Fred Astaire, Dancing Film Star and Elegant Showman

A Broadway star who ventured to Hollywood mid-career, Fred Astaire quickly became the era’s icon of grace, style and perfection. Alone or with a...

Fred Rogers, Host of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”

For more than 30 years Fred Rogers welcomed children and their parents into a realm of imagination on his show, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Through...

Joseph Lee, Father of the Playground Movement

Joseph Lee dedicated his life to promoting recreation and play for children and adults alike, and is best known for transforming a fledgling playground...

William Faulkner, American Novelist

William Faulkner, revered modernist writer, historian and sociologist, is known for capturing the raw beauty of the rural South in all its dark complexity....

Pablo Neruda, the “People’s Poet” of Chile

One of the most beloved and widely read Latin American poets, Pablo Neruda defies categorization. His work was as stylistically varied—from sensuous love poetry...

Jackie Robinson, Baseball Pioneer

Jackie Robinson was an accomplished multi-sport athlete who in 1947 became the first black baseball player in the modern major leagues. He displayed courage...

Ayn Rand, Proponent of “The Virtue of Selfishness”

Outlier and icon, enemy of altruism and champion of the free market, writer and philosopher, Ayn Rand was too extreme to be categorized by...

Chuck Yeager, American Pioneer of Flight

Driven by an unshakable sense of duty and a love of life in the air, Chuck Yeager has spent decades pushing the boundaries of...

Rupert Murdoch, Media Mogul

Rupert Murdoch and his conglomerate News Corporation own divisions in virtually every form of today’s media: book publishing, newspapers and television. Whether fan or...

David Hockney, British Pop Artist

The British Pop Art Movement gained a fresh energy when David Hockney emerged on the scene. He’s both a controversial and highly influential figure,...