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...
Marlene Dietrich, Glamorous Siren of the Silver Screen
1901
An icon of sexuality and sensuality who captured her public with understated beauty and nonchalant charm, the German-born Marlene Dietrich was one of the...
Johann Sebastian Bach, Baroque Organist and Composer
During his lifetime Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist, harpsichordist and organ builder than as a composer. It wasn’t until...
Elinor Ostrom, First Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Economics
Elinor Ostrom won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for her against-the-grain studies of how self-imposed regulation of common resources can be more efficient...
Leonardo da Vinci, Painter, Scientist and Thinker
Leonardo da Vinci will forever be known for “The Last Supper” and “Mona Lisa.” But there was more to the man than his art....
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Father of Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson—essayist, minister, poet and philosopher from New England—was the founding father of the transcendentalist movement and the creator of many literary works...
Ursula K. Le Guin, Writer
Novelist, poet and translator Ursula Le Guin is best known for creating worlds of fantasy and of the far future, but that is only...
Maxfield Parrish, American Artist and Illustrator
Maxfield Parrish was one of the foremost artists and illustrators of the early 20th century. He’s particularly well known for his mystical paintings filled...
Brian Wilson, Co-founder of the Beach Boys
From the living room of his parents’ house to the world stage, Brian Wilson worked to establish the classic California surf sound with his...
Pearl Buck, 1938 Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature
Pearl Buck is best known for her novel “The Good Earth,” which received the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 and helped earn her the Nobel...
