poetBorn: 5/9/1921Birthplace: Waterloo, Iowa Pulitzer Prize–winning poet whose poetry looks at the everyday lives of common people with an ironic sense of wit. She uses formal structure in her…
Pauline Esther Friedmanadvice columnistBorn: 7/4/1918Birthplace: Sioux City, Iowa Born Pauline Esther Friedman, Van Buren had never written professionally until 1956 when she contacted the editor…
(Melvin Peebles)director, actor, writerBorn: 8/21/1932Birthplace: Chicago A pioneer in African American cinema, Van Peebles has directed, edited, and produced films and is also an actor and…
actorBorn: 1/9/1925Birthplace: Somerville, New Jersey With the ideal looks for a villain, Van Cleef found himself typecast as the heavy in crime stories, westerns, and action films. He played in a…
(John Townes Van Zandt)songwriter, singerBorn: 3/7/1944Birthplace: Fort Worth, Texas Van Zandt recorded 15 albums, none of them chart-busting hits, but his influence among other musicians has been…
Born: 12/5/1782Birthplace: Kinderhook, N.Y. Martin Van Buren was born on Dec. 5, 1782, at Kinderhook, N.Y. After graduating from the village school, he became a law clerk, entered practice in 1803…
actorBorn: 12/13/1925Birthplace: West Plains, Missouri Emmy Award-winning television, film and stage actor best known for his portrayal of Rob Petrie, the lanky, bumbling comedy writer on The Dick…
directorBorn: 7/24/1952Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky Director known for his early controversial films about gays and drug addicts. His films include My Own Private Idaho (1991), To Die For (…
Born: Mar. 15, 1926Football QB-P led NFL in passing 3 times and punting twice; led LA Rams (1951) and Philadelphia (1960) to NFL titles; MVP in 1960.Died: May 2, 1983
Born: Feb. 17, 1973Swimming first American woman to win four gold medals in one Olympics (1996); won the individual 50m freestyle, 100m butterfly, and was on the US team for the 4x100 freestyle and…
