Jane Addams, Social Settlement Worker
Jane Addams was a pioneer in the field of social work and co-founder of the Hull House, a settlement house for lower class immigrants...
Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Lawyer and Supreme Court Justice
Before Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court, he was also the most successful person to argue cases before the...
Henry VIII, King of England
Henry VIII was larger than life, famous for his seemingly insatiable appetite for women, war, hunting and food.
Henry’s Early Days
Henry VIII was born on...
Edmund Hillary, First Man to Summit Mt. Everest
An explorer at heart, humble New Zealand beekeeper Edmund Hillary became the first man to reach the peak of Mount Everest in 1953, and...
Melvin Van Peebles, Writer, Director and Actor
Melvin Van Peebles has been called a renaissance man, displaying his multi-genre talents writing screenplays, novels, plays and music, in addition to acting in...
Joseph Heller, Author of “Catch-22”
Brooklyn-born author Joseph Heller is best known for coining the phrase “Catch-22” in his tragicomic World War II novel of the same name.
Joseph Heller’s...
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...
Horace Mann, “Father of American Education”
Horace Mann was an educational pioneer. At a time when many saw considerable problems in American education, he stepped forward to address the issues,...
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
Early on, it hardly seemed as if Harry S. Truman—a farmer, an army captain in World War I and a haberdasher—was on track to...
Frank Lloyd Wright, American Architect
The most famous architect in American history, Frank Lloyd Wright sought to unify man and nature through his compelling architectural designs. The man behind...
