Candice Bergen, Film and Television Star

Candice Bergen came from a show business family and starred in numerous films in the 1960s and 1970s. But it wasn’t until her 10-year...

Twiggy Lawson, Iconic Supermodel

By age 16, Twiggy was an international sensation, appearing on catwalks and magazine covers worldwide. She redefined the fashion world with her stick-thin body,...

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...

Noah Webster, Educator and Dictionary Writer

Noah Webster was a pioneering thinker devoted to books and learning. After the American Revolution, he set out to help the United States develop...

Flip Wilson, TV’s First Black Superstar

Through his ingenious comedy sketches, Flip Wilson and his eponymous variety show connected a racially divided world with laughter. On his birthday, we remember...

Jules Verne, Science Fiction Author

Jules Verne was a pioneer in literature. With a powerful interest in writing and an imagination that was ahead of his time, Verne became...

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...

Isadora Duncan, Mother of Modern Dance

One of the most active dancers and choreographers of her time, Isadora Duncan is considered the inventor of Modern Dance. Using dance to express...

H.L. Mencken, Reporter Who Covered Scopes “Monkey Trial”

H.L. Mencken, the “Sage of Baltimore,” was an outspoken journalist whose caustic tongue and scathing criticism of many segments of American society inspired anger...

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...