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Jules Verne
Author / 1828 - 1905
Jules Verne was a 19th-century French author whose revolutionary science-fiction novels—such as Around the World in Eighty Days and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea—have entranced readers for over a century.
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(1828-1905)
Author
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Abe Vigoda
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor / 1921 -
Abe Vigoda has been a popular character actor in television and film for more than four decades. He landed his film break with a role in The Godfather.
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(1921-)
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Television Actor
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Robert Wagner
Film Actor, Television Actor, Television Personality / 1930 -
Robert Wagner is an American film and television actor known for his popularity in numerous television series and most recently, in the Austin Powers films.
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(1930-)
Film Actor, Television Actor, Television Personality
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Alice Walker
Civil Rights Activist, Women's Rights Activist, Author / 1944 -
Alice Walker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning, African-American novelist and poet most famous for authoring The Color Purple.
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(1944-)
Civil Rights Activist, Women's Rights Activist, Author
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David Foster Wallace
Journalist, Author / 1962 - 2008
David Foster Wallace was a writer known for his dense short stories, magazine articles and novels, most notably the 1,200-page Infinite Jest.
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(1962-2008)
Journalist, Author
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George Washington
General, U.S. President / 1732 - 1799
George Washington was a leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, and was the first to become U.S. president.
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(1732-1799)
General, U.S. President
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Simone Weil
Educator, Philosopher, Civil Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Journalist / 1909 - 1943
Simone Weil was a French intellectual, activist and Christian Mystic.
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(1909-1943)
Educator, Philosopher, Civil Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Journalist
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Rutina Wesley
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress / 1979 -
Rutina Wesley is an African-American actress known for her role as Tara Thornton on the HBO vampire series True Blood.
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(1979-)
Film Actress, Theater Actress, Television Actress
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Tom Wesselmann
Illustrator, Painter / 1931 - 2004
Tom Wesselmann was a 20th century American painter associated with the Pop Art movement.
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(1931-2004)
Illustrator, Painter
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James West
Inventor, Scientist / 1931 -
James West is an American inventor who developed the foil electret microphone, now used in 90 percent of all contemporary microphones, in 1962.
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(1931-)
Inventor, Scientist
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Vanna White
Game Show Host / 1957 -
Vanna White is the longtime co-host of the popular game show Wheel of Fortune.
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(1957-)
Game Show Host
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Alfred North Whitehead
Philosopher, Mathematician, Journalist / 1861 - 1947
British mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead’s Treatise on Universal Algebra extended Boolean symbolic logic. He received the Order of Merit.
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(1861-1947)
Philosopher, Mathematician, Journalist
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Laura Ingalls Wilder
Educator, Journalist, Author / 1867 - 1957
Pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the autobiographical “Little House” kids’ book series, the basis of the popular television show Little House on the Prairie.
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(1867-1957)
Educator, Journalist, Author
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Tom Wilkinson
Actor / 1948 -
English actor Tom Wilkinson is best known for his Oscar-nominated roles in the films In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton.
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(1948-)
Actor
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Emma Willard
Educator / 1787 - 1870
Emma Willard (1787-1870) was a vocal supporter of female education, and started her own school in Troy, New York that is still going strong.
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(1787-1870)
Educator
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John Williams
Songwriter, Conductor / 1932 -
American composer and conductor John Williams has scored more than 75 films, including Jaws, the Star Wars trilogy, E.T. and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
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(1932-)
Songwriter, Conductor
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Cindy Wilson
Singer / 1957 -
Cindy Wilson is best known as a vocalist for new wave rock band the B-52s. Her brother was fellow founding member Ricky Wilson.
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(1957-)
Singer
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Henry Wilson
U.S. Vice President, U.S. Representative, Editor / 1812 - 1875
Henry Wilson was the 18th vice president of the United States, serving from 1873 to 1875 with President Ulysses S. Grant.
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(1812-1875)
U.S. Vice President, U.S. Representative, Editor
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Rebel Wilson
Actress, Entrepreneur, Comedian / 1986 -
Australia's Rebel Wilson is best known for her funny film roles, including Kristen Wiig's roommate in Bridesmaids and the character Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect.
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(1986-)
Actress, Entrepreneur, Comedian
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Robert McLiam Wilson
Author / 1964 -
Irish novelist Robert McLiam Wilson is best known for his first and most acclaimed novel, Ripley Bogle, which he published at age 26.
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(1964-)
Author
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Grant Wood
Painter / 1891 - 1942
One of the most famous American
painters of all time, Grant Wood is popularly known for the iconic work, American Gothic.
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(1891-1942)
Painter
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Joanne Woodward
Film Actress / 1930 -
Joanne Woodward is an award-winning American actress best known for her roles in The Three Faces of Eve (1957), Rachel Rachel (1968) and Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973). Woodward is the widow of actor Paul Newman.
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(1930-)
Film Actress
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Aileen Wuornos
Serial Killer / 1956 - 2002
An abused child who later earned her living as a sex worker, Aileen Wuornos was found guilty of killing six men and was later executed in a Florida prison.
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(1956-2002)
Serial Killer
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Chuck Yeager
Military Leader, Pilot / 1923 -
A World War II fighter pilot ace, Chuck Yeager was the first to break the sound barrier when he flew the Bell X-1 rocket 670 mph in level flight in 1947.
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(1923-)
Military Leader, Pilot
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Boris Yeltsin
World Leader / 1931 - 2007
Boris Yeltsin was the first freely elected President of Russia. He voluntarily resigned from the post after nine years, leaving the job to Putin.
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(1931-2007)
World Leader
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Dr. Dre
Music Producer, Rapper / 1965 -
Rapper-producer Dr. Dre first made it big with hip hop group N.W.A. in 1980s. He has also enjoyed success as a solo act and worked with Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
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(1965-)
Music Producer, Rapper
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Viktor Yushchenko
World Leader / 1954 -
Viktor Yushchenko is a Ukrainian politician who served as his country's president from 2005 till 2010.
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(1954-)
World Leader
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Franco Zeffirelli
Director / 1923 -
Italian director Franco Zeffirelli is known for his authentic set designs and Shakespeare film adaptations, including 1967’s The Taming of the Shrew.
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(1923-)
Director
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Ahmed H. Zewail
Educator, Chemist / 1946 -
Chemist Ahmed H. Zewail won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing a rapid laser technique that let scientists study atoms during chemical reactions.
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(1946-)
Educator, Chemist
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Zhang Ziyi
Film Actress / 1979 -
Zhang Ziyi is a celebrated film actress known for starring in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Rush Hour 2, 2046 and Memoirs of a Geisha.
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(1979-)
Film Actress
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José Zorrilla
Playwright, Poet / 1817 - 1893
Spanish poet and dramatist José Zorrilla, a major figure of the nationalist wing of the Spanish Romantic movement, made his name with verse leyendas (legends).
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(1817-1893)
Playwright, Poet
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Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Photographer / 1902 - 2002
Influenced by Surrealism, Manuel Álvarez Bravo was a photographer known for his poetic images of Mexican people and places.
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(1902-2002)
Photographer