a
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Grace Abbott
Educator, Children's Activist, Academic Author / 1878 - 1939
Grace Abbott is best known for her social activism on behalf of immigrants and children. She headed the Children's Bureau from 1921 to 1934.
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(1878-1939)
Educator, Children's Activist, Academic Author
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Walter Adams
Astronomer / 1876 - 1956
Walter Adams was an American astronomer who is best known for his spectroscopic studies.
See full bio
(1876-1956)
Astronomer
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Luis W. Alvarez
Physicist / 1911 - 1988
Luis Alvarez was an experimental physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1968.
See full bio
(1911-1988)
Physicist
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John Ashcroft
Lawyer, Political Leader, Journalist / 1942 -
Conservative U.S. politician and lawyer John Ashcroft served as attorney general of the United States and was known for his support of the USA Patriot Act.
See full bio
(1942-)
Lawyer, Political Leader, Journalist
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Ed Asner
Animal Rights Activist, Television Actor / 1929 -
Ed Asner is an American actor best known as gruff-but-lovable newsman Lou Grant, who debuted on the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
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| Watch video
(1929-)
Animal Rights Activist, Television Actor
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David Axelrod
Political Scientist / 1955 -
David Axelrod is a political consultant and strategist recognized for creating a winning campaign strategy for U.S. President Barack Obama.
See full bio
(1955-)
Political Scientist
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Gary Becker
Economist / 1930 -
Economist Gary Becker won a Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his exploration of sociology and economics.
See full bio
(1930-)
Economist
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Saul Bellow
Historian, Author / 1915 - 2005
Saul Bellow was a celebrated novelist who won the Pulitzer, the Nobel Prize for Literature and the National Book Award for Fiction three times.
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(1915-2005)
Historian, Author
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Herbert C. Brown
Academic, Chemist / 1912 - 2004
Herbert C. Brown was a scientist and professor who won the Nobel Prize for his work in organic chemistry.
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(1912-2004)
Academic, Chemist
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James M. Buchanan
Scholar, Critic / 1919 -
James M. Buchanan is an American economist best known for his work on public choice theory, for which he receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1986.
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(1919-)
Scholar, Critic
c
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E. Simms Campbell
Illustrator / 1906 - 1971
Cartoonist E. Simms Campbell was the first African American to have his cartoons published regularly in magazines like Esquire and The New Yorker.
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(1906-1971)
Illustrator
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Ana Castillo
Scholar, Poet / 1953 -
Ana Castillo is an Hispanic-American poet whose work explores themes of race, sexuality, and gender.
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(1953-)
Scholar, Poet
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Edwin Cohn
Scientist / 1892 - 1953
Scientist Edwin Cohn helped develop a method of separating blood plasma proteins, which provided lifesaving care to many soldiers during World War II.
See full bio
(1892-1953)
Scientist
d
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Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
General, Pilot / 1912 - 2002
Pilot and officer Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. was the first African American general in the U.S. Air Force.
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(1912-2002)
General, Pilot
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Katherine Dunham
Anthropologist, Activist, Choreographer, Journalist / 1909 - 2006
Katherine Dunham was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist noted for her innovative interpretations of ritualistic and ethnic dances.
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(1909-2006)
Anthropologist, Activist, Choreographer, Journalist
e
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Roger Ebert
Film Critic, Talk Show Host, Journalist / 1942 - 2013
Roger Ebert was an American film critic best known as one half of the popular Siskel and Ebert film critic television show.
See full bio
(1942-2013)
Film Critic, Talk Show Host, Journalist
f
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E. Franklin Frazier
Sociologist / 1894 - 1962
Sociologist E. Franklin Frazier blazed a trail in the 1940s and 50s for African American academics who studied black culture.
See full bio
(1894-1962)
Sociologist
g
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Philip Glass
Songwriter, Pianist / 1937 -
Philip Glass is an American composer often associated with minimalism. He has composed numerous film and theatrical scores, including "Koyaanisqatsi" and "The Hours."
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(1937-)
Songwriter, Pianist
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Leon Golub
Anti-War Activist, Painter / 1922 - 2004
Leon Golub was an American painter who was both horrified and inspired by the Vietnam War.
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(1922-2004)
Anti-War Activist, Painter
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Katharine Graham
Business Leader, Publisher, Journalist / 1917 - 2001
Katharine Graham was an owner and publisher of news publications. Her best-selling autobiography, Personal History, earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1997.
See full bio
(1917-2001)
Business Leader, Publisher, Journalist
h
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Celeste Holm
Actress / 1917 - 2012
Academy Award-winning actress Celeste Holm is known for her roles in the 1943 Broadway musical Oklahoma! and the film Gentleman's Agreement.
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(1917-2012)
Actress
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M. Carl Holman
Civil Rights Activist / 1919 - 1988
M. Carl Holman was a civil rights activist and president of the National Urban Coalition.
See full bio
(1919-1988)
Civil Rights Activist
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Edwin Hubble
Astronomer / 1889 - 1953
Astronomer Edwin Hubble revolutionized the field of astrophysics. His research helped prove that the universe is expanding, and he created a classification system for galaxies that has been used for several decades.
