Biographies

More than any of his contemporaries, Sargent expressed the glamour that emerging capitalism made possible. Yet that is just what made him incomprehensible or unacceptable to later artists and critics.

Across Britain, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s innovations stand as triumphant monuments to his genius—and likely will for centuries to come.

Although many martial artists throughout history have sought to build their crafts on a philosophic base, Bruce Lee was one of very few to do so in a generally rational manner.

Isabella Stewart Gardner was a firecracker of a woman with a studied yet eclectic taste in art and the means to acquire lots of it. As one friend put it, she lived “at a rate and intensity, with a reality that makes other lives seem pale, thin and shadowy.”

Michael Jackson was no child molester. The facts simply don’t support that horrific accusation. His acquittal in 2005 was the only evidence-based and morally defensible outcome.

Robert Smalls had much in common with many other heroes of history, such as Joan of Arc and Rosa Parks. Like them, Smalls refused to live as a victim.

Stephen Hillenburg left a legacy of youthful enthusiasm and exuberant optimism.

Those who built America—the freest and most moral country on earth—stood on the shoulders of John Locke. We who fight for individual rights and freedom today stand on his shoulders, too.

Joan of Arc refused to live as a helpless bystander in the face of adversity. Instead, she fought for a primitive but admirable conception of freedom.

Salk and Sabin never worked together, but their combined efforts made possible a world in which almost no one suffers from polio.