Patrick Henry studied law and quickly tried cases involving Great Britain, which drove Henry to become a vocal revolutionary. Henry delivered impassioned speeches that influenced Washington, Jefferson, and other signatories of the impending Declaration of Independence.

Educated as a lawyer, Thomas Jefferson would soon enter the political arena. A delegate to the Continental Congress, Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence at 33 years of age. He would go on to serve as Vice President and President of the United States.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, or W.E.B. for short, was educated at Fisk University, Harvard and the University of Berlin. Du Bois would publish many influential studies, essays and books on the subject of racism in America before he joined the communist party and moved to Ghana.

Marcus Garvey studied law and philosophy in London before sailing to New York City where he became one of the early civil rights voices for black equality.

Galileo Galilei was a mathematician, physicist, and early cosmologist who discovered the moons of Jupiter, details of Earth’s moon, and more. Galileo’s support for a heliocentric solar system placed him at odds with the Catholic Church, which would ultimately place him on house arrest for the remainder of his life.

Born into nobility in 1892, Baron von Richthofen would become the most feared German fighter pilot in the early aerial combat days of WWI. Flying his blood-red bi-plane, he was given the nickname “The Red Baron,” and ultimately achieved 80 confirmed aerial victories before his death at age 25.

Phineas Taylor Barnum, or PT Barnum, was a centerpiece in nineteenth-century American showmanship and entrepreneurship. At 60 years of age, he partnered with James Bailey to tour the country as The Bailey and Barnum traveling circus of performers, acts and animals.