See full bio
(1889-1953)
Astronomer
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Samuel P. Huntington
Political Scientist / 1927 - 2008
Samuel P. Huntington was a political scientist who wrote the influential book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.
See full bio
(1927-2008)
Political Scientist
j
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June Jordan
Educator, Civil Rights Activist, Journalist, Playwright, Poet / 1936 - 2002
June Jordan was an African American author who investigated both social and personal concerns through poetry, essays, and drama.
See full bio
(1936-2002)
Educator, Civil Rights Activist, Journalist, Playwright, Poet
l
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Tsung Dao Lee
Physicist / 1926 -
Tsang Dao Lee is a Chinese-born American physicist who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1957.
See full bio
(1926-)
Physicist
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Nathan Leopold
Murderer / 1904 - 1971
Nathan Leopold, along with Richard Loeb, killed a 14-year-old boy while trying to commit "the perfect crime." They were caught.
See full bio
(1904-1971)
Murderer
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Robert Todd Lincoln
Lawyer, Political Leader / 1843 - 1926
Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and secretary of war best known as the first-born son of President Abraham Lincoln.
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(1843-1926)
Lawyer, Political Leader
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Richard Loeb
Murderer / 1905 - 1936
Richard Loeb, of Leopold and Loeb, is best known for murdering 14-year-old Bobby Franks with Nathan Leopold in an attempt to carry out the 'perfect crime.'
See full bio
(1905-1936)
Murderer
m
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Marilu Henner
Film Actress, Television Actress / 1952 -
Marilu Henner is best known for her acting careerin film and TV, particularly the series Taxi.
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| Watch video
(1952-)
Film Actress, Television Actress
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Danica McKellar
Television Actor / 1975 -
Actress Danica McKellar played Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years. She has also written a series of New York Times best-sellers, including Math Doesn't Suck.
See full bio
(1975-)
Television Actor
n
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Eliot Ness
Police Officer / 1903 - 1957
Eliot Ness was a law enforcement official in Chicago, best known for his efforts to enforce Prohibition as head of "The Untouchables."
See full bio
(1903-1957)
Police Officer
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Mike Nichols
Director / 1931 -
Mike Nichols in an American theater and film director, best known for his 1967 classic, The Graduate. He's won an Academy Award, as well as multiple Tony and Emmy Awards.
See full bio
(1931-)
Director
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Patricia Roberts Harris
Political Leader / 1924 - 1985
Patricia Roberts Harris was the first African-American woman to hold a cabinet position, serve as U.S. ambassador and head a law school.
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(1924-1985)
Political 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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Philip Roth
Academic, Author / 1933 -
American novelist and short-story writer Philip Roth is best known for his provocative explorations of Jewish and American identity.
See full bio
(1933-)
Academic, Author
s
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Carl Sagan
Astronomer / 1934 - 1996
Carl Sagan was one of the most well-known scientists during the 1970s and ‘80s. He studied extraterrestrial intelligence and advocated for nuclear disarmament.
See full bio
(1934-1996)
Astronomer
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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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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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Roger W. Sperry
Academic, Biologist, Physiologist, Zoologist / 1913 - 1994
Roger W. Sperry was a 20th century scientist who won the Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking research on brain hemispheres.
See full bio
(1913-1994)
Academic, Biologist, Physiologist, Zoologist
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John Paul Stevens
Supreme Court Justice / 1920 -
John Paul Stevens was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975. In 2008 he renounced the death penalty as unconstitutional.
See full bio
(1920-)
Supreme Court Justice
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Jean Toomer
Author, Playwright / 1894 - 1967
Poet, novelist and short-story writer Jean Toomer was a major figure during the Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his first book, Cane.
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(1894-1967)
Author, Playwright
w
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James D. Watson
Academic, Biologist, Geneticist, Zoologist / 1928 -
James D. Watson is a Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist and researcher credited with co-discovering the double-helix structure of DNA.
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| Watch video
(1928-)
Academic, Biologist, Geneticist, Zoologist
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John B. Watson
Psychologist, Academic Author / 1878 - 1958
Psychologist John B. Watson is remembered for codifying and publicizing behaviorism with his article “Psychology as a Behaviorist Views It” and other research.
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(1878-1958)
Psychologist, Academic Author
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Leonard D. White
Historian, Political Scientist, Journalist / 1891 - 1958
Leonard White was a political scientist and historian who was a leading authority on public administration.
See full bio
(1891-1958)
Historian, Political Scientist, Journalist
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Paul Wolfowitz
Government Official / 1943 -
Paul Wolfowitz is a U.S. government official who is best known as the leading architect of the Iraq War under President George Bush's administration.
See full bio
(1943-)
Government Official
y
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Chen Ning Yang
Academic, Physicist / 1922 -
Chinese-American physicist Chen Ning Yang was co-awarded the 1957 Nobel prize for work on parity nonconservation of weak interaction.
See full bio
(1922-)
Academic, Physicist