Mark Twain was a groundbreaking American author, humorist, and social critic, celebrated for classics like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Laurence Sterne was an 18th-century Irish-born English writer, known for his satirical novel "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman", which broke new ground in narrative form and humor.
Zebulon Pike was an intrepid American explorer and soldier who discovered a significant mountain range that now bears his name, the Pike's Peak.
Frances Wright was a Scottish-American social reformer, abolitionist, and women's rights advocate who championed radical change in the early 19th century.
John G. Paton was a Scottish missionary and ethnologist who dedicated his life to spreading Christianity and preserving the culture of the South Sea Islanders.
Maurice Herzog was a French alpinist, writer, and politician who led the first successful ascent of Annapurna, the tenth highest mountain in the world, in 1950.
Nellie Bly was an American investigative journalist, known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days and her undercover exposé of a mental institution.