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Finn DeWitt, Filmmaker and Activist

Tige Charity, Founder of KITS

ABOUT OUR COLLECTION OF STORIES
Visitors, teachers, students, and MY HERO staff publish all kinds of stories, from inspirational essays about a close friend, to important global issues.

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Fannie Lou Hamer by Robert Shetterly

From the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series

was known as the queen of the Leica

ABOUT THE DIGITAL ART GALLERY

Our gallery features art in the theme of heroism. All artworks in our commercial free, age-appropriate Gallery are contributed by professional and student artists as well as curated from art institutions around the world.

MY HERO Project seeks unique works of art by professional and student artists that celebrate the lives and courageous acts of heroes who work to promote change by positively affecting others and their communities. Completed artwork should reflect thoughtful ideas to show how the selected hero demonstrates heroic action and creates positive social change.

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Selected Stories in Multiple Languages

Featured Stories:

Malala Yousafzai

Caine Monroy

Ana Dodson

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Angels

Abdul Sattar Edhi

Abdul Sattar Edhi founded Edhi International Foundation, and has been called the greatest living humanitarian in the world.

Jeni Stepanek is an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy who continues to spread her son Mattie's message of peace.

Louis Zamperini

Louis Zamperini was a WW2 prisoner of war survivor who forgave his tormentor and inspires others to forgive.

Maggie built a home and school for the children of Nepal and started the Blinknow organization.

Mother Teresa devoted her life to the homeless and dying in India.

Princess Diana passionately campaigned for victims of AIDS, leprosy, homelessness and against land mines.

Sadako Sasaki inspired an international peace movement.

Susan G. Komen was the inspiration for her sister to reach out to other women with cancer.

Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian and cancer research activist who inspired nations through his courage and tenacity.

Animal

Balto led his dog team on the lifesaving 1925 serum run to Rome, Alaska

Barry der Menschenretter

Barry der Menschenretter was the most famous St. Bernard rescue dog of all time.

Bear
was presented the 30th National Hero Dog Award.

Big Ben raced his way into the hearts and memories of fans.

Binti Jua rescued a small boy at a Chicago zoo.

Endal is a brilliant service dog and friend to his owner, Allen.

Harley has saved Faith's life many times.

Hero is an extraordinary therapy dog.

Koko shows people that animals have feelings, wants and needs.

Puppies Behind Bars

Puppies Behind Bars benefits both inmates and dogs.

S.A.D. Horse Rescue

Shasta participated in rescue missions in Alaska for years.

Wojtek the bear

Wojtek the Bear was a hero to Polish troops during WW2.

Artists

Anna Pavlova was a Russian ballerina and is known as one of the finest classical dancers in history

Ansel Adams was an 'artist-activist' whose photographs of nature inspired conservation.

Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian female post-Renaissance artist who tackled challenging themes. She is now considered one of greatest Baroque painters of her time.

Baje Whitethorne

Baje Whitethorne is a celebrated Navajo painter and author.

Berta Hummel was a beloved artist who brought joy to others with her art in sharing the happiness and innocence of children and the beauty of faith.

Bob Hope was an American-British vaudevillian, comedy actor and award-winning humanitarian who had the rare ability to bring laughter everywhere he went.

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin taught us to laugh in the face of adversity.

Claude Oscar Monet

Claude Oscar Monet is a famous impressionist painter.

Coluche is a French humorist who created an organization to feed the poor

Dan Eldon inspired Kathy Eldon with his art, his poetry and his life.

Daniel Libeskind

Daniel Libeskind is an American-Polish architect whose work inspires peace around the world.

Edmonia Lewis was the first woman of African-American and Native American heritage to achieve international recognition as a sculptor.

Fauzia Minallah

Fauzia Minallah is the founder of Funkor Childart Centre, a filmmaker and an ARTIVIST.

Frances Anne Hopkins

Frances Anne Hopkins was an English artist known for her canoe paintings of Canada.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was an innovative architect.

Friedl Dicker-Brandeis

Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was an artist and teacher who gave children hope during the Holocaust.

Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel

Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel revolutionized women's fashion and empowered women.

Gustave Eiffel was the French engineer who built the Eiffel Tower.

Harry Houdini was a master of escape.

Jackie Chan is a beloved comedic martial artist and philanthropist.

Jim Henson was the world's most famous puppeteer and Father of the Muppets.

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was a visionary artist and inventor who thought beyond what others believed was possible.

Mamadou Tall Diedhiou

Mamadou Tall Diedhiou combines recycled materials to create inspiring works of art.

Mary Cassatt filled the world with her beautiful paintings of children, mothers, love and kindness.

Maya Lin is the architect of the Vietnam Memorial as well as many works of art.

Michaela DePrince

Michaela DePrince is an inspiring American ballerina, rescued as an orphan from Sierra Leone, and who now dances for the Dutch National Ballet.

Misty Copeland has paved the way for other African American ballerinas.

Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt van Rijn was a Dutch master painter who captured the suffering, reflection and compassion of humanity in his art.

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh remains one of the world's most renowned artists.

Walt Disney was both a visionary artist and an entrepreneur.

