Biographies of notable people — their path, achievements and key facts.
Emma Lazarus
Born: July 22, 1849 New York, New York Died: November 19, 1887 New York, New York American poet Emma Lazarus, an Amer...
Tanaquil LeClercq
Dancer Tanaquil LeClercq (1929–2000) was affectionately called Tanny by all who knew her. Jerome Robbins, the choreographer who cast her in his "Afternoon of a Faun," told the New ...
Mary Leakey
Born: February 6, 1913 London, England Died: December 9, 1996 Nairobi, Kenya English archaeologist Mary Leakey was a ...
Heath Ledger
Actor Born Heathcliff Andrew Ledger, April 4, 1979, in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; son of Kim Ledger (an engineer and auto racer) and Sally Bell (a teacher); stepso...
Bruce Lee
Born: November 27, 1940 San Francisco, California Died: July 20, 1973 Hong Kong American actor and martial arts master ...
Chang-rae Lee
Author and professor Born July 29, 1965, in Seoul, South Korea; immigrated to the United States, 1968; son of Young Yong (a psychiatrist) and Inja (Hong) Lee; married Michel...
Jason Lee
Actor Born April 25, 1970, in Orange, CA; son of Greg (a car dealership manager) and Carol (a homemaker) Lee; married Carmen Llywellyn (an actress and photographer), 1995 (d...
Tsung-Dao Lee
Born: November 24, 1926 Shanghai, China Chinese-born American physicist Chinese-born physicist (specialist in the relationship between matter and ...
Spike Lee
Born: March 20, 1957 Atlanta, Georgia African American filmmaker, actor, and author/poet Controversial (arousing opposing viewpoints) filmmaker Spike L...
John Legend
Singer and songwriter Born John Stephens, December 28, 1978, in Springfield, OH. Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1999. Addresse...
Stanislaw Lem
With the possible exception of France's Jules Verne, Polish author Stanislaw Lem (1921–2006) has been the best-known science fiction writer to work in a language other than English...
Vladimir Lenin
Born: April 10, 1870 Ulianovsk, Russia Died: January 21, 1924 Moscow, Russia Russian statesman The Russian statesman ...
Luna Leopold
Born Luna Bergere Leopold, October 8, 1915, in Albuquerque, NM; died of emphysema and congestive heart disease, February 23, 2006, in Berkeley, California. Scientist. Luna Leopold transfor...
Nanette Lepore
Fashion designer Born c. 1964, in Youngstown, OH; married Robert Savage (a company president); children: Violet. Education: Earned undergraduate degr...
Sandy Lerner
Founder of Urban Decay and philanthropist Born c. 1955; married Leonard Bosack, 1980 (divorced). Education: Earned undergraduate degree from California Sta...
Arthur Levitt
Financial expert Born Arthur Levitt Jr. in 1931, in New York, NY; son of Arthur Sr. (a government official) and Dorothy (a teacher) Levitt; married Marylin Blauner (a psychi...
Eugene Levy
Actor, writer, and director Born December 17, 1946, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; married Deborah Devine, 1977; children: Dan, Sarah. Education: Grad...
William Arthur Lewis
Sir William Arthur Lewis (1915–1991), born on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, virtually founded the entire discipline of development economics. Entering the fi...
Sinclair Lewis
Born: February 7, 1885 Sauk Centre, Minnesota Died: January 10, 1951 Rome, Italy American writer Although Sinclair Le...
C. S. Lewis
Born: November 29, 1898 Belfast, Ireland Died: November 24, 1963 Oxford, England Irish writer, novelist, and essayist ...