René Descartes was a French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher who is considered the father of modern philosophy. Aiming to apply the rigor of mathematics to all fields of human knowledge, Descartes discards the authoritarian system of the scholastics and begins with universal doubt. His methodology was a major influence in the transition from medieval science and philosophy to the modern era. What is thought to be the meaning of his most famous statement, “Cogito ergo sum“? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch postimpressionist artist whose paintings include some of the world’s best known, most popular, and most valuable pieces in the world today. Yet, only one of his paintings was sold while he lived. The majority of the works for which he is best known were produced in 29 months of frenzied activity and intermittent bouts with epileptic seizures and profound despair that tragically ended in suicide. What iconic painting did van Gogh complete while in a mental hospital? 
Born Denton True Young, Cy Young was an American baseball player for whom the prestigious Cy Young Award—presented annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball—is named. In his 22-year major league career, he pitched in 906 games. Known for his excellent control and ability to outwit batters, Young holds the record for winning the most games—511—including 76 shutouts and three no-hitters. In 1904, he pitched the American League’s first perfect game. How did Young get the nickname “Cy”? 
Maxim Gorky was the pseudonym of Aleksey Maximovich Pyeshkov, a Russian writer considered the father of Soviet literature and the founder of the doctrine of socialist realism. Gorky’s works include Mother, which became the prototype of the revolutionary novel, and his final, unfinished work—often considered his masterpiece—The Life of Klim Samgin, a panoramic, four-volume novel of Russian social conditions from 1880 to 1917. Who carried Gorky’s casket at his funeral?
A pioneer of modern architecture and one of its most influential figures, German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was famous for his use of the minimalist architectural dictum “less is more.” As a young architect in Berlin, he foreshadowed modern architecture with innovative designs for tubular-steel furniture and steel-and-glass skyscrapers, and countless modernist steel-and-glass structures have been influenced by his work. Mies was also known for using what other famous aphorism? 
One of America’s foremost 20th-century playwrights and the author of more than 70 plays, Tennessee Williams achieved his first successes with The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948. Noted for his scenes of high dramatic tension and brilliant, often lyrical dialogue, Williams received a Tony Award for 1950’s The Rose Tattoo and won another Pulitzer in 1955 for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. What was his real first name? 
Known as the “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin began singing in church choirs as a child before achieving mainstream success with a string of hit songs including “Respect,” “Think,” and “Natural Woman.” In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and, in 2005, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian decoration in the US. She is the second most honored female singer in the history of the Grammy Awards. How many has she won? 
Born Erik Weisz, Houdini was an American magician, escape artist, and silent film star famed for his escapes from bonds of every sort—locks, handcuffs, straitjackets, and underwater chests. One of his most notable non-escape illusions was performed in 1918, when he had an elephant vanish onstage. In his later years, he campaigned against magicians and mind readers who claimed supernatural powers and even took aim at Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, from whom he derived his name. How did Houdini die? 
Devoted to the pursuit of rocketry and spaceflight since his teenage years, German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun was responsible for the successful development of the German V-2 rocket, thousands of which were launched against London and Antwerp during World War II’s final year. Nevertheless, at the close of the war, von Braun was brought to the US and soon became a prime figure in the cold war arms race and later in the space program. What notable American projects did he work on? 
Andrew Lloyd Webber is a highly successful British composer of musical theatre whose scores include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and two of the longest-running Broadway shows of all time: Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. Lloyd Webber has won multiple Tony and Grammy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe and an Oscar, and was knighted in 1992. Cats was inspired by the work of what noted modernist author?