Wang Yani has been painting since she was three years old.

Will Smith is a musician and actor whose roles are often heroic and funny.

Wyland is an internationally recognized artist and marine life conservationist.

Business

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, inventor, visionary, statesman and philosopher who influenced the founding of the United States. (1/17/1706)

Bill Gates co-founder of Microsoft, is devoted to humanitarian causes around the world.

Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS Shoes to bring shoes to children who don't have them.

Bruno Serato is a chef who provides a free spaghetti dinner to 300 needy children at his restaurant every night, 7 nights a week.

Charles Francis Feeney

Charles Francis Feeney is a generous businessman who founded the Atlantic Philanthropies.

Dolores Olmedo Patino

Dolores Olmedo Patino was a beloved Mexican businesswoman, philanthropist, and art collector.

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

Coco Chanel reinvented women’s fashion industry and changed the way women were expected to act in public.

Helena Rubinstein

Helena Rubinstein was an entrepreneur, first female self-made millionaire and a philanthropist who worked to support women and children.

Henry Ford introduced the world to a new era in personal transportation.

Jack Odell was an English engineer who invented the Matchbox car for his daughter.

John Tu founder of Kingston Technology is also a musician and a supporter of the Freedom Writers.

Lucky Chhetri runs the 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking company and Empowering Women of Nepal.

Madam C.J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker used her haircare business success to fight discrimination and open doors for others.

Magic Johnson inspires others with his basketball talents and philanthropic work.

Melinda Gates is passionate about helping mothers and children in developing nations.

Milton S. Hershey

Milton S. Hershey made a fortune through his love of chocolate.

Oprah Winfrey is a successful businesswoman and a visionary in media.

Soichiro Honda was a successful inventor and businessman who built the Honda Motor Company.

Community

Abbe Pierre devoted his life to helping the poor and homeless in France.

Ablaye is a talented artist with an ambitious career planned, despite his physical disability.

Art Miles Mural Project

Art Miles Mural Project uses art to create a more peaceful global community.

Budi and Peggy Soehardi Roslin Orphanage

Budi and Peggy Soehardi Roslin Orphanage provides a loving home to care for displaced and orphaned children in East Timor.

Clara Hale was a foster mother and founder of the Hale House, a home for orphans and children born addicted to drugs.

Clotilde Dedecker

Clotilde Dedecker provides educational opportunities for girls in Afghanistan.

Craig Kielburger

Craig Kielburger is a social entrepreneur and activist for children who co-founded Free The Children, WE Villages, WE Schools, WE Day and ME to WE.

Danielle Gletow

Danielle Gletow found One Simple Wish to help children in foster care.

Dorothy Day was a social activist and considered both a Catholic saint and troublemaker.

Durga Devi Ghimire

Durga Devi Ghimire is a courageous woman who stood up against the odds to achieve a higher education and to run her volunteer program, Future Nepal.

Efren Penaflorida

Efren Penaflorida helped create Dynamic Teen Company

Erica Fernandez

Erica Fernandez gave a voice to the voiceless and saved her neighborhood.

Jessie Christopherson

Jessie Christopherson helps the physically and mentally challenged accomplish things they never thought possible.

Needs Editing: Kimmie Weeks survived the war in Liberia and now works to rebuild communities in war-torn countries.

Luis Soriano Bohorquez

Luis Soriano Bohorquez started the Biblioburro Library in the mountains of Colombia.

Magic Johnson inspires others with his basketball talents and philanthropic work.

Nick Vujicic went from a life without limbs to a life without limits

Philippe Cousteau

Philippe Cousteau continues the work of his father, Jacques Cousteau, through Earth Echo International.

Ralf Hotchkiss is an engineer, inventor and humanitarian, and the founder of Whirlwind Wheelchair International.

Richard Proudfit

Richard Proudfit founded Kids Against Hunger to feed starving children around the world.

Robin Emmons is an organic farmer who has created a foundation to fight hunger.

Ryan Hreljac helps build wells for clean water in Africa.

William Kamkwamba

William Kamkwamba designed and built a windmill, at the age of 14, for his family in Malawi, Africa. (8/5/1987)

Earthkeepers

Alexandra Cousteau

Alexandra Cousteau was honored as an Earth Trustee by the UN for her work to protect the oceans.

Benjamin Kahn involves school children in regrowing coral to help save damaged reefs in the Red Sea.

Chief Oren Lyons

Chief Oren Lyons is an internationally venerated advocate for preserving biodiversity.

David T. Suzuki

David T. Suzuki has been teaching the public about the science of environmentalism for many years.

Dr. Shirley McGreal

Dr. Shirley McGreal founded the International Primate Protection League.

Earthkeeper Hero: Pretoma by Amanda Molinaro

PRETOMA works to protect ocean resources in Costa Rica.

Fin Donnelly works to keep our rivers and waters clean.

Jane Goodall is an anthropologist and the leading researcher of chimpanzees.

Jim and Jamie Dutcher

Jim and Jamie Dutcher are wolf conservationists.

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings ~ William Blake

John Muir advocated preservation, feeling that natural areas promote mental health.

