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I.M. Pei
Architect / 1917 -
I.M. Pei is a Chinese-born American architect, perhaps best known for his controversial glass pyramid in the courtyard at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
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(1917-)
Architect
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Gregory Pincus
Doctor, Biologist / 1903 - 1967
A pioneer in early hormonal and reproductive research, Gregory Pincus and his team of scientists are credited with formulating the first oral contraceptive for birth control.
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(1903-1967)
Doctor, Biologist
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Cole Porter
Songwriter / 1891 - 1964
Cole Porter was a U.S. composer and lyricist who created songs like "I Get a Kick Out of You" and his own series of Broadway musicals including Anything Goes.
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(1891-1964)
Songwriter
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Natalie Portman
Film Actress / 1981 -
Actress Natalie Portman won the 2010 Academy Award for her role as a dancer in Black Swan.
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(1981-)
Film Actress
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Jack Reed
U.S. Representative / 1949 -
John Reed is the Senator for the state of Rhode Island.
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(1949-)
U.S. Representative
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William Rehnquist
Supreme Court Justice / 1924 - 2005
William Rehnquist was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Richard Nixon in 1971. He was elevated to the post of chief justice by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. He remained chief justice until his death in 2005.
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(1924-2005)
Supreme Court Justice
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Syngman Rhee
World Leader / 1875 - 1965
Syngman Rhee became South Korea’s first president in 1948. He was re-elected twice after the Korean War, but was overthrown by a 1960 student uprising.
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(1875-1965)
World Leader
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Mary Robinson
Educator, Activist, Lawyer, Diplomat, World Leader / 1944 -
Mary Robinson served as president of Ireland (1990–97) and as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997–2002).
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(1944-)
Educator, Activist, Lawyer, Diplomat, World Leader
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David Rockefeller
Business Leader, Philanthropist / 1915 -
David Rockefeller is an American banker and philanthropist, the youngest of the five sons of John D. Rockefeller Jr.
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(1915-)
Business Leader, Philanthropist
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Theodore Roethke
Poet / 1908 - 1963
Poet and professor Theodore Roethke was best known for winning the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for his poetry volume The Wakening. His other works include "Open House" and "The Far Field."
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(1908-1963)
Poet
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
U.S. President / 1882 - 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to be elected four times. He led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II.
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(1882-1945)
U.S. President
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Edward Said
Academic, Activist, Academic Author / 1935 - 2003
Although Edward Said was a literature professor at Columbia University, he also wrote about the way we discuss the Middle East in Orientalism.
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(1935-2003)
Academic, Activist, Academic Author
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Paul Samuelson
Academic, Economist / 1915 - 2009
American economist Paul Samuelson is best known as a founder of neo-Keynesian economics and for being the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.
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(1915-2009)
Academic, Economist
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Thomas Crombie Schelling
Academic, Economist, Journalist / 1921 -
U.S. Economist Thomas Schelling was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2005 for enhancing our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis.
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(1921-)
Academic, Economist, Journalist
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Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Historian, Academic Author / 1917 - 2007
Historian and political adviser Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. won his second Pulitzer Prize for A Thousand Days, a study of the Kennedy administration.
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(1917-2007)
Historian, Academic Author
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Pete Seeger
Children's Activist, Civil Rights Activist, Environmental Activist, Anti-War Activist, Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer / 1919 -
American folk singer Pete Seeger is an iconic figure in the mid-20th century, and is best known for his contributions to the American folk music revival.
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(1919-)
Children's Activist, Civil Rights Activist, Environmental Activist, Anti-War Activist, Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer
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Joseph Sestak
Military Leader, U.S. Representative / 1951 -
Joseph Sestak was Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, overseeing the Navy's warfare budget. He became the highest-ranking officer ever elected to Congress.
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(1951-)
Military Leader, U.S. Representative
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B.F. Skinner
Academic, Academic Author / 1904 - 1990
American psychologist B.F. Skinner is best known for developing the theory of behaviorism, and for his utopian novel Walden Two (1948).
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(1904-1990)
Academic, Academic Author
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Susan Sontag
Scholar, Women's Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Academic Author, Journalist / 1933 - 2004
Susan Sontag was a critical essayist, cultural analyst, novelist and filmmaker. She wrote On Photography, Illness as Metaphor, The Volcano Lover and In America.
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(1933-2004)
Scholar, Women's Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Academic Author, Journalist
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Mira Sorvino
Women's Rights Activist, Film Actress, Television Actress, Producer / 1968 -
Mira Sorvino is an Academy Award-winning actress who starred in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite.
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(1968-)
Women's Rights Activist, Film Actress, Television Actress, Producer
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Lawrence H. Summers
Educator, Economist / 1954 -
Lawrence Summers served as chief economist of World Bank, secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Harvard president and director of the National Economic Council.
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(1954-)
Educator, Economist
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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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Joseph H. Taylor Jr.
Astronomer, Physicist / 1941 -
American radio astronomer and physicist Joseph H. Taylor Jr. was the co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Physics for discovering the first binary pulsar.
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(1941-)
Astronomer, Physicist
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Virgil Thomson
Critic, Songwriter, Conductor / 1896 - 1989
Virgil Thomson was a composer, conductor and musical critic known for his work in opera.
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(1896-1989)
Critic, Songwriter, Conductor
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William Monroe Trotter
Civil Rights Activist, Entrepreneur, Journalist / 1872 - 1934
William Monroe Trotter was a Harvard-educated journalist and activist who championed equal rights for African Americans.
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(1872-1934)
Civil Rights Activist, Entrepreneur, Journalist
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John Updike
Author / 1932 - 2009
Writer John Updike's works are known for their subtle depiction of American middle-class life. His popular Rabbit series earned him two Pulitzer prizes.
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(1932-2009)
Author
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Robert Weaver
Academic, Economist / 1907 - 1997
Noted economist Robert Weaver, was the first African American to serve in the U.S. cabinet as the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
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(1907-1997)
Academic, Economist
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Cornel West
Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Civil Rights Activist, Academic Author / 1953 -
Cornel West is a scholar of African American studies, and political activist. He published Race Matters in 1993 and appeared in the Matrix sequels.
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(1953-)
Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Civil Rights Activist, Academic Author
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Adam Wheeler
Criminal
Adam Wheeler, also known as the "Ivy League Imposter," made national news when it was discovered that he had boasted an academic career—including admission to Harvard University—based on lies.
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Criminal
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Theodore H. White
Journalist / 1915 - 1986
Theodore H. White was an American journalist, best known for his presidential accounts The Making of the President, 1960 and The Making of the President, 1964.
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(1915-1986)
Journalist
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Edward O. Wilson
Biologist / 1929 -
Edward O. Wilson is the world's foremost expert on ants, and proponent of sociobiology, which explores the genetic basis of social behavior.
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(1929-)
Biologist
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Thomas Wolfe
Author, Playwright / 1900 - 1938
Thomas Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century, notable for his first book, 1929's Look Homeward, Angel.
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(1900-1938)
Author, Playwright
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Carter G. Woodson
Historian / 1875 - 1950
Carter G. Woodson was an African-American writer and historian known as the "Father of Black History Month." He penned the influential book The Mis-Education of the Negro.
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(1875-1950)
Historian
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Robert B. Zoellick
Business Leader, Government Official / 1953 -
Robert B. Zoellick was nominated by President George W. Bush as the eleventh president of the World Bank, replacing the unpopular Paul Wolfowitz.
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(1953-)
Business Leader, Government Official
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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