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Kate Spade
Entrepreneur, Fashion Designer / 1962 -
Fashion designer Kate Spade launched her own line of handbags. Her company has grown to include several retail outlets and a wider range of categories.
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(1962-)
Entrepreneur, Fashion Designer
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A. G. Spalding
Baseball Player, Entrepreneur / 1850 - 1915
U.S. baseball player, executive, and sporting-goods manufacturer A.E. Spalding co-founded one of the premier American sporting-goods companies.
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(1850-1915)
Baseball Player, Entrepreneur
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Nicholas Sparks
Author / 1965 -
Nicholas Sparks is the author of novels The Notebook, Message in a Bottle and Nights in Rodanthe, among others.
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(1965-)
Author
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Leland Stanford
Entrepreneur, U.S. Representative, U.S. Governor / 1824 - 1893
Amasa Leland Stanford was a U.S. entrepreneur and a builder of the first transcontinental railroad. He also served in the U.S. Senate.
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(1824-1893)
Entrepreneur, U.S. Representative, U.S. Governor
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Martha Stewart
Entrepreneur / 1941 -
Martha Stewart is an American media mogul best known for her television show and magazine, Martha Stewart Living.
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(1941-)
Entrepreneur
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Preston Sturges
Director, Playwright, Screenwriter / 1898 - 1959
Preston Sturges is regarded as the first Hollywood figure to successfully move from screenwriting to directing his own scripts.
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(1898-1959)
Director, Playwright, Screenwriter
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David Susskind
Talk Show Host, Television Producer / 1920 - 1987
David Susskind was a TV producer and host of the talk shows Open End (1958–67) and The David Susskind Show (1967–86).
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(1920-1987)
Talk Show Host, Television Producer
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Kiefer Sutherland
Actor / 1966 -
Actor Kiefer Sutherland, son of Donald Sutherland, appeared in numerous coming-of-age films throughout the 1980s, including Stand by Me and The Lost Boys.
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(1966-)
Actor
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Jessie Tarbox
Photographer / 1870 - 1942
Jessie Tarbox was a photographer and photojournalist. She was the first woman to be hired as a staff photographer on a U.S. newspaper.
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(1870-1942)
Photographer
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Twyla Tharp
Ballet Dancer, Choreographer / 1941 -
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer who often integrated popular music--including songs by Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra--into her work.
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(1941-)
Ballet Dancer, Choreographer
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Dave Thomas
Entrepreneur, Chef, Television Personality / 1932 - 2002
Dave Thomas is the founder of the hamburger chain Wendy's and was their TV spokesman starting in 1989.
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(1932-2002)
Entrepreneur, Chef, Television Personality
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Isiah Thomas
Basketball Player, Entrepreneur / 1961 -
Isiah Thomas is generally regarded as one of the best point guards in the history of basketball. He played for the Detroit Pistons.
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(1961-)
Basketball Player, Entrepreneur
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Charles Tiffany
Entrepreneur / 1812 - 1902
Entrepreneur Charles Tiffany co-founded Tiffany & Young, which later became the premier jewelry store Tiffany & Co.
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(1812-1902)
Entrepreneur
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Louis Tiffany
Artist, Entrepreneur / 1848 - 1933
Son of Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Tiffany, Louis Tiffany was an internationally renowned glass maker and a leader of the Art Nouveau movement.
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(1848-1933)
Artist, Entrepreneur
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Ted Turner
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist / 1938 -
Ted Turner is a television and media magnate who founded CNN, the first 24-Hour cable news network.
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(1938-)
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
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Marie Tussaud
Artist, Entrepreneur / 1761 - 1850
Marie Tussaud is best known for her Madame Tussaud's Museum of Wax, showing famous individuals as wax figurines.
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(1761-1850)
Artist, Entrepreneur
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Cornelius Vanderbilt
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist / 1794 - 1877
Cornelius Vanderbilt was an industrialist in railroads and shipping. He had accumulated the largest fortune in the U.S. at the time of his death, in 1877.
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(1794-1877)
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
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Louis Vuitton
Entrepreneur, Fashion Designer / 1821 - 1892
Louis Vuitton was a French entrepreneur and designer whose name has become iconic in the fashion world.
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(1821-1892)
Entrepreneur, Fashion Designer
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Samuel Waksal
Business Leader, White Collar Criminal, Doctor, Immunologist / 1947 -
Samuel Waksal is best known for being the CEO of ImClone Systems convicted for fraud and insider trading in 2003.