MacGillivray Family

MacGillivray Family founded the non-profit MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Marjory Stoneman Douglas was instrumental in preserving the Florida Everglades.

Olivia Bouler Olivia created 500 paintings of her feathered friends to raise funds for Audubon's bird rescue.

Philippe Cousteau

Philippe Cousteau continues the work of his father, Jacques Cousteau, through Earth Echo International.

Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, was the mother of the environmental movement.

Ric O'Barry works to free captive dolphins around the world.

Surfrider Foundation

Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world's oceans, waves and beaches.

Tuy Sereivathana

Tuy Sereivathana is a Cambodian environmentalist who solves conflicts between elephants and people.

Velma Bronn Johnston

Velma Bronn Johnston worked to save the wild mustangs in the United States

Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement that plants trees to help restore the desolate ecosystem in Africa.

Essays on the Theme of Heroism

Alice Paul and Dorothy Height

"We African American Women seldom do just what we want to do, but always what we have to do. I am grateful to have been in a time and place where I could be a part of what was needed."- Dorothy Height

Aragorn is an important hero in The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien.

Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.

Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee

“I can’t carry it for you……but I can carry you.”

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger showed heroism through almost insurmountable odds.

Phillis Wheatley and Maya Angelou

Phillis Wheatley and Maya Angelou is an essay that compares the lives and work of two black women, centuries apart but with a similar message.

The Hero in Pop Culture ~ Stories That Inspire

The Hero in Pop Culture ~ Stories That Inspire explores what makes a classic story.

Explorers

Alexandrine Tinne

Alexandrine Tinne was a young Dutch explorer and the first female to attempt to cross the Sahara.

Bessie Coleman was the first African-American woman to receive an aviator license.

Christina Conlee

Christina Conlee explores the past as an archaeologist in Peru.

Chuck Yeager was the first man to break the sound barrier.

Daniel Boone was a great American pioneer.

Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu

Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu was the first Romanian female pilot, who received her license from the International Aeronautical Federation in 1914.

As the first Hispanic female astronaut and a co-inventor of three patents, Ellen Ochoa is a shining example of female empowerment.

Franklin Chang Diaz

Franklin Chang Diaz is a Costa Rican and American veteran of seven Space Shuttle missions.

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen was a daring explorer, a freedom fighter, and a selfless humanitarian.

Guion Bluford became the first African-American in space.

Jacques Cousteau

Jacques Cousteau wanted people to know about the ocean and why he was exploring it.

James Herman Banning

James Herman Banning was an early African American aviator.

Jean Batten made the first-ever solo flight from England to New Zealand.

Jerrie Mock was the first woman to fly solo around the world.

John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth.

John Wesley Powell

John Wesley Powell is an internationally venerated advocate for preserving biodiversity.

Mae Jemison dreamed of going to space since childhood.

Marco Polo was a famous explorer to the Far East.

Matthew Henson was a brave African-American Arctic explorer, and the co-discoverer of the North Pole.

"In 2017, Whitson broke the record for longest time spent in space clocking in 665 days total."

Roy Chapman Andrews

Roy Chapman Andrews was an explorer and the director of the American Museum of Natural History.

Sacajawea guided Lewis and Clark across the northwestern territories.

Valentina Tereshkova

Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman and first civilian to fly in space.

"Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it!"

Heroes of Faith

Abraham is considered the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Archbishop Oscar Romero

Archbishop Oscar Romero was a passionate voice of hope, peace and justice in war-torn El Salvador.

C.S. Lewis left a legacy that will last forever, through his books, but also thanks to his rich love.

Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie Ten Boom risked her life to help hundreds of Jews escape during WWII.

David of the Old Testament was a loyal servant of God.

Esther inspires us with her courage, determination, and loyalty to her people and her God.

Harriet Tubman organized the Underground Railroad and helped lead slaves to freedom.

Immaculee Ilibagiza

Immaculee Ilibagiza demonstrates the power of forgiveness.

Joseph was a servant of God who rose from slavery to being a powerful leader in Egypt.

Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri Tekakwitha is a Roman Catholic saint of the Algonquin-Mohawk tribe.

"We need to include the excluded and preach peace." Pope Francis

Regina Jonas was the first woman ever to be ordained as a rabbi.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi was a true example of harmonious existence on Earth.

Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)

Susanna Wesley is known as the Mother of Methodism.

William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce was influential in the abolition of the slave trade and of slavery in the British Empire

Family

Budi and Peggy Soehardi Roslin Orphanage

Budi and Peggy Soehardi Roslin Orphanage provides a loving home to care for displaced and orphaned children in East Timor.

Catherine Malonza

Catherine Malonza saved her brother's life.

Dick Hoyt is a dedicated Dad who breaks down barriers to his son's disability.

Dorothy (Mama Dot) Humbert

Dorothy (Mama Dot) Humbert inspired her family when she went back to college in her 70s.

Emmet Newell was truly generous of heart and nature.

Erika is a hero to her father, Eddie Becker.

Esther Okafor inspires her daughter to be a doctor.

Gladys Kent gave so much to her family, community and everyone she met.

My father Irwin is my hero because he is responsible and he always followed his dreams no matter what happened.

