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...

James P. Johnson, Jazz Pianist

The 1920s were a dynamic time in American history. Flappers tested the limits of fashion. Bootleg liquor fought prohibition. In music, the era became...

Abraham Lincoln, “The Great Emancipator”

Abraham Lincoln worked his way from a log cabin to the White House, teaching himself law and earning the faith of the electorate through...

T.S. Eliot, Nobel Prize Winning Writer

As a philosopher, theologian, poet, playwright and essayist working in the early 20th century, T.S. Eliot saw and described the American and European landscape...

Louis XV, King of France

King Louis XV of France was known as “the Well-Beloved,” although he apparently did little to earn the name. He reigned for nearly 60...

Pelé, Brazilian Soccer Star

Pelé turned a childhood of playing soccer in a small Brazilian village into athletic stardom. Known as “The King of Football,” he spent his...

Niccolò Machiavelli, Author of “The Prince”

Niccolò Machiavelli lived through one of the most tumultuous periods in Italian history. An early alliance with the wrong faction suspended his political career;...

Emily Brontë, Author of “Wuthering Heights”

“Emily Brontë wrote so little in her short life that it is difficult to appraise her work...One point is generally agreed upon: that in...

William Carlos Williams, Writer and Physician

Celebrated writer William Carlos Williams is noted for his influence on the development of the short story form in 20th century American literature. His...

Harry Houdini, Escape Artist Extraordinaire

During his short career, Harry Houdini’s “death-defying” feats astonished his audiences. People from all walks of life came to watch Houdini escape from shackles,...