1805-1875
Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi designed and executed New York City’s Statue of Liberty to mark the Franco-American alliance of 1778.
1834-1904
Giovanni Giacomo Casanova, an 18th Century figure, is known for his archetypal reputation as a seducer of women.
1725-1798
1792-1840
In 2009, singer Lee DeWyze beat out the American Idol judges' clear choice, Crystal Bowersox, thanks to the audience's majority vote.
1986-
Dancer and actor Buddy Ebsen performed on Broadway and films, but he’s best known for his role as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, which ran for nine seasons.
1908-2003
1891-1976
Actor Michael Fassbender has starred in the films 300, Inglorious Basterds, Centurion, Dangerous Method, Prometheus and the comic-book-based X-men: First Class.
1977-
Marvin Gaye was a soul singer-songwriter with Motown in the 1960s and 1970s. He produced his own records and often addressed controversial themes.
1939-1984
Alec Guinness is an Oscar-winning British actor known for his roles in films like Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago and Star Wars.
1914-2000
1947-
Linda Hunt is a diminutive actress best known for her role as Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously.
1945-
When a mostly white jury acquitted the police officers who were caught on video beating Rodney King, it set off the L.A. riots of 1992.
1965-2012
Actor Christopher Meloni starred as Detective Elliot Stabler in the hit television crime drama Law & Order: SVU for twelve seasons from 1999 to 2011.
1961-
Émile Zola was the most prominent French novelist of the late 19th century. He was noted for his theories of naturalism as expressed in Les Rougon-Macquart.
1840-1902