Ivan Babak is a hardworking immigrant father from Ukraine who helped build a caring and sharing community.

Jennifer Porter

Jennifer Porter is a hero to her daughter, Stephanie, because of the way she humbly cares for her family and others.

Joneice proved how strong a young girl can be to her sister, Kia.

Karla Diane Hurrell

Karla Diane Hurrell and her husband have fostered over 150 children.

Linh Le provides for, protects, and loves his wife and his admiring son, Danny.

Malick Seck is respected by his community and family for his humanitarian works, and his wisdom and dedication.

My Grandfather Pepe

Why is my grandfather my hero? He wasn’t afraid to leave his house at 17 years of age. He thought about the future staying at the ranch and made a good decision to leave for work, even if he didn’t know how to speak English, and he went to the United States. Being there working he suffered a lot, but he made a lot of money.

Philippe Cousteau

Philippe Cousteau continues the work of his father, Jacques Cousteau, through Earth Echo International.

Raja Weksler helped her daughter survive in a concentration camp.

Rose Marie Thomas

Rose Marie Thomas co-founded St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which never turns away a patient and has helped innumerable childhood cancer patients.

My great-grandma has taught me a lot about willpower. She was born in 1908 and was raised in the years of segregation. She fought against segregation and sacrificed many things for blacks to have the freedom that we have today. The happiest day of her life was when she found out we were going to have a black president.

Sarah Nabbosa works hard to support her children and to help those in need.

Stephen Siller: From the Tunnel to the Towers

Stephen Siller: From The Tunnel to the Towers was a firefighter who bravely sacrificed his life to save others on 9/11.

Theodore Roosevelt Dexter

Toward the end of my high school years and throughout young adulthood, my grandfather taught me one of the most important lessons of all, a lesson of love and commitment.

Filmmaker

Peter Jackson is a filmmaker who directed the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Ric O'Barry works to free captive dolphins around the world.

Steven Spielberg

Bullied in elementary school because he learned to read late, Steven Spielberg became an award winning filmmaker who pushed the limits of his art.

Freedom

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was a U.S president who fought for the abolition of slavery while keeping the country united.

Cesar Chavez was steadfast, brave and had a benevolent heart during his struggle to help farmworkers.

Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce tribe in an effort to keep its homeland.

Constance Baker Motley

Constance Baker Motley broke through the discrimination against blacks, and was the first African-American judge.

Dalai Lama is the religious leader of Tibet and an emblem of Tibet's hopes for freedom.

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet is known as the 'Mandela of Cuba' because he bravely defends the rights of Cuban citizens.

Ella J. Baker was an early and life-long civil rights activist who taught Rosa Parks to stand up for her rights.

George Washington

George Washington fought for the United States to remain free and was its first president.

Iqbal Masih was a brave advocate for child labor laws in Pakistan.

Jeremy Glick was a hero of Flight 93 and Emmy's beloved father.

John Adams worked as hard for peace for the United States as he did for its independence.

Kailash Satyarthi

Kailash Satyarthi is determined to end child labor practices around the world.

Lidya Vladimirovna Litvak

Lidya Vladimirovna Litvak was a WW2 Soviet flying ace who gave her life to protect her homeland.

Celebrating the life and work of feminist, suffragist and abolitionist, Lucy Stone.

Lydia Maria Child

Lydia Maria Child wrote brilliantly to advocate for the abolition of slavery.

MOHANDAS K. GANDHI

"Nonviolence is the answer to all mankinds problems."

Qasim Amin was a forerunner in the fight for women's liberation in the Islamic world.

Raja Weksler helped her daughter survive in a concentration camp.

Rosa Parks made history when she refused to sit in the back of the bus.

Ruby Nell Bridges

"Racism is a grown-up disease. Let's stop using kids to spread it." ----Author Unknown

Susie King Taylor

Susie King Taylor was a pioneer in the struggle for African American women's rights.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was one of the first to recognize and warn others of Hitler's danger to freedom and human rights.

Health

1925 Serum Run Participants

The 1925 Serum Run Participants rushed lifesaving serum to save the children of Nome from a deadly epidemic took the efforts of many.

Andrea Coleman has used her passion for motorcycling to transform healthcare delivery in rural parts of Africa.

Ben Carson is the chief of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.

Clara Barton taught others how to save more lives of the patients in hospitals.

Danny Thomas is the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

James Doty, M.D., FACS, FICS is a professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.

Dr. Michael DeBakey

Dr. Michael DeBakey is the father of modern open-heart surgery.

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

Burke Harris believes toxic stress in children is both "treatable and beatable," but it must be acknowledged first.

Dr. Paul Farmer

Dr. Paul Farmer has dedicated his life to treating people in the poorest nations in the world.

Florence Ngobeni

Florence Ngobeni is an HIV/AIDS educator and Ambassador for the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Fred Hollows saved the eysight of thousands of Aboriginal and poor people.

Hattie Elizabeth Alexander

Hattie Elizabeth Alexander saved the lives of thousands of children through her work.

Hippocrates is famous for the Hippocratic oath, which is usually interpreted as one of the first statements of a moral code of conduct to be used by physicians, one that espouses respect for all human life: First, do no harm.

