Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky

(24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Brodsky was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature “for an all-embracing authorship, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity”. He was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1991.

Carrie Brownstein (September 27, 1974)

Carrie Brownstein is a musician,  comedian, and a actress who first became known as a member of the punk-indie trio Sleater-Kinney. Now she is the co-star, along with Fred Armisen, of the Emmy-and Peabody Award-winning satirical comedy, IFC telivision series Portlandia. She released her memoirs in 2015.

Marc Maron (September 27, 1963)

Comedian, podcast host, actor and writer, Marc Maron was born to Jewish parents who raised him in Albuquerque, NM. Despite various small successes, he struggled as a stand up comedian working small clubs across America until he started a podcast in 2009 called WTF with Marc Maron. The hour long show, which featured in depth interviews with comedians, grew into a cult classic, with subjects as varied as Barak Obama, Loren Michaels, and Gloria Steinem. He also has his own sitcom on IFC called Maron, which debuted in 2013.

John Wesley Carlos

(born June 5, 1945) is an American former track and field athlete and professional football player. He was the bronze-medal winner in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics and his Black Power salute on the podium with Tommie Smith caused much political controversy.

Marcus Aurelius

He was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus’ death in 169. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors, and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers.

Venus Ebony Starr Williams

(born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. She is generally regarded as one of the all-time greats of women’s tennis and, along with younger sister Serena Williams, is credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women’s professional tennis tour.

John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy

 (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)  was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his death in 1963. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.

Thomas Carlyle

(4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881) was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era. He called economics “the dismal science”, wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.

Menachem Begin (August 16, 1913-March 9,1992)

A politician, founderof Israel's Likud party, and the sixth prime minister of the stare of Israel. Begin's mist significant achievement as prime minister was the signing of a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, for which he and Anwar Sadet shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

Zachery Israel "Zach" Braft (born April 6, 1975)

An American actor, comedian, director, screenwriter and producer, Braff is best known for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the telivision series Scrubs (2001-2010). In 2004, he made his directional debut with Garden State, a film he wrote, starred in, and compiled the soundtrack for. To shoot the film, Braff returned to his home state of New Jersey. He won numerous awards for his directing work, and also won the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack album in 2005. Braff directed another film, Wish I was Here (2014), which he partially funded with a kickstarter campain.

Bernard Mannes Baruch

(August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier, stock-market speculator, statesman, and political consultant. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters.

John Adams

(October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States (1797–1801). A New England Yankee, he was deeply read and represented Enlightenment values promoting republicanism. A conservative Federalist, he was one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States.

Zianna Oliphant

(b. 2008) is a young girl who spoke before the Charlotte, NC city council in 2016 on race relations and police shootings of African-American men.

Simon & Garfunkel

Paul Fredric Simon (born October 13, 1941) and Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) made up the folk rock duo that rose to fame in the 1960s and '70s with songs such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Sound of Silence," and the soundtrack to the iconic film The Graduate. Simon waa born to Hingarian Jews and Garfunkel to Romanian Jews, all living in Queens, NY. In September 1981, they performed live in New York City's Central Park, attracting more than 500,000 people, at that time the largest-ever concert attendance.

Louis Daniel Armstrong

(August 4, 1901– July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo, Satch or Pops, was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who was one of the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades, from the 1920s to the 1960s, and different eras in the history of jazz.

Eliezer “Elie” Wiesel

 (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps. Wiesel is also the Advisory Board chairman of the Algemeiner Journal newspaper.

David Copperfield (1956)

Born David Seth Kotkin, Copperfield is an American illusionist, and one of the most commercially successful magicians in history. Copperfield's telivision specials have won 21 Emmy Awards. Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, Copperfield's career of over forty years has earned him eleven Guinness World Records, a knighthood by the French government, and he has been named a living legend by the U.S. Library of Congress. When not performing magic he manages his chain of eleven islands in the Bahamas.

William Boyd “Bill” Watterson II

 (born July 5, 1958) is an American artist and the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995

Chester William “Chet” Powers, Jr.

(October 7, 1937 – November 16, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter, and the lead singer of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. He was also known by the stage name Dino Valenti (alternatively rendered as Dino Valente) and, as a songwriter, as Jesse Oris Farrow. He is best known for writing the quintessential 1960s love-and-peace anthem “Let’s Get Together.”

Thomas John “Tom” Brokaw

 (February 6, 1940) An American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He now serves as a Special Correspondent for NBC News and works on documentaries for other outlets.

Yao Ming

Did you know...
... that today is the Birthday of Yao Ming (1980)? Yao Ming is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. He is 7' 6" tall and weighs 311 pounds! Happy birthday, Yao!

Gordon Bitner Hinckley

(June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 12, 1995, until his death. Considered a prophet, seer, and revelator by church members, Hinckley was the oldest person to preside over the church in its history.

Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky

(24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Brodsky was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature “for an all-embracing authorship, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity”. He was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1991.

Junko Tabei

(22 September 1939 – 20 October 2016) was a Japanese mountaineer. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and the first woman to ascend all Seven Summits by climbing the highest peak on every continent.