Meriwether Lewis, Western Explorer
Along with William Clark, Meriwether Lewis led the first expedition through the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, revealing the landscape and nature of the...
Carole King, Chart-Topping Singer-Songwriter
Carole King started playing the piano at age 4 and hasn’t stopped since. Out of college in the 1960s King was writing some of...
Franz Kafka, Author of “The Metamorphosis”
Living a life tortured by his own insecurity and lack of connection to the world around him, Franz Kafka found comfort in his writing,...
Mildred Loving, Activist for Interracial Marriage
Mildred Loving, a black woman married to a white man, missed her home in Virginia. But a state ban against interracial marriage prevented the...
Samuel Adams, One of the United States’ Founding Fathers
Rebel, patriot and politician Samuel Adams helped organize protests against the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Tea Act of 1773 and developed a...
Thor Heyerdahl, Human Migration Theorist and Explorer
Norwegian archeologist and anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl made harrowing transoceanic expeditions in reconstructions of ancient vessels to gain evidence for his controversial theories on human...
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Ambassador to Vietnam
A senator and ambassador to Vietnam, Henry Cabot Lodge was a key player in the Cold War, and an adored political figure among Republicans....
D.H. Lawrence, Author of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”
At the end of his life, D.H. Lawrence wrote, “For man, as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be...
J.R.R. Tolkien, Author of “The Lord of the Rings”
Philologist and English professor J.R.R. Tolkien popularized an entire genre of literature when he wrote his fantasy epic “The Lord of the Rings,” a...
Quentin Tarantino, Director of “Pulp Fiction”
A self-taught filmmaker who has nevertheless displayed a profound knowledge of film history, Quentin Tarantino has built an oeuvre upon sharp dialogue, gritty violence...
