Memorials & famous biographies

American historian, journalist, and novelist known for his influential works like <i>The Education of Henry Adams</i>

American actor known for his charismatic 'Latin lover' roles and his iconic portrayal of the Joker on TV's Batman

American physicist who developed neutron scattering, a technique for mapping atomic structures, sharing the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics

American actress and author known for her roles in films like "The Maltese Falcon" and her bestselling autobiographies

American birth control activist and nurse who founded Planned Parenthood and championed women's reproductive rights

American film director and screenwriter celebrated for his witty dialogue and actor-centric films like All About Eve and The Philadelphia Story

American playwright who reshaped postwar American theater with his incisive, often challenging plays, winning three Pulitzer Prizes

American poet and physician renowned for his humorous prose and impactful medical reforms, including saving the USS Constitution with a poem

American psychologist who pioneered the study of learning processes, laying the groundwork for educational psychology with his "law of effect"

American novelist known for his experimental U.S.A. trilogy and a shifting political lens on 20th-century America

American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys and was a visionary record producer

African-American educator, author, and orator who founded the Tuskegee Institute and advocated for Black progress through education and entrepreneurship

American physicist who co-discovered neptunium and the synchrotron, earning a Nobel Prize for his work on transuranium elements

American economist whose game theory analysis revealed hidden strategies in conflict, cooperation, and social dynamics

American actress, visual artist, and activist known for her early film roles and her celebrated comeback in <i>Titanic</i>

American composer and pianist known as the "King of Ragtime," whose iconic "Maple Leaf Rag" shaped a genre and whose music was celebrated posthumously

American biochemist and Nobel laureate who was the first to isolate and crystallize a virus, bridging the gap between living and non-living matter

American stage actor from a famous theatrical family, known for his energetic performances and for assassinating President Abraham Lincoln.

American diplomat and historian best known for advocating the Cold War policy of containment against Soviet expansion

American biochemist who discovered that enzymes could be crystallized and proved they were proteins, earning him a Nobel Prize

American actress best known for her unforgettable role in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and her warm, versatile performances over five decades

First American Nobel laureate in Chemistry, recognized for his exact determinations of atomic weights and providing evidence for isotopes

American singer-songwriter whose folk songs, like "This Land Is Your Land," captured the spirit of the working class and addressed social injustice

American politician known as 'Cactus Jack' who served as Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt and Speaker of the House