entrepreneur, industrial contractorBorn: 5/9/1882Birthplace: Sprout Brook, N.Y. Kaiser seemed to have a knack for being at the right place at the right time, winning government contracts to build…
railroad developer, financierBorn: 5/8/1821Birthplace: New Brunswick, N.J. Being the son of Cornelius Vanderbelt did little to secure William a job in the family empire. His father regarded him as…
bankerBorn: 1868Birthplace: Medfield, Mass. Considered somewhat of a Wunderkind when he became youngest vice president ever at Chase National Bank at 36, he had already helped to organize the…
British newsagentBorn: 1792 He got his start selling newspapers in his father's business in 1812 with his brother Henry Edward. They moved beyond their father's Strand shop using railways and fast…
ironmaster, glassmakerBorn: 5/13/1729 Birthplace: Cologne, Germany He emigrated to Philadelphia in 1750, and established iron forges in Lancaster and Berks Counties, Pennsylvania. Profits from the…
zoologistBorn: 1867Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio Although he held a doctorate from the University of Chicago, zoologist Charles Henry Turner chose to teach at high schools so he could devote more…
playwrightBorn: 8/11/1957 Birthplace: Los Angeles, California The eldest of three children, Hwang was born to parents of Chinese heritage. He graduated from Stanford University in 1979 and taught…
high technology entrepreneurBorn: 1951Birthplace: China Yuen's family moved came to the United States from China when he was 17 years old. He received a B.S. in mathematics from the University of…
U.S. congressmanBorn: 5/13/1916Birthplace: San Antonio, Tex. Gonzalez grew up on San Antonio's West Side in a shack with dirt floors and no running water. After being thrown out of swimming pools…
Navajo political leaderBorn: 1857?Birthplace: Fort Defiance, Ariz. The identity of Dodge's father is uncertain, but he may have been a white Indian agent or Army officer. His mother was a Navajo-…
