Vigeland learned to carve wood at a local school, and was apprentice to a professional wood carver in Olso, from 1884 to 1885. During this time, Vigeland attended evening drawing classes at the Royal School of Design. Upon learning of his father's illness in 1886, Vigeland returned to Mandal to run the family farm, but continued drawing sculptures and studying books about anatomy. At 19, he returned to Oslo and took a job as a woodcarver. Though he was fired for a lack of orders, his work came to the attention of sculptor Brynjulf Bergslien, who took Vigeland under his wing and trained him. Vigeland is best known today for the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway.

Dylan began singing in coffee houses around the University of Minnesota. He headed for Greenwich Village, New York, and was discovered by John Hammond of Columbia Records, who made possible his 1962 debut, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. At the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, he was hailed as a standard bearer. His songs justify his acclaim: "Song to Woody," "Blowin’ in the Wind," "Masters of War," "Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right," "A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall." He surpassed expectations with The Times They Are A-Changin’ in 1964 and also showed there was more than protest on his agenda with "Mr. Tambourine Man"--a hit he gave to The Byrds.

Green started out in a gospel quartet in the 1950s. In high school, Green formed a group called Al Green & the Creations, which later became The Soulmates and released an R&B hit, "Back Up Train." In 1969, Green met Willie Mitchell of Hi Records, and signed with the label. Green's first album, Green is Blue, did moderately well. His second release, Al Green Gets Next to You, was a hit that contained four gold records, including "Let's Stay Together," and "I'm Still in Love With You." Green later turned to religion, and became a minister. In 1977 he produced his critically acclaimed The Belle Album, which failed to find an audience. Green focused on gospel afterwards, until 1992 when he released his a full-fledged soul album in the U. K, Don't Look Back. In 1995 he released Your Heart's in Good Hands to positive reviews, and was inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Loretta Lynn was born in Butcher Holler, Kentucky. Married at 13 and a mother at 14, after a decade of motherhood Lynn began performing with a band led by her brother. Ten years later, Lynn signed with Zero Records in 1959, leading to her self-promoted hit “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl.” Her second single, “Success,” was released in 1962 and rose to number six on the chart, starting a string of hits that would stretch through the 1960’s and 70’s.

Son of a wealthy land-owner and a peasant girl, da Vinci was a life-long vegetarian. He grew up with his father in Florence, where he became a painter's apprentice and later an independent painter. From 1482 to 1499 he worked for the Duke of Milan, where he created his "Gran Cavallo" horse, and returned to Florence in 1500. Back in Florence he worked for Cesare Borgia, returning to Milan in 1506. From 1513 to 1516 he lived in Rome, among painters like Raphael and Michelangelo. Da Vinci is best known for his masterful paintings, such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. Da Vinci was also intensely interested in science and engineering, and sketched plans for several flying machines in his notebook, as well as plans for a bridge, a tank, and a submarine.

Chaplin took to the stage at age five. He was spotted by Mack Sennet in 1912, and Sennet signed him to Keystone Studios. There Chaplin began developing the Little Tramp character that would bring him worldwide fame. After 35 films at Keystone, Chaplin moved to Essany Studios where he received an unprecedented signing bonus of $10,000. Upon signing with Mutual in 1916, Chaplin's weekly pay was $10,000 and his signing bonus was $150,000. In 1917, upon signing with First National, Chaplin became the first actor ever to command a fee of $1 million. Along with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and David Wark Griffith, he founded United Artists Studios. Though sound came to movies in 1927, Chaplin's first "talkie" was 1940's The Great Dictator. Chaplin twice received honorary Oscars, as well as the Oscar for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, for 1952's Limelite.

Best known for his play Our Town, Wilder wrote many novels as well as plays. Our Town, brought him a second Pulitzer – his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey won the prize in 1927 – and critical recognition as a playwright, though it was not his first drama. His other well-known plays include The Skin of Our Teeth, The Matchmaker, and Plays for Bleeker Street.