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(1947-)
Business Leader, White Collar Criminal, Doctor, Immunologist
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Lillian D. Wald
Children's Activist, Women's Rights Activist, Nurse / 1867 - 1940
As a social worker, nurse and settlement leader, Lillian D. Wald committed her life to helping others.
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(1867-1940)
Children's Activist, Women's Rights Activist, Nurse
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Jimmy Wales
Entrepreneur / 1966 -
American entrepreneur Jimmy Wales co-founded Wikipedia, a free Internet-based encyclopedia operating under an open-source management style.
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(1966-)
Entrepreneur
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Sam Walton
Entrepreneur / 1918 - 1992
Sam Walton was an American businessman best known for founding the retail chain Wal-Mart, which grew to be the world’s largest corporation.
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(1918-1992)
Entrepreneur
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Harvey Weinstein
Business Leader, Producer / 1952 -
Harvey Weinstein founded the Miramax Film Corporation with his brother Bob and together the two produced hit films including Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting.
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(1952-)
Business Leader, Producer
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Raquel Welch
Film Actress, Television Actress, Pin-up / 1940 -
Actress Raquel Welch was launched as a cinematic sex symbol in One Million Years BC (1966) and continues to be regarded as one of the world's great beauties.
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(1940-)
Film Actress, Television Actress, Pin-up
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Wim Wenders
Director / 1945 -
Wim Wenders is a German film director who, along with Fassbinder and Herzog, was one of the principal members of the New German Cinema of the 1970s.
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(1945-)
Director
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George Westinghouse
Inventor, Scientist / 1846 - 1914
George Westinghouse is best known for his inventions and the development of his company, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing.
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(1846-1914)
Inventor, Scientist
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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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Andy Williams
Singer, Television Personality / 1927 - 2012
Andy Williams is an American singer whose hits include “Moon River.” His Emmy-winning TV show entertained families during the 1960s and 1970s.
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(1927-2012)
Singer, Television Personality
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Chaz Williams
Thief
Chaz Williams robbed over 60 banks, aiming to get back at what he saw as a racist system. Upon being released, he founded Black Hand Entertainment. See Biography.com.
See full bio
Thief
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August Wilson
Playwright / 1945 - 2005
Playwright August Wilson won two Pulitzer Prizes for his plays Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990).
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(1945-2005)
Playwright
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Oliver Winchester
Entrepreneur / 1810 - 1880
Oliver Fisher Winchester operated the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., which provided rifles and ammunition used in the Civil War and by American settlers.
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(1810-1880)
Entrepreneur
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Oprah Winfrey
Film Actress, Entrepreneur, Producer, Philanthropist, Talk Show Host, Television Producer / 1954 -
Billionaire Oprah Winfrey has hosted her own internationally popular talk show since 1986. She is also an actress, philanthropist, publisher, and producer.
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(1954-)
Film Actress, Entrepreneur, Producer, Philanthropist, Talk Show Host, Television Producer
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Dick Wolf
Television Producer / 1946 -
Dick Wolf is an Emmy-winning television producer who brought the Law & Order franchise to the small screen.
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(1946-)
Television Producer
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Steve Wozniak
Entrepreneur, Computer Programmer, Engineer, Inventor / 1950 -
Steve Wozniak is an American computer scientist best known as one of the founders of Apple and the inventor of the Apple II computer.
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(1950-)
Entrepreneur, Computer Programmer, Engineer, Inventor
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Steve Wynn
Entrepreneur / 1942 -
Casino resort developer Steve Wynn brought new life to the Las Vegas strip by renovating the Golden Nugget and opening The Mirage and The Bellagio.
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(1942-)
Entrepreneur
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Muhammad Yunus
Economist / 1940 -
Muhammad Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank, which provides poor Bangladeshis with micro loans and credit.
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(1940-)
Economist
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Darryl F. Zanuck
Producer / 1902 - 1979
Darryl Zanuck was an icon of Hollywood, the producer behind such blockbusters as The Grapes of Wrath, The Public Enemy, and The Sound of Music.
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(1902-1979)
Producer
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Mark Zuckerberg
Entrepreneur, Computer Programmer, Philanthropist / 1984 -
Mark Zuckerberg is co-founder and CEO of the social-networking website Facebook, as well as one of the world's youngest billionaires.
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(1984-)
Entrepreneur, Computer Programmer, Philanthropist
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Peter Zumthor
Educator, Architect / 1943 -
Peter Zumthro is a Swiss architect who won the Pritzker Prize in 2009 and is known for his minimalist, pure aesthetic.
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(1943-)
Educator, Architect