Francis Scott Key, Author of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Francis Scott Key was a Federalist, a lawyer, attorney general of Washington, D.C., a husband and the father of 11 children. An ancestor and...
Scott Joplin, Ragtime Composer of “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag”
American composer Scott Joplin, the “King of Ragtime,” composed dozens of legendary ragtime songs in the late 1800s and early 1900s, including such iconic...
Marlene Dietrich, Glamorous Siren of the Silver Screen
1901
An icon of sexuality and sensuality who captured her public with understated beauty and nonchalant charm, the German-born Marlene Dietrich was one of the...
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...
Franz Kafka, Author of “The Metamorphosis”
Living a life tortured by his own insecurity and lack of connection to the world around him, Franz Kafka found comfort in his writing,...
Tammy Wynette, Country Music’s First Lady
By the age of 20, Tammy Wynette was divorced with three children, and working two jobs. At the time, the singer performed just to...
Roger Federer, Record-Breaking Tennis Player
Roger Federer is leading men’s tennis into a new generation of high intensity, skillful play. But this emotional phenom has had to overcome heartache,...
Joseph Pulitzer, Founder of the Pulitzer Prizes
Hungarian immigrant Joseph Pulitzer was a lawyer, politician, journalist and publisher of the nation’s most widely circulated newspaper. He is remembered best as the...
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...
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...
