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Milton Berle was part of the initial Golden Age of Television, and his significant TV roles earned him the nicknames Uncle Miltie and Mr. Television. The multiple Emmy-winning artist began as a child actor on stage and in silent films and later gained fame on Texaco Star Theatre.
Billy Wilder was an Austrian-born American film producer, screenwriter, and director. Widely considered one of the most versatile and brilliant filmmakers of Classical Hollywood cinema, Wilder became the first person to win Oscars as a screenwriter, director, and producer for his 1960 film The Apartment.
Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi-American architect and structural engineer. Regarded as the father of tubular designs, Khan is credited with designing several skyscrapers, including the Willis Tower and the John Hancock Center. Thanks to his ingenious use of structural systems, Khan is often referred to as the 20th century's greatest structural engineer and the Einstein of structural engineering.
Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli economist and psychologist. He was honored with the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on behavioral economics. In 2011, Kahneman was named among the top global thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine. In 2015, Daniel Kahneman was ranked seventh in the most influential economist in the world list published by The Economist.
Stanisław Lem was a Polish writer who specialized in the science fiction genre. He was also a noted essayist who wrote on varied subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. His books, which have been translated into over 50 languages, have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honors.
Historian Henry Adams was part of the famous Adams political family of the U.S and a typical Boston Brahmin elite. His best-known work remains his posthumously published autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams, which won a Pulitzer Prize. He also taught medieval history at Harvard.
Stéphane Audran was a French actress who played important roles in critically acclaimed and award-winning films like The Big Red One, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and Violette Nozière. Stéphane Audran also appeared in many TV films over the course of her career, which spanned more than 60 years.
Eighteenth-century Italian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was a significant figure of the Rococo movement. Son of a shipping merchant, Tiepolo gained fame with his iconic creations such as The Sacrifice of Isaac. He was determined he wouldn’t leave Venice and often sent his paintings abroad instead of traveling to paint.
James Dewar was a British chemist and physicist best known for his invention of the vacuum flask. He conducted considerable research into the liquefaction of gases and atomic and molecular spectroscopy. He also wrote papers on the qualities of hydrogen and organic chemistry. He was awarded the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts and the Rumford Medal.
Kiichiro Toyoda was a Japanese businessman and the creator of Toyota Motor Corporation. The son of Sakichi Toyoda, who founded Toyoda Loom Works, Kiichiro Toyoda is credited with changing the focus of his father's company from loom manufacture to an automobile manufacturing unit. Kiichiro Toyoda is also credited with overseeing Toyota's growth in its initial years.
Pierre-roger De Beaufort, better known as Pope Gregory XI, was the last French pope and also the last pope of the Avignon papacy. He had been made a cardinal deacon at the age of 18 by his uncle, Pope Clement VI. His act of returning the 70-year-old Avignon papacy to Rome was historic.
George Gilbert Scott was a British architect best remembered for his contribution to the Gothic Revival style of architecture. Scott is credited with designing and altering over 800 buildings, including several churches and cathedrals. He served as the architect of several iconic edifices like The St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow.
Born to Italian parents, amid poverty, in Ohio, Mother Angelica and her siblings were raised by her mother after her father abandoned them. Initially a factory worker, she later became a Poor Clare nun and also founded the Eternal Word Television Network, which streamed Catholic-oriented programs.
Born to an automobile designer at Austro-Daimler, Porsche AG CEO Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche, better known as Ferry Porsche, grew up working in auto workshops and racing the cars he and his father designed. Ferry and his father were commissioned by Hitler to build a low-cost "people’s car," the Volkswagen.
Johann Stamitz was a Bohemian violinist and composer. He is considered the founding father of the Mannheim school, of which his sons Carl and Anton Stamitz were students. Johann Stamitz is best remembered for his 10 orchestral trios and 58 symphonies.
Mao Dun was a Chinese, novelist, essayist, playwright, journalist, and political leader. He is best remembered for his novel Midnight, which depicts life in cosmopolitan Shanghai. Mao Dun is also remembered for his service as the Minister of Culture from 21 October 1949 to January 1965. Mao Dun is also credited with translating many important works of western literature.
