Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, First Elected Female President in Africa
In honor of her October 29 birthday, we look at the life and career of longtime politician and economist-in-exile Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who became the...
Pearl Buck, 1938 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature
Pearl Buck is best known for her novel “The Good Earth,” which received the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 and helped earn her the Nobel...
Melvin Van Peebles, Writer, Director and Actor
Melvin Van Peebles has been called a renaissance man, displaying his multi-genre talents writing screenplays, novels, plays and music, in addition to acting in...
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...
Pablo Picasso, Groundbreaking Painter
From his Cubist works to his famous Blue Period, painter Pablo Picasso changed the face of art forever.
Picasso's Early Days
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born...
Jacques Cousteau, Deep Sea Pioneer
Jacques Cousteau is known for developing the aqualung, the one-man submarine and an underwater village off Sudan. While a measure of controversy surrounds 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...
Anthony Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice
Called someone who “may arguably be the single most influential arbiter of domestic policy in the land,” Justice Anthony Kennedy has relished his role...
Wynton Marsalis, Award Winning Trumpeter and Jazz and Classical Composer
Equally accomplished at jazz and classical music, bandleader and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Wynton Marsalis' Early...
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States
Some consider Ronald Reagan the greatest president in contemporary American history: under his watch, the country saw the longest period of peacetime prosperity in...