Marlo Thomas is a champion for children at St. Jude and around the world.

Médecins Sans Frontières

Medecins Sans Frontieres won the Nobel Peace Prize for working under fire to save lives.

Melinda Gates is passionate about helping mothers and children in developing nations.

Nkosi Johnson was an orphan infected by HIV who spoke out on behalf of children with AIDS.

Oumoul Khary Sow

Oumoul Khary Sow founded the Caravan of Hope which travels to remote areas in Senegal to help prevent malaria.

Ryan Hreljac helps build wells for clean water in Africa.

Sabriye Tenberken

Sabriye Tenberken helps to educate and better the lives of blind people living in Tibet.

Sasa a young doctor in Burma keeps his promise to his village.

Temple has spent her life studying autism and shares her knowledge and insights to help others.

Thembi Ngubane offered hope to others living with HIV/AIDS.

Tommie Hamaluba

Tommie Hamaluba is a teacher in Botswana, Africa, working to eradicate malaria.

Umra Omar, a doctor and member of Safari Doctors, travels through dangerous parts of Kenya to bring medical aid where it is needed.

Vivien Theodore Thomas was an African-American surgical technician who developed the procedures used to treat blue baby syndrome in the 1940s.

Inventor

Alan Turing was a brilliant British mathematician who pioneered modern computing and was a quiet hero of World War 2.

Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace

Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace developed the world's first computer program while struggling with her own personal hardships. (12/10/1815)

As the first Hispanic female astronaut and a co-inventor of three patents, Ellen Ochoa is a shining example of female empowerment.

Garrett Morgan invented versions of the gas mask and the traffic signal.

Guglielmo Marconi

Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor who won a Nobel Prize in Physics for wireless telegraphy. (4/25/1874)

Hypatia of Alexandria

Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all. ~Hypatia

Nikola Tesla was a brilliant inventor and electrical engineer who established the groundwork for inventors to come. (7/10/1856)

Philo T. Farnsworth

Philo T. Farnsworth was an inventor who helped develop the all electronic television and camera. (8/19/1906)

Temple Grandin is a professor, an innovator, a doctor of animal science and an autism activist.

Library

Anne Shirley inspired Maria to overcome her shyness.

Aragorn is an important hero in The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien.

Atticus Finch is the heroic lawyer from Harper Lee's novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'

Captain Nemo, a fictional character, was an explorer who used his submarinecraft, The Nautilus, to navigate through an amazing underwater world. He had abandoned his life on land to explore the deep sea.

Charlie Brown is a favorite character from the comic strip Peanuts.

Charlotte A. Cavatica

Charlotte A. Cavatica is a true friend and a good writer.

Frodo Baggins saves Middle Earth in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Hua Mulan is an historical figure who is celebrated in stories and film.

Jason and the Argonauts

Jason and the Argonauts were a crew of brave Greek Mythological heroes.

Princess Leia Organa Solo

Samwise Gamgee is Frodo Baggin's best friend and helper in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Woodrow Prater is a story of true friendship and kindness.

Lifesaver

1925 Serum Run Participants

The 1925 Serum Run Participants rushed lifesaving serum to save the children of Nome from a deadly epidemic took the efforts of many.

Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer was a German doctor in Africa. He was also an author, a musician, and a pastor.

Balto led his dog team on the lifesaving 1925 serum run to Rome, Alaska

Bernard Fantus, the Father of the American Blood Bank.

Bob Geldof is known for his anti-poverty work for Africa and is a Nobel Prize nominee.

Chiune and Yukiko Sugihara

Click here to listen to the story

Founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton was a nurse known as the 'Angel of the Battlefield.'

Dan Eldon inspired Kathy Eldon with his art, his poetry and his life.

Danny Thomas is the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Dorothea Lynde Dix

Dorothea Lynde Dix was an advocate for the rights of the mentally ill.

Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor and opened the first medical school for women.

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was a British social reformer credited with revolutionizing the field of nursing.

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen was a daring explorer, a freedom fighter, and a selfless humanitarian.

Harriet Tubman organized the Underground Railroad and helped lead slaves to freedom.

Irena Sendler helped Jewish children escape the Warsaw ghetto during the Holocaust.

Jon Rose founded Waves for Water, which works on the front-line to provide clean water.

Liviu Librescu was a Virginia Tech teacher who sacrificed his life to save his students.

Ryan Hreljac helps build wells for clean water in Africa.

The Valdez family shared their home to those in need.

Musicians

Alexander Borodin

Alexander Borodin was an accomplished chemist, composer and early advocate of women's rights.

Bob Dylan is a pioneer musician and singer-songwriter who continues to influence music today.

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen is an American singer-songwriter known to "tap the full power of music to tell the real American story".

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald was a beloved songstress who used her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs.

John Denver was an American songwriter/singer and activist for the environment.

Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong

Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong is one of the most successful and influential jazz musicians in history.

Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson was a world-renowned opera singer.

Paul Hewson (Bono)

Paul Hewson (Bono) is a musician, family man and humanitarian.

