Rosa Parks, Mother of the Civil Rights Movement
Rosa Parks was a seamstress and NAACP secretary whose simple act of civil disobedience—her refusal to give up her seat on the bus to...
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States
Some consider Ronald Reagan the greatest president in contemporary American history: under his watch, the country saw the longest period of peacetime prosperity in...
Jim Thorpe, the “Greatest Athlete in the World”
Jim Thorpe is acknowledged to be one of the greatest ever all-around athletes, a man who excelled in football, track, baseball and any other...
Aesop, Ancient Creator of Fables
Aesop, who was most likely a Greek slave, is credited with creating numerous fables that were originally intended for adults but have evolved, over...
Maimonides, Jewish Philosopher and Theologian
Maimonides’ ability to harmonize philosophies of the Greco-Roman, medieval Western, Jewish and Islamic civilizations in the context of his own religious beliefs has established...
Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-Winning Author
Toni Morrison grew up in a house of African-American storytellers and developed a love for books. After earning a masters degree in English and...
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...
Joseph Haydn, “the Father of the Symphony”
Known as “the Father of the Symphony,” Joseph Haydn's contribution to the world of music can be heard in every arrangement of melody, rhythm...
Madame Marie Tussaud, Wax Sculptor and Museum Owner
After showing early artistic skill, Marie Tussaud apprenticed under one of the greatest wax modelers of her time. She made it—just barely—through the French...
John Foster Dulles, Former Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles was hailed as a “master craftsman” of foreign policy. Decades before his work as secretary of state under President Dwight Eisenhower,...
