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Yvonne Craig was an American actress best known for her portrayal of Batgirl in the iconic 1960s TV series Batman. Such was her popularity that she was called a pioneer of female superheroes during the 1960s. Also remembered for her skills as a ballet dancer, Yvonne Craig's training as a ballerina helped her a lot while performing stunts in Batman.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German-American architect. He is widely considered one of the many pioneers of modernist architecture. After emigrating to the United States, Mies worked on structures like the Promontory Apartments. He is best remembered for serving as the director of a popular German art school named the Bauhaus before its closure in 1933.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines was an important figure and leader of the Haitian Revolution. He went on to rule an independent Haiti, which became the first country to abolish slavery permanently. Considered one of Haiti's founding fathers, Dessalines reigned as the emperor of Haiti from 1804 until his murder in 1806. Today, he is regarded as an icon of Haitian nationalism.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an American novelist, humanist, poet, and short-story writer. Best remembered as a utopian feminist, Gilman served as an inspiration for several generations of feminists. A National Women's Hall of Fame inductee, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is also remembered for her semi-autobiographical work, The Yellow Wallpaper.
José de San Martín was an Argentine general who played an important role in the Spanish American wars of independence. San Martín is considered a national hero of Peru and Argentina. The Order of the Liberator General San Martín, the highest honor conferred by the government of Argentina, was created in his honor.
Fernand Léger was a French sculptor, painter, and filmmaker. Widely regarded as the forerunner of pop art, Léger was also active as a teacher for several years. He is also credited with establishing his own Académie Fernand Léger, where he taught for many years. Many of his pupils went on to establish themselves as successful artists.
Bill Millin was a British piper who served as Brigadier Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser's personal piper during World War II. He is best remembered for playing his instrument whilst under fire during the Normandy landings. His action during the Normandy landings was depicted in the American epic war film, The Longest Day, where he was played by Leslie de Laspee.
Moufdi Zakaria was an Algerian nationalist, activist, poet, and writer. He is credited with writing the Algerian national anthem Kassaman when he was in prison in 1955. It is believed that he wrote the anthem using his blood on the walls of his cell. His life inspired a 2012 film titled Moufdi Zakaria, the Poet of the Revolution.
Otto Stern was a German-American physicist whose discovery of the magnetic moment of the proton and his contribution to the formation of the molecular ray method earned him the 1943 Nobel Prize in Physics. Otto Stern received 82 nominations for a Nobel Prize between 1925 and 1945, making him the second-most nominated person in the history of the Nobel Prize.
Umberto Boccioni was an Italian painter and sculptor credited to have shaped the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement. Even though he died at the young age of 33, he left behind a rich legacy as an artist. He was of a rebellious nature and played a key role in the development of the Futurism movement.
British manufacturer and engineer Matthew Boulton is best remembered as the financier of Scottish engineer James Watt’s pathbreaking steam engine. His Soho Manufactory initially produced metal parts, and he later stepped into John Roebuck’s shoes to partner with Watt, after Roebuck went bankrupt. He also established the Soho Mint.
Hans Gude was a Norwegian romanticist painter best remembered for his landscape paintings. Counted among Norway's leading landscape painters along with Johan Christian Dahl, Gude is also considered the backbone of Norwegian National Romanticism. Over the course of his illustrious career, Hans Gude won several honors and medals.
South African activist/journalist Ruth First is remembered for her relentless fight against apartheid. Born to Latvian immigrants and founders of the South African Communist Party, First was later tried for treason and detained. While working at a Mozambican university in exile, she was assassinated in a parcel bomb attack
Carlos Drummond de Andrade was a Brazilian poet and writer. Many critics consider him to be the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. His widely influential poem Canção Amiga has been featured on the 50-cruzado novo bill, making him a cultural icon in Brazil. He was much revered by American poets Mark Strand and Lloyd Schwartz, who translated his works.
Gao Gang was a Chinese political leader who played a major role during the Chinese Civil War as part of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He led a guerrilla base during the war and then went on to serve as the military, state, and Party head of the Northeast area of China during the final years of the war.
Legendary Norwegian violinist Ole Bull had started training in the violin at age 5. He had his own style of playing multiple tones at once. He later developed a colony of his own in Pennsylvania and named it New Norway, also known as the Ole Bull Colony.