Rosetta Tharpe was a gospel singer and guitar player who influenced the making of rock and roll.

Scott Joplin composed operatic and ragtime music and influenced early jazz.

Stevie Wonder is an award-winning musician and record producer, who benefit concerts support children with disabilities.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart prolific and influential classical music composer.

Peacemakers

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln led with wisdom, humility, selflessness and generosity of spirit as 16th President of the US.

Amy Biehl was a young woman who gave her life to stop apartheid in South Africa.

Andrei Sakharov

Andrei Sakharov worked fearlessly to bring human rights to the Soviet Union and peace and disarmament during the Cold War.

Azim Khamisa founded the Tariq Khamisa Foundation to encourage forgiveness.

Corbin Harney has spread a message of peace throughout the world.

Dan Eldon inspired Kathy Eldon with his art, his poetry and his life.

Dr. Jeni Stepanek

Dr. Jeni Stepanek is interviewed by MY HERO's Slater Jewell-Kemker.

Elie Wiesel wrote the famous Holocaust memoir Night.

Jason Crowe received the UN's Global Peace & Tolerance Award.

Celebrating the life and work of feminist, suffragist and abolitionist, Lucy Stone.

Mahatma Gandhi was a political ethicist who helped release India from British rule through non-violence.

Mohamed Sidibay

Mohamed Sidibay speaks out to give a name and a face behind the stories of child soldiers.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

Peace Pilgrim (Mildred Normal Ryder)

Peace Pilgrim (Mildred Norman Ryder) was an activist, spiritual teacher and the first woman to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail for peace.

Sarah Winnemucca

Sarah Winnemucca was an advocate for Paiute rights and the first Native American woman to publish a book.

The 14th Dalai Lama

"Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength." The 14th Dalai Lama

Philosophers

Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers of all time.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, inventor, visionary, statesman and philosopher.

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was a writer and poet who explored psychology and science in his works.

Plato was a great thinker, philosopher, teacher and advocate for human rights.

Pythagoras contributed to our understanding of mathematics, music and astronomy.

Socrates is an important founder of Western philosophy.

Will Rogers was a beloved humorist and humanitarian.

Poets

Anna Akhmatova is considered one of Soviet Russia's greatest poets.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay was a popular and critically acclaimed poet.

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson wrote nearly 2,000 poems in her lifetime.

Emma Lazarus was an advocate for immigrants' rights and wrote the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.

Francis Scott Key

Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner and was a champion of Native Americans.

Homer is the author of the Illiad and the Odyssey and the greatest ancient Greek epic poet.

Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi

Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi is a renowned Iranian poet.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was amongst the greatest poets America has ever produced and gave a voice to the African-American experience.

Li Bai is often referred to as the 'God of Poets' in China.

Mattie Stepanek

Mattie Stepanek is a hero to people of all ages around the world.

Maya Angelou is a beloved female author and poet.

Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley was the first distinguished African-American poet.

Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein was a poet, playwright, lyricist and good friend.

Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) is an acclaimed children's author and poet who has delighted children and adults around the world.

Scientists

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein believed in the power of imagination.

Ameen Abdulrasool

Ameen Abdulrasool is a young inventor who developed a portable navigation system for the blind.

Andrea Mia Ghez

Andrea Mia Ghez is an astrophysicist best known for her discoveries about the black hole at the center of our galaxy.

Archimedes of Syracuse

Archimedes of Syracuse was an early Greek mathematician, astronomer and inventor.

Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace

Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace developed the world's first computer program while struggling with her own personal hardships. (12/10/1815)

Bernard Fantus, the Father of the American Blood Bank.

Carlos Juan Finlay

Carlos Juan Finlay was a Cuban scientist who discovered the cause of yellow fever.

Clifford V. Johnson

Clifford V. Johnson is a string theorist who studies the makeup of the smallest particles of the universe.

Cristina Diaz: Biologist

Cristina Diaz: Biologist studies intertidal and tropical sponges.

David D. Ho discovered a successful way to treat people with AIDS.

Dr. France Cordova

Dr. Kristi Curry-Rogers

Dr. Kristi Curry-Rogers is an accomplished paleontologist who travels the globe in search of dinosaur digs.

Fabiola Gianotti

Fabiola Gianotti is an Italian particle physicist.

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei was an astronomer and inventor who was the first to use a telescope to observe the stars and planets.

Garrett Morgan invented versions of the gas mask and the traffic signal.

Gertrude B. Elion

Gertrude B. Elion developed the AIDS drug AZT.

Grace Murray Hopper

A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.

Guglielmo Marconi

Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor who won a Nobel Prize in Physics for wireless telegraphy. (4/25/1874)

Gwynne Rowley Shotwell

Gwynne Rowley Shotwell is the president of SpaceX, the company that made the Dragon space craft.

Hazel Barton combines her passion for caving with researching microbes.

Hippocrates is famous for the Hippocratic oath, which is usually interpreted as one of the first statements of a moral code of conduct to be used by physicians, one that espouses respect for all human life: First, do no harm.

Katherine Johnson

Her story was hidden for decades: Katherine Johnson plotted multiple flight courses for NASA, including the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first spaceship to reach the moon.

