Elizabeth Blackwell, First Female Physician in America
When Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1821, there were no formally trained female physicians in the Western world. But Blackwell graduated first in her...
Catherine Hughes, Radio and TV Executive
From a high school dropout and single teenaged mother to the first woman owner of a number one radio station and the first African-American...
Malcolm X, Civil Rights Activist
Though often eclipsed by Martin Luther King, Jr. in the historical record, Malcolm X was a leading figure of the mid-20th century civil rights...
Gwendolyn Brooks, First African-American Pulitzer Prize Winner
Gwendolyn Brooks, renowned poet, was the author of many memorable works centered on the black experience in America and the issues of the Civil...
Doris Lessing, Social Commentator and Nobel Prize Winner in Literature
A powerful, politically minded and acerbic Nobel Laureate, Britain's Doris Lessing was a treasured social commentator and novelist who continued her prolific and award-winning...
George Sand, Groundbreaking Writer
She may have adopted a male name and male attire, but French novelist Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, aka George Sand, moved female emancipation and independence forward...
Wynton Marsalis, Award Winning Trumpeter and Jazz and Classical Composer
Equally accomplished at jazz and classical music, bandleader and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Wynton Marsalis' Early...
Ravi Shankar, Renowned Indian Musician
Ravi Shankar, India’s most famous sitar player and composer, is credited with popularizing Indian music in the Western world, and with influencing musicians in...
Alex Haley, Author of “Roots”
Characterized by his slow, honeyed voice, Alex Haley was one of America’s most popular oral and written storytellers. His timeless novel “Roots” illuminates and...
Oleg Cassini, Fashion Designer
The elegant designs worn by Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly came to embody American fashion during the 1950s and 1960s. The man responsible for...
