Nelson Mandela, First Black President of South Africa

Nelson Mandela was elected during the first election when South African blacks were allowed to vote. A leader of the resistance for years, Mandela...

Tenzin Gyatso, Tibet’s 14th Dalai Lama

Tenzin Gyatso was recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of 2. He has been serving as Tibet’s political leader since age...

Nadine Gordimer, 1991 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature

Writer Nadine Gordimer has devoted her life to fighting for the rights and health of the less fortunate and oppressed. She won the Nobel...

Edward R. Murrow, Pioneering Broadcast Journalist

Reporter during World War II, host of radio and television news shows, and head of the United States Information Agency, Edward R. Murrow was...

Beverly Cleary, Author of the “Ramona” Books

Beverly Cleary captured the experiences of childhood and created a world of fiction that children have enjoyed for decades. Beloved characters such as Ramona...

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...

Louis Henri Sullivan, Renowned American Architect

“The skyscraper poet” is how Time magazine referred to Louis Sullivan in 1951. The description holds true today, as Sullivan is widely recognized as...

George Pullman, Inventor of the Sleeper Car

Inventor and industrialist George Pullman literally raised Chicago from the sewer and built luxury railroad cars for the elite. The media praised his “utopian”...

Leo Tolstoy, Author of “War and Peace”

Leo Tolstoy proclaimed, “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.” His rebellion toward society, and his philosophical and idealistic outlook fashioned his...

Studs Terkel, Author and Oral Historian

For 45 years, Studs Terkel conducted interviews with people from all walks of life. Through his radio program and published oral histories, Terkel was...