Lene Vestergaard Hau

Lene Vestergaard Hau is a Danish physicist at Harvard who was able to stop a beam of light.

Madame Curie received the Nobel Prize for her discovery of Radium.

Merieme Chadid is an astronomer from Morocco who did research at the South Pole.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist, cosmologist and science communicator.

Nikola Tesla was the father of many modern inventions.

Nikola Tesla was a brilliant inventor and electrical engineer who established the groundwork for inventors to come. (7/10/1856)

Philo T. Farnsworth

Philo T. Farnsworth was an inventor who helped develop the all electronic television and camera. (8/19/1906)

Rosalind Elsie Franklin

Rosalind Franklin was an English chemist whose work contributed to the understanding of the structure of DNA.

Temple Grandin is a professor, an innovator, a doctor of animal science and an autism activist.

Wilson Bentley was the first person to photograph a single snowflake.

Sports

Adaptive Action Sports

Adaptive Action Sports has provided opportunities for adaptive athletes to compete in snowboarding competitions.

Albert Pujols is a hero to Travis because of his faith, devotion to his family, and skill as a baseball player.

Althea Gibson was an American tennis and golf player who broke the color barrier in professional tennis.

C. Vivian Stringer

C. Vivian Stringer despite great challenges, pursued her passion for basketball and is known for turning women into champions.

Clara Hughes is a Canadian gold medal winner in the summer and winter games.

Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah rode a bike across Ghana to challenge the stigma of being disabled.

Fauja Singh is an inspiring British centenarian marathon runner (the Turbaned Tornado) who only recently retired.

Learn about hero Hank Aaron, a legendary baseball player who broke baseball records and racial barriers in US major league baseball.

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball. Learn more on myhero.com.

Jacques Plante was a hocky player who invented the goalie mask.

Jim Abbott became a professional baseball pitcher, despite having only one hand.

Johann Olav Koss: Right To Play

Johann Olav Koss is a Norwegian Olympian who founded Right to Play.

Magic Johnson inspires others with his basketball talents and philanthropic work.

Mariel (Mia) Hamm

Mariel (Mia) Hamm has inspired the next generation of women athletes with her talent, her mentoring and her humanitarian work.

Olaf Kolzig is a legendary ice hockey player dedicated to raising awareness about autism.

“I told myself before the game, he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else – but I was wrong.” –Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian defender who marked Pele in the 1970 World Cup Finals

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente was a baseball great and a selfless humanitarian.

Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian and cancer research activist who inspired nations through his courage and tenacity.

As a child, Wilma Rudolph had polio. Through her perseverance, she became a world-record-holding Olympic athlete and won three Olympic gold medals in one year.

"Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical." - Yogi Berra

Teachers

Anusia Kaczorkiewicz

Anusia Kaczorkiewicz commutes to remote schools in Argentina to bring students the world.

Bill Belsey teaches his students and others how to stand up to bullying.

Cheikh Darou Seck

Cheikh Darou Seck is an English teacher in Senegal who inspires his students to become MY HERO reporters and filmmakers.

Christa McAuliffe (español)

Sharon Christa McAuliffe fue la primera maestra de volar en el espacio.

Erin Gruwell continues to inspire educators and students around the world with her compassion and wisdom.

Louis Braille invented a system of writing and reading used by blind people all over the world.

Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori developed a new approach to education.

Moses Zulu established Children's Town in Zambia to teach AIDS orphans life skills.

Ranald MacDonald

Ranald MacDonald was a Native American/Scot wayfarer who helped open up Japan to the West.

Razia Jan founded Razia's Ray of Hope to improve the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Rowena Gerber and her students raise money to send Solar Ovens around the world.

Ruty Hotzen inspires students from around the world through Talking Kites, iEARN.

Viola Vaughn founded an organization that supports girls working to achieve academic success in Africa.

Women

Abigail Adams mended the riff between two former U.S. presidents.

Aletta Jacobs was a Dutch doctor, a feminist, a pacifist, and a human rights activist.

Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace

Augusta Ada Byron Lovelace developed the world's first computer program while struggling with her own personal hardships. (12/10/1815)

Bernice Pauahi Bishop

"Surrounded by people, many of whom had come in from the country to advise with her. She would sit for hours with the utmost patience listening to them."

Dolores Olmedo Patino

Dolores Olmedo Patino was a beloved Mexican businesswoman, philanthropist, and art collector.

Dorothea Lynde Dix

Dorothea Lynde Dix was an advocate for the rights of the mentally ill.

Dr. Jeni Stepanek

Dr. Jeni Stepanek is interviewed by MY HERO's Slater Jewell-Kemker.

Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu

Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu was the first Romanian female pilot, who received her license from the International Aeronautical Federation in 1914.

Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor and opened the first medical school for women.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton met Susan B. Anthony, another Woman’s Rights Activist, and they became close friends and worked as a team, to change the world for women. In 1848, with the help of Stanton and Anthony, the Married Woman’s Property Act of New York was passed. This act allowed women to be able to have custody of their children, hold property, make contracts, keep their own earnings and inheritance, and sue in court.

