Memorials & famous biographies

American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and universe Star Trek

American actor known for his charming, roguish leads in <i>Maverick</i> and <i>The Rockford Files</i>, and for films like <i>The Great Escape</i>

American author who created Conan the Barbarian and fathered the sword and sorcery genre

American chemist known for discovering the Heck reaction, a palladium-catalyzed coupling fundamental to organic synthesis and the production of pharmaceuticals like naproxen

American political philosopher known for his work on libertarianism in Anarchy, State, and Utopia and his counterfactual theory of knowledge

American voice actor, comedian, and television host known for his work in children's television, commercials, and animated characters like Sonny the Cuckoo Bird

American sociologist who developed social action theory and structural functionalism, a key figure in the establishment of sociology at Harvard University

American psychologist and writer who championed psychedelic drugs for mind expansion and challenged conventional thought, becoming a counterculture icon

American actress and humanitarian who was blacklisted by Hollywood and became a lifelong activist for social causes

American chemist and Nobel laureate known for co-discovering buckminsterfullerene and advocating for nanotechnology

American jazz pianist and composer known for his unique improvisational style, distinctive stage presence, and iconic compositions like "'Round Midnight" and "Blue Monk"

American stand-up comedian and actor known for his raw, honest humor and starring role in The Bernie Mac Show

American philosopher and logician who transformed analytic philosophy, advocating for its continuity with science and challenging established dogmas

American actor famous for portraying the iconic metal-toothed villain Jaws in James Bond films and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore

American sexologist and biologist whose Kinsey Reports challenged societal norms and became a precursor to the sexual revolution

American astronomer whose discovery of Cepheid variable stars as 'standard candles' allowed humanity to measure the vast distances in the universe

American actor, director, and producer known for his gruff demeanor and iconic performances, including General Patton

American broadcast journalist and television personality known for her pioneering interviews and breaking barriers for women in news

American rapper, songwriter, and producer best known for the Grammy-winning single "Gangsta's Paradise" and for broadening hip-hop's audience

American actress, singer, and comedian who became the first African American to win an Academy Award, for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939)

American comic book artist who co-created many of the most famous superheroes, earning him the title 'The King'

American jazz guitarist and inventor who pioneered the solid-body electric guitar and multitrack recording, profoundly shaping modern music

American writer and futurist who accurately predicted major technological and societal shifts in books like Future Shock and The Third Wave

American biochemist awarded the Nobel Prize for developing green fluorescent proteins, illuminating cellular processes in real time