William Shakespeare, Playwright, Poet and Actor
“He was not for an age but for all time,” said Ben Jonson in the dedication to William Shakespeare’s 1623 First Folio. It may...
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
Early on, it hardly seemed as if Harry S. Truman—a farmer, an army captain in World War I and a haberdasher—was on track to...
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...
Richard Wright, Groundbreaking Author of “Black Boy” and “Native Son”
Richard Wright, the first African-American man to make a living as an author, is known for landmark books like “Native Son” and “Black Boy.”
Richard...
Amelia Earhart, Record-Breaking Pilot
Amelia Earhart set the gold standard for “enlightened feminism.” She was dubbed “Lady Lindy” because of her likeness to aviator Charles Lindbergh, and because...
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...
Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister
Known as the “Iron Lady,” British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to lead a Western democracy, a position she held for...
Truman Capote, Investigative Journalist and Author
Writer Truman Capote emerged from the small town of Monroeville, Alabama, to become one of the most visible writers of the 1950s and ’60s....
Andrea Bocelli, Opera and Pop Singer
An idyllic farm surrounded by vineyards and olive groves in the Tuscan countryside was the setting for Andrea Bocelli’s childhood. But this soft-spoken singer,...
Percival Lowell, First to Imagine Life on Mars
A naturally gifted mathematician, Percival Lowell shunned convention to pursue theories that walked the line between science fiction and scientific prophecy. He was compelled...
