People

After the 2008 election, New Hampshire became the first state with a female-majority legislative house. Thirteen members of the 24-seat chamber are women.

A writer whose caustic humor was a trademark of his short fiction, Edwardian author H.H. Munro (better known as Saki) carved a subtle yet indelible place for himself in the literary canon. Comparable to great authors such as O. Henry and Rudyard Kipling, he worked as a journalist and fiction writer throughout his life.

William Safire is one of the foremost authorities on the English language; his career has also included public relations and politics. After stints as a speechwriter for Richard Nixon and a conservative columnist for The New York Times, Safire has defined himself as an expert on writing, grammar and etymology. He has authored numerous works on politics, history and language and maintains the column “On Language” in The New York Times magazine.

Dr. Margaret Mead became one of the world’s most renowned American anthropologists through her extensive cross-cultural work on issues including gender roles, environmental justice, education, race relations, child rearing and nutrition. Known as the “observer’s observer,” she successfully bridged the gap between social anthropology and ethnology as we know them today.

Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was a French composer best known for his contributions to the symphonic genre. Berlioz was greatly influenced by literature, particularly Goethe's “Faust” and was (as many people are) greatly moved by the work of Beethoven.

An engineer who helped bring the world some of its most recognizable landmarks, Gustave Eiffel is best known for his eponymous Parisian tower. Eiffel’s creations can be found on several continents.

Tycho Brahe’s perfectionist approach to astronomy and astronomical instruments yielded some of the field’s greatest discoveries.

Aga Khan IV is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. The Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, to become the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He has spent his life working to strengthen the Muslim community through his belief that the ethic of Islam “requires members of the faith to contribute to improving the quality of all human life.”

Patrick O’Brian was a beloved British novelist, biographer and translator; creator of the 21-book, “Aubrey-Maturin” British naval adventure series set during the Napoleonic Wars; and so fluent in the customs of the 19th century that he was described as having “walked out of another era.”

When Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet met a 9-year-old deaf neighbor, he was determined to find a way to communicate with her. After traveling the world researching the language of the deaf, Gallaudet returned to America to found the American School for the Deaf.

Once a reluctant leader, Sonia Gandhi is now one of India’s strongest voices in her role as head of the Indian National Congress, the ruling party in that country.

Through his ingenious comedy sketches, Flip Wilson and his eponymous variety show connected a racially divided world with laughter. On his birthday, we remember the life and laughs inspired by the comedian who declared, “Funny is an attitude.”

The founder of modern linguistics and one of the most esteemed (and controversial) political theorists and activists of our age, Noam Chomsky has inspired, aggravated and astounded many. The first to devise a theory about the biological innateness of language and a vocal critic of American foreign policy and media, he continues to be a source of unparalleled insight and inflammatory remarks.

One of America’s most revered and respected jazz and classical pianists and composers, Dave Brubeck has remained prolific throughout his six decades of performing on stages across the world.

Olympic decathlon winner Rafer Johnson is admired as much for his strength of character as his athletic triumphs. In 1958, Sports Illustrated noted that “Johnson's kind of tolerance is not the diluted brand that sells so cheaply around the world these days, good only among people who already think alike. His is the real thing—by Voltaire's definition, the capacity to be tolerant even of intolerance.” Fifty years later, that assessment still holds true.

Although Walt Disney’s first illustration company went broke, the ambitious animator took his sketchbook to Hollywood where he made it big with a mouse named Mickey. Disney pioneered the field of animation, creating the first sound-synchronized cartoon, the first cartoon in color, the first full-length feature cartoon and, of course, the first cartoon theme park.

Arthur Ashe's career echoed with the sound of barriers falling in the worlds of athletics, politics and social advancement. The only African-American man to win a Grand Slam title, the tennis star created a legacy of excellence and public advocacy that continues today, more than 15 years after his death.

Rainer Maria Rilke spent his life traveling the globe. Despite a variety of lovers and locales—Prague, Munich, Rome, Paris and Switzerland—Rilke remained alone, seeking a level of self-knowledge that only solitude and introspection could offer him. Although he wrote several volumes of poetry, he is best known for a series of letters written in his later years and published as “Letters to a Young Poet.”

Tirelessly devoted to both her renowned father and his revolutionary but controversial psychoanalytic theory, Anna Freud was Sigmund Freud’s youngest daughter, and sole heir to his clinical tradition. She was an innovator in her own right, largely credited with developing theories regarding the emotional lives of  children, as well as a committed teacher and advocate.

Today, Sports Illustrated named its 2008 Sportsman of the Year. Practically everyone already knew who it would be: swimmer Michael Phelps, the Beijing Olympics superstar who at the young age of 23 is already one of the greatest athletes of all time. 

On May 6, 1954, British medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier in the Oxford v. British A.A.A. race. For his time of 3 min., 59.4 sec., he received Sports Illustrated's first Sportsman of the Year Award. At the time, he explained how he had achieved his record-breaking feat: “It’s the ability to take more out of yourself than you've got.”

Although his artistic career lasted only a decade, Georges Seurat’s influence has stood the test of time. Popularized with his famous work “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” his method of painting with precisely placed small dots is a famous and often imitated technique, blending science and beauty on a single canvas.

In Kenya, the name Kipchoge "Kip" Keino is synonymous with long-distance running. His four Olympic victories include two gold medals, but it is his contributions off the track that have endeared him to his countrymen. Keino's world records in long-distance running opened the door to a competitive category now dominated by East Africans, and his support for other runners has continued long after his retirement.

After showing early artistic skill, Marie Tussaud apprenticed under one of the greatest wax modelers of her time. She made it—just barely—through the French Revolution and coupled her craft with keen financial acumen to create a business that still thrives today.

“Is there any law that prevents me declaring Pelican Island a National Bird Sanctuary?" President Theodore Roosevelt once asked his brain trust. “Very well, then,” he said, reaching for his pen. “I do declare it.”

Teddy Roosevelt is one of the most memorable conservationists in our country's history. He also happened to be our president, and an eccentric one at that. While everyone might not have shared Roosevelt’s political views, his work as a conservationist was long-lasting and innovative for a United States president.

From her birth in 1819 to her death in 1896, Clara Wieck Schumann spent her life surrounded by men of monumental musical talent. Her father was a highly regarded piano teacher, she eventually married renowned Romantic composer Robert Schumann and she shared a close bond with composer Johannes Brahms. Although many historians simply look at her connection to these famous men, Clara Schumann, a talented pianist and composer, is worth studying in her own right.

These days, Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) is better known for his connection to Mozart than for being a talent in his own right. But much of the information surrounding the two composers' relationship is apocryphal, or at least hotly debated. The court composer of Austria was actually a good friend of Mozart, or so it is alleged.

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) was a Bohemian (Czech) composer whose music showed the influence of major predecessors—Wagner and Brahms, to name two—as well as folk music. Dvořák was the son of a village butcher and grew up working in his father's shop, learning the violin before taking up other instruments in adolescence.

Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) is slightly less well known than several of his contemporaries, such as Frederik Chopin, Richard Wagner and Felix Mendelssohn. However, his musical influence has been profound, and he is widely recognized as one of the world's greatest piano virtuosos. Hardly a "classical" composer in the strictest sense, Liszt belongs to the period of European Art music known as the Romantic period.

Called “The Closer” by her husband, Michelle Obama is an outspoken, forthright mother of two who has spent years working in the health sector, but put her career on hold to take up the role of campaigner and potential First Lady.