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...
Norman Lear, Television Writer and Producer of “All in the Family”
With four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, accolades from the Writers Guild of America and a National Medal of Arts from President Clinton, Norman...
Jane Addams, Social Settlement Worker
Jane Addams was a pioneer in the field of social work and co-founder of the Hull House, a settlement house for lower class immigrants...
Stephen Jay Gould, Paleontologist and Science Writer
Renowned for both his revolutionary contributions to evolutionary biology and his ability to make science accessible to the public, Stephen Jay Gould drew upon...
Harvey Pekar, Author of the ‘American Splendor’ Comic Books
Harvey Pekar has made a career out of being an ordinary man. As a comic book writer, he documented the most mundane details of...
Auguste Escoffier, Innovative Chef and Inventor of the Chef’s Hat
Modern cuisine owes many of its practices to the great French chef Auguste Escoffier: he changed public dining in hotels and restaurants worldwide by...
Leo Szilard, Physicist and Contributor to the Manhattan Project
Leo Szilard, the Hungarian Jewish physicist, molecular biologist and inventor, worked on the Manhattan Project but expressed himself as a “scientist of conscience,” using...
Mary Lyon, Champion of Women’s Higher Education
Mary Lyon was a progressive educator and pioneer of women’s higher education. In 1837 she founded the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley,...
Peter the Great, Czar of Russia
Peter the Great became czar of Russia when he was only 10 years old. As a young man, he showed little interest in politics...
Coretta Scott King, First Lady of Civil Rights
Coretta Scott King was more than just the wife of a legend, she was a singer, an organizer and an activist in her own...
