Willie Mae Thornton toured the south as a blues singer in the 1940s, then became a star in the 1960s when blues music experienced a popular revival. She is also remembered for her hit, "Hound Dog"…
Levi Johnston is the Alaskan youngster who was abruptly introduced to the world in 2008 as the boyfriend of Gov. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter, Bristol. Levi Johnston was, at the time, between his…
Actor-turned-director Peter Berg gained his Hollywood credentials in the 1990s, on TV as hockey-loving Dr. Kronk in the medical drama Chicago Hope (1995-99), and in films such as The Last Seduction (…
Considered by most scholars -- and the Catholic Church -- to be merely a legend, the story of a 9th century woman pope named Joan continues to have a hold on the public's imagination. The story,…
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen did groundbreaking work in organic chemistry and spectrometry, but he's more famous for the laboratory gas burner that bears his name. Robert Bunsen was an extraordinary…
Name at birth: William Michael Albert BroadBilly Idol was a bleached-hair, fist-pounding, lip-snarling punk-pop star of MTV in the 1980s, thanks to hit songs such as "Dancing With Myself," "White…
Name at birth: James Robert WillsBob Wills and his Texas Playboys were early stars of American country music, playing the high-kicking, fiddle-friendly style of music that became known as western…
Name at birth: Petr AlekseevichPeter the Great was the Russian czar who transformed Russia from an isolated agricultural society into an Empire on a par with European powers. Peter was the son of…
(Jacques Haussmann)actorBorn: 9/22/1902Birthplace: Bucharest, Romania Having begun his career as a theater director and then working with Orson Welles on both the Negro Theatre Project and the…
(Alfred Matthew Yankovic)singer, songwriter, actorBorn: 10/23/1959Birthplace: Lynnwood, California Yankovic's career as a comedic songwriter began with his first single, “My Bologna” (1979). “…