Ellen Church pioneered the idea of having flight attendants on flights.

Emily Murphy was a key figure in the women's rights movement in Canada.

Fabiola Gianotti

Fabiola Gianotti is an Italian particle physicist.

Farkhonda Hassan

Farkhonda Hassan is an Egyptian politician, scientist, professor, and women's rights activist.

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

Coco Chanel reinvented women’s fashion industry and changed the way women were expected to act in public.

Grace Murray Hopper

A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question.

Jane Addams is in the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame and was a leading reformist and peace advocate.

Katherine Sheppard

Katherine Sheppard was New Zealand's most famous suffragette.

Liliuokalani was a Hawaiian queen who cared for her people first.

Lucky Chhetri runs the 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking company and Empowering Women of Nepal.

Lucy Stone was a pioneer in advocating for women's rights.

Celebrating the life and work of feminist, suffragist and abolitionist, Lucy Stone.

Margaret (Molly) Brown

Margaret (Molly) Brown was an American socialite, philanthropist and survivor of the Titanic.

Maria Bashir is an Afghani prosecutor and advocate for women.

Mary Church Terrell

Mary Church Terrell was an early African American civil rights leader and educator.

Mary Edwards Walker

Mary Edwards Walker was the first and only woman to receive the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor.

Melinda Gates is passionate about helping mothers and children in developing nations.

Pearl S. Buck was a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who founded the first international, inter-racial adoption agency.

Queen Rania of Jordan

Queen Rania of Jordan is a crusader for the rights of women and children.

Raden Adjeng Kartini

Sojourner Truth

Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic US Supreme Court Justice and currently serves as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Sonia Sotomayor

Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz

Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz couldn't live without learning.

Valentina Tereshkova

Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman and first civilian to fly in space.

Victoria Woodhull

Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for President of the U.S.

As a child, Wilma Rudolph had polio. Through her perseverance, she became a world-record-holding Olympic athlete and won three Olympic gold medals in one year.

Women Heroes Of the Early West

Women Heroes Of the Early West were strong, valiant women who broke social constraints.

Writers

Anne Frank was a Holocaust victim and author. She wrote: "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart. "

Charles Huffam Dickens

Charles Huffam Dickens was a famous 19th century English novelist whose work often mirrored his life.

Dr. Seuss was an artist who also wrote charming, absurd rhymes.

Elizabeth Jane Cochrane
(Nellie Bly)

Elizabeth Jane Cochrane (Nellie Bly) was a journalist who went around the world in 72 days.

Gene Roddenberry

Gene Roddenberry was a visionary science fiction writer and television producer who created the series, Star Trek.

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen's stories have universal themes and have survived the test of time for over two hundred years.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe was a writer most famous for writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin", which exposed the injustice and inhumanity of slavery in the 1800s.

Helen Keller overcame blindness and deafness to become an accomplished writer and advocate of the disabled.

James Herriot inspired Sarah Cowan to become a veterinarian.

Jane Austen was an English novelist who wrote perceptive, witty observations on human nature.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the Harry Potter books.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Tolkien's stories, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, have inspired generations of readers with his love and wisdom for his characters and for all humanity.

Jules Verne predicted the future of science.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder offered young readers a glimpse of American life in the 1800s.

Mark Twain was a prolific author and beloved American humorist.

Pearl S. Buck was a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who founded the first international, inter-racial adoption agency.

Ray Bradbury was an American author whose work reached out across time and space to touch readers.

Rose Wilder Lane

Rose Wilder Lane was a prolific author who helped her mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder, become an accomplished writer.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a detective story author best known for creating Sherlock Holmes.

Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett is a celebrated and imaginative writer who is raising awareness of Alzheimer's disease.

Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) is an acclaimed children's author and poet who has delighted children and adults around the world.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare wrote plays & poetry that continue to have a lasting effect on readers all over the world.

Young Heroes

Ana Dodson is an American who was adopted from Peru. As a teen, she started the nonprofit Peruvian Hearts, which helps orphans in Peru.

Austin Gutwein founded Hoops of Hope.

Bilaal Rajan is the founder of Making Change Now and Canada's child ambassador to UNICEF.

Caine Monroy created a cardboard arcade and launched a movement.

Dan Eldon inspired Kathy Eldon with his art, his poetry and his life.

Erica Fernandez

Erica Fernandez gave a voice to the voiceless and saved her neighborhood.

Hannah created the Ladybug Foundation to help end homelessness.

Jeneece Edroff is a determined fundraiser who raises money to help children with serious illnesses.

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai speaks out for the rights of girls to have an education.

Philippe Cousteau

Philippe Cousteau continues the work of his father, Jacques Cousteau, through Earth Echo International.

Ruby Nell Bridges

One of the most important heroes in the fight against segregation in America was a six-year-old girl, Ruby Nell Bridges.

Ryan Hreljac helps build wells for clean water in Africa.

Skye Malik founded the Paco Project to give back. She raised $25,000 for New York students to gain access to Learning Ally, which empowers those with dyslexia.

Vivienne Harr founded Make a Stand Lemon-aid to raise fund for organizations that fight child slavery.