Jimmy Stewart, Award-Winning Actor and War Hero
Whether playing a sardonic journalist, earnest politician, recalcitrant cowboy or a man at his wit’s end, Jimmy Stewart stuttered and shuffled his way into...
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...
Marie Antoinette, Former Queen of France
The most beautiful daughter of the Austrian emperor, Marie Antoinette was guaranteed a life of privilege. But as the teen bride of French King...
Miriam Makeba, Singer and Anti-Apartheid Activist
Miriam Makeba, widely known as “Mama Africa,” was exiled from her home of South Africa for her revolutionary words and songs, but was widely...
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...
Roald Dahl, Children’s Author
Remembered for his bestselling children’s novels, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” author Roald Dahl’s life was nearly as dark...
Noah Webster, Educator and Dictionary Writer
Noah Webster was a pioneering thinker devoted to books and learning. After the American Revolution, he set out to help the United States develop...
John le Carré, British Secret Agent and Spy Novelist
Preeminent secret-agent-turned-spy-novelist, John le Carré depicts the darker side of the lives of secret agents.
John Le Carré's Early Days
John le Carré was born David...
Václav Havel, Playwright and Former President of the Czech Republic
Václav Havel was a revolutionary, a poet, a playwright and a president. Although he was reluctant to become a public figure, he has been...
Nelson Mandela, First Black President of South Africa
Nelson Mandela was elected during the first election when South African blacks were allowed to vote. A leader of the resistance for years, Mandela...
