Billie Jean King, Tennis Star and Feminist Pioneer
Tennis star Billie Jean King spent her career campaigning for gender equality in sports. Her win in 1973’s highly publicized “Battle of the Sexes”...
Tony Kushner, Writer of “Angels in America”
“My day job is playwright. My citizen job is activist...I succeed and fail at both my jobs, but I try to do them both.”...
Auguste Escoffier, Innovative Chef and Inventor of the Chef’s Hat
Modern cuisine owes many of its practices to the great French chef Auguste Escoffier: he changed public dining in hotels and restaurants worldwide by...
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,...
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...
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...
John D. Rockefeller, America’s First Billionaire
As the main shareholder of the notorious Standard Oil Trust, John D. Rockefeller was not only America’s first billionaire, he was also one of...
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...
Jean Renoir, French Filmmaker
Lauded after his death as one of cinema’s greatest directors, Jean Renoir earned comparatively few words of praise during his lifetime. From a childhood...
Jack Kerouac, Beat Author of “On the Road”
Jack Kerouac’s beatnik persona has reached near mythical levels. But the author of “On the Road” never enjoyed his celebrity status, and lived a...
