W.E.B. Du Bois, Civil Rights Pioneer and Social Historian

A tireless activist and scholar, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote “The Souls of Black Folk” and was a founding member of the National Association for...

Roald Dahl, Children’s Author

Remembered for his bestselling children’s novels, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” author Roald Dahl’s life was nearly as dark...

Lillian Moller Gilbreth, Engineer and Psychologist

Lillian Moller Gilbreth fought the social conventions of her time to become one of the first PhD-holding female engineers. She was also a psychologist...

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...

Albert Einstein, Physicist Who Developed Theory of Relativity

Albert Einstein grew up in Munich, Germany and spent much of his life as a scholar in Berlin. He wrote several monumental papers that...

Samuel Johnson, Dictionary Writer and Biographer

Not only did Samuel Johnson’s work define the literature of the 18th century, his dictionary defined the language. Sometimes called “the great convulsionary” for...

Rupert Murdoch, Media Mogul

Rupert Murdoch and his conglomerate News Corporation own divisions in virtually every form of today’s media: book publishing, newspapers and television. Whether fan or...

Tom Ford, Fashion Designer and Director

The American designer Tom Ford made his mark as the head designer of Gucci, transforming the brand in the late 1990s from a passé...

Walt Whitman, “America’s Poet”

Walt Whitman helped transform the literary scene in the United States during the 19th century, becoming one of the most influential poets of his...

Desmond Tutu, Former Archbishop of Cape Town and Anti-Apartheid Activist

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the strongest crusaders for peace in the last century, has fought for equality since he was a young man....