Melissa Etheridge, Musician, Cancer Survivor and Gay Rights Activist

An Oscar winner and two-time Grammy Award winner, the prolific Melissa Etheridge is renowned for her blend of pop-infused folk rock and her advocacy...

Rocky Marciano, Undefeated Heavyweight Boxing Champion

Boxer Rocky Marciano is legendary for being the only heavyweight champion in history to win every single one of his 49 professional fights, with...

Nat King Cole, Singer and Jazz Pioneer

Nat King Cole’s musical upbringing forged a career that would delve the nuances of the jazz trio and fashion a more subtle approach to...

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...

Cornel West, Author, Professor and Hip-Hop Artist

Cornel West, a popular professor of religion at Princeton University, has received widespread notoriety for both his intellectual abilities and his knack for sparking...

Hans Christian Andersen, Poet and Author of Fairy Tales

Fairy tales may seem to have existed since the beginning of storytelling, but Hans Christian Andersen is the acknowledged father of the modern form....

Jackie Robinson, Baseball Pioneer

Jackie Robinson was an accomplished multi-sport athlete who in 1947 became the first black baseball player in the modern major leagues. He displayed courage...

Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi), Baroque Painter

Michelangelo Merisi, popularly known as Caravaggio, spearheaded the Baroque movement, and his paintings are acclaimed for their realism and their depiction of the violent,...

Michael Jordan, Basketball Icon

Michael Jordan was perhaps the most dominant player in NBA history, leading the Chicago ff it, Jordan’s image was marketed to a global audience...

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...