According to TV lore, when actor David Schwimmer was offered the role on a new NBC sitcom – about a group of friends who live together in New York City – he turned it down, explaining that a sitcom “felt like a prison sentence.” Lucky for viewers around the globe, he changed his mind…
Celebrated astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has spent much of his career bringing the complexities of science and space exploration to the general public. Aside from his prolific writing, he is a well-known popularizer of science on television and radio…
Undeniably one of the most influential economists and scholars of the 20th century, Milton Friedman was a prominent advocate of free markets. In contrast to the Keynesian theory, he proselytized monetarism, which highlighted the importance of monetary policy and how the shifts in the money supply have immediate and lasting effects…
Computer pioneer Gordon Moore is one of the great technological visionaries, not only helping create the silicon chip, but also the personal computer revolution that led to the rise of Silicon Valley. In tech circles, his name is associated with “Moore’s Law,” which states that the number of transistors that fit on a computer chip will double each year…
Described by Time magazine as “one of the nation’s most effective advocates of family rights and feminist causes,” Gloria Allred is the most famous woman attorney practicing law in the nation today. With a legal career that started more than forty years ago, she is perhaps best known for her involvement in high-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial…
As if blessed with magic, David Benioff transformed an early career as a novelist into that of an extremely well-paid screenwriter of blockbuster films, before scoring a life-changing gig as one of the major creative figures behind the most popular TV show of all-time…
A member of the Democratic Party, Susan Rice is best known for the prominent role she played in President Barack Obama’s administration. She first served in the Obama Cabinet as the 27th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, making her the second youngest person – and the first African-American woman…
In 1997, Madeleine Albright entered American history when she became the first female to be sworn in as Secretary of State. By then, Albright – who was also the highest ranking woman in the U.S. government – had already established a reputation for being a tireless champion for freedom and democracy.
John Adams was one of the Founding Fathers and second President of the United States of America. Before entering politics, Adams (1735-1826) worked as a teacher and lawyer. Brilliant, patriotic, and blunt, Adams became a critic of British authority in colonial America, which resulted in him assuming a leadership role in the Continental Congress.
Ieoh Ming Pei, better known as I.M. Pei, was a master of modern architecture who built some of the world’s most unique buildings. Born in China in 1917, Pei’s ancestry traces back to the Ming dynasty…
