years old and...

Joseph Heller, Author of “Catch-22”

Brooklyn-born author Joseph Heller is best known for coining the phrase “Catch-22” in his tragicomic World War II novel of the same name. Joseph Heller’s...

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...

Neil Armstrong, First Man to Walk on the Moon

A pilot at 16, astronaut Neil Armstrong’s early years were spent in the skies, but his later years have been grounded in academia and...

Maslow, Father of the “Hierarchy of Needs”

Best known for his theory of self-actualization, psychologist and philosopher Abraham Maslow identified a “Hierarchy of Human Needs,” noting that once basic needs were...