Robert Louis Stevenson, Author of “Treasure Island”

Although weak in health himself, Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson will always be associated with vigorous adventure, thanks to such thrilling tales as “Kidnapped”...

William Butler Yeats, Irish Poet and Dramatist

William Butler Yeats, a romantic, poet, playwright and senator, drew on national pride, spiritualism and love, and was credited with helping revive interest in...

Lou Gehrig, the Yankees’ “Iron Horse”

Lou Gehrig anchored the Yankees’ “Bronx Bomber” teams of the 1920s, playing in a record-setting 2,130 consecutive games over 14 seasons. His career would...

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...

Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha”

Warren Buffett, was the richest man in the world in 2008. But despite his fortune, the American investor remains dedicated to the ethics of...

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...

Ayn Rand, Proponent of “The Virtue of Selfishness”

Outlier and icon, enemy of altruism and champion of the free market, writer and philosopher, Ayn Rand was too extreme to be categorized by...

Eugene Debs, Labor Leader

Eugene V. Debs spearheaded labor movements, led the American Socialist Party and is remembered today for being an agitator who never shied from passionately...

Ingrid Bergman, Star of “Casablanca”

“I work so hard before the camera and on the stage that I have neither the desire nor the energy to act in my...

Elinor Ostrom, First Woman to Win the Nobel Prize in Economics

Elinor Ostrom won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for her against-the-grain studies of how self-imposed regulation of common resources can be more efficient...