I present the Icons of Embiggenment: those people and things that have genuinely made the world a better place. In the words of Jebediah Springfield, "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man."
Abraham Lincoln
16th U.S. President ended slavery, kept country united to ensure "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." (1809-1865)
Albert Einstein
Theory of general relativity revolutionized physics. Helped create first atomic bomb, spent rest of life warning against nuclear war. (1879-1955)
Alexander Graham Bell
Eminent scientist and prolific inventor. Invented the telephone. (1847-1922)
Alfred Hitchcock
Influential film director pioneered many new techniques, revolutionized the suspense and psychological thriller genres. (1899-1980)
Andy Warhol
Leader of "pop art" movement. Famously predicted: "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." (1928-1987)
Archimedes
The most prolific mathematician, physicist, engineer and inventor of antiquity. (287-212 BC)
Babe Ruth
Revolutionized baseball. First to record 60 home runs in a season. Popularity solidified baseball as "America's pastime." (1895-1948)
The Beatles
Inventive rock band started "British Invasion" of American music, dominated the pop charts, created unrivaled body of work. (active 1960-1970)
Benjamin Franklin
One of America's greatest founding fathers, an accomplished diplomat, and a prolific scientist, invetor, author and civic activist. (1706-1790)
Bill Gates
Co-founder of Microsoft and pioneer in personal computing. Used vast fortune to create one of world's largest charitable foundations. (b. 1955)
Billie Holiday
Seminal jazz and pop singer. Ppioneered influential new vocal style that resembled the way jazz instruments are played. (1915-1959)
Bill Monroe
Invented bluegrass music. (1911-1996)
Bob Marley
Reggae pioneer made Jamaica's music popular around the world, injected music with social consciousness. (1945-1981)
The Carter Family
Reworked many traditional folk songs into country music standards and had profound effect on musicians that followed. (active 1927-1956)
Charles Darwin
Author, biologist and geologist established the influential theory of evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. (1809-1882)
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie
Pioneered the complex "be-bop" style that ushered in age of modern jazz. (1920-1955, 1917-1993)
Christiaan Huygens
The world's first theoretical physicist, inventor of the first combustion engine (which ran on gunpowder!), discoverer of Saturn's moon Titan, and more. (1629-1695)
Christopher Columbus
Flawed visionary discovered the Americas and ushered in era of European colonization that changed the world. (1451-1506)
Count Basie
Brilliant big band leader popularized the "Kansas City sound." (1904-1984)
The 14th Dalai Lama
Current exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhism has advocated Tibetan issues, compassion. (b. 1935)
Dr. Seuss
Revolutionized youong children's literature with whimsical style, timeless characters. (1904-1991)
Dr. Stephen Hawking
Theoretical physicist and csomologist most known for groundbreaking work on black holes. (b. 1942)
Duke Ellington
Popular big band leader and jazz's greatest composer. (1899-1974)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
U.S. General and supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe during WWII. Later served as 34th U.S. President. (1890-1969)
Eleanor Roosevelt
First activist U.S. First Lady was vocal proponent of cvil rights and husband Franklin's "New Deal" policies. (1884-1962)
Elvis Presley
Beloved singer was first to popularize rock-and-roll music, dominated charts. (1935-1977)
Everyday Heroes
Fire fighters, medical professionals, police, social workers, teachers and everyone who serves the greater good everyday.
Ferdinand Magellan
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Frederick Douglass
Galileo Galilei
George Lucas (pre-1990s)
George Washington
George Washington Carver
Hank Williams
Harriet Tubman
Harry Houdini
Hellen Keller
Henry Ford
Jack Kirby
Jackie Robinson
James Watson and Francis Crick
James Watt
Jesus
Jim Henson
Jimi Hendrix
Johann Sebastian Bach
John F. Kennedy
Leonardo Da Vinci
Louis Armstrong
Louis Pasteur
Ludwig van Beethoven
Mahatma Gandhi
Marie Curie
Mark Twain
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Michael Faraday
Michael Jordan
Michelangelo
Miles Davis
Mother Teresa
Motown Records
Mr. Rogers
NASA
Nelson Mandela
Nikola Tesla
Oprah Winfrey
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Pablo Picasso
Pele
Princess Diana
Ray Harryhausen
Ray Kroc
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev
Rosa Parks
Sir Isaac Newton
Stan Lee
Steve Jobs
Steven Spielberg
Susan B. Anthony
Thomas Edison
Thomas Jefferson
Vincent Van Gogh
Walt Disney
Wayne Gretzky
Will Rogers
William Shakespeare
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Yuri Gagarin
