Hedy Lamarr, Actress and Inventor
Hedy Lamarr was a woman perpetually ahead of her time. She shocked the world with some racy roles in the 1930s, and a decade...
Roger Staubach, America’s Quarterback
Modest, patient and undeniably talented, Roger Staubach took a long route to NFL stardom, but once there he became one of the most accomplished...
William Carlos Williams, Writer and Physician
Celebrated writer William Carlos Williams is noted for his influence on the development of the short story form in 20th century American literature. His...
Lillian Moller Gilbreth, Engineer and Psychologist
Lillian Moller Gilbreth fought the social conventions of her time to become one of the first PhD-holding female engineers. She was also a psychologist...
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,...
Elizabeth Blackwell, First Female Physician in America
When Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1821, there were no formally trained female physicians in the Western world. But Blackwell graduated first in her...
Elinor Ostrom, First Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Economics
Elinor Ostrom won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for her against-the-grain studies of how self-imposed regulation of common resources can be more efficient...
Billie Jean King, Tennis Star and Feminist Pioneer
Tennis star Billie Jean King spent her career campaigning for gender equality in sports. Her win in 1973’s highly publicized “Battle of the Sexes”...
Ray Charles, Legendary Musician
Nicknamed “The Genius” for his ability to weave musical genres together and excel in all areas of performance, Ray Charles was a distinctly American...
Friedrich Nietzsche, Philosopher
“Nietzsche’s actual thought is a…system, at the beginning of which stands the death of God…the ensuing nihilism, and at its end the self-surmounting of...
