Studs Terkel was an award-winning author and broadcast personality who was best known for chronicling the lives of Americans from the Great Depression to the early 21st century. Beginning his 50-plus year career in Chicago, Terkel first worked with the radio division of the WPA Writers Project…
Impressively, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has earned national recognition for creating bipartisan coalitions in a time when political divisiveness is the norm. An attorney by training, Gillibrand worked in New York City-based private practices for more than a decade and then decided to pursue a path of public service leadership…
From 2005 to 2009, Condoleezza Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State of the U.S. A member of the Republican Party, Rice was the first African-American to hold this post. As the nation’s top diplomat, Rice dedicated her department to “transformational diplomacy,” placing American diplomats throughout the Middle East — especially in areas of major turmoil…
In 1967 Thurgood Marshall made history when he became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in the U.S. In this position, he served for more than two decades, promoting racial equality and leaving an indelible impression on the country’s judicial system…
Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich lends new luster to the term Renaissance man. During his time in government, he served in three national administrations, including President Bill Clinton’s, for which Time Magazine named Reich one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the 20th century…
Rachel Carson was one of the pioneering modern environmentalists whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmentalist movement. A zoologist by training, Carson started as a biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, only the second woman the bureau had ever hired…
In 2019 Lori Lightfoot made history when she became the first openly gay black woman to be elected mayor of Chicago. As the leader of the nation’s third-most populous city, Lightfoot has taken on issues such as affordable housing, police brutality, immigration, and the COVID-19 pandemic…
Steve Wozniak perhaps isn’t as well-known as his Apple Inc. cofounder Steve Jobs, but “Woz” was instrumental in shaping the history of personal computers. In 1976, Wozniak was one of the main founders of Apple Computers, responsible for releasing some of the first personal computers on the market…
Heralded as one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century, Linus Pauling is the only person to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes. Also considered to be the most influential chemist in history, Pauling was a founder of quantum chemistry, molecular biology, and molecular genetics. As prolific as he was original, Pauling’s accomplishments include being a highly successful author and educator…
Social activist Gloria Steinem has been an outspoken champion of women’s rights for decades. Steinem started her professional career as a journalist in New York, writing freelance pieces for various Continue Reading
