Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s “Dear Leader”
Kim Jong Il assumed power a few years after his father suffered a heart attack. The dictator had a reputation as a somewhat erratic...
Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister
Politician, statesman, military officer, historian and writer, Winston Churchill is one of the most influential figures in modern history. He is most renowned for...
Charles Horace Mayo of the Mayo Clinic
A member of one of the most well-known families in medicine, Charles Horace Mayo was introduced to the medical profession at an early age....
Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the “Father of Microbiology”
The “Father of Microbiology,” Anton van Leeuwenhoek was not a trained scientist, yet he made some of the most astounding scientific discoveries of his...
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...
Katharine Hepburn, Legendary Actress
For more than six decades, Katharine Hepburn mesmerized audiences with her regal accent, classic beauty and exceptional acting. Her fiercely independent, unconventional persona and...
John le Carré, British Secret Agent and Spy Novelist
Preeminent secret-agent-turned-spy-novelist, John le Carré depicts the darker side of the lives of secret agents.
John Le Carré's Early Days
John le Carré was born David...
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author and Abolitionist
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s most memorable contribution to society was her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The responses to Stowe’s work were so powerfully divisive that...
Walter Cronkite, CBS News Anchor
To his colleagues, he was “Old Iron Pants,” and to everyone else, he was “The Most Trusted Man in America.” For more than half...
Shigeru Miyamoto, Father of Modern Video Games
Beginning with the seminal arcade game Donkey Kong nearly three decades ago, Nintendo’s chief game developer and the father of modern video games, Shigeru...
