Julia Child

Was Julia Child a spy? Well, sort of. During the final two years of the Second World War, the woman who would one day be renowned for bringing French cuisine to American kitchens was stationed in Asia, working with top security clearance at the organization which would ...read more

1. Emperor Claudius Rome’s fourth emperor led a decidedly un-regal early life. He suffered from several embarrassing physical disabilities including a limp, and his own mother described him as a “monstrosity of a human being.” Ignored and ridiculed, Claudius whiled away most of ...read more

1. George Eastman The man who founded Eastman Kodak Company in 1892 and made photography available to the masses was a descendant of William Bradford, the influential, longtime governor of Plymouth Colony whose journal, later published under the title “Of Plymouth Plantation,” ...read more

1. Morris “Moe” Berg: The major league baseball player turned secret agent. Once dubbed “the brainiest man in baseball,” Berg was born in New York City to Ukrainian immigrants and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He played shortstop for Princeton, graduating in 1923 with a degree ...read more

The humor for which celebrity chef Julia Child would become known and loved—slightly wry, don’t-worry-I-know-what-you’re-up-against humor—appeared in the very first sentence of her very first book: “This is a book for the servantless American cook who can be unconcerned on ...read more

1. Socrates Historians struggle with the details of Socrates’ biography since this founding father of Western philosophy didn’t leave a paper trail—or even a papyrus one. But based on accounts by his students and contemporaries, we can assume that the famous Greek went through ...read more