Julia Childs

Julia Child is credited with popularizing French cooking and cuisine in the United States through her books and television shows. Child was known for her cookbooks, television shows, exuberant personality and flamboyant style in preparing food.

Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell considered a child prodigy is one of the best musicians in the world. Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1967 and studied under the renowned violinist and teacher Josef Gingold. He came to national attention in 1981 as a winner of the Seventeen Magazine/General Motors talent competition, and as one of the youngest violinists ever to solo with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under the baton of Riccardo Muti. Bell is a Grammy Award-winning violinist and he plays the infamous 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius.

Jef Bezos

Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon.com, Inc., online retailer of books, music, videos, toys, electronics, and other products. In addition to selling products over the World Wide Web, Amazon.com administers online auctions for items ranging from postcards to personal property.

Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known for his role in the founding of Wikipedia, as well as other wiki-related projects, including the charitable organization Wikimedia Foundation, and the for-profit company Wikia, Inc.

Wales' father worked as a grocery store manager while his mother, Doris, and his grandmother, Erma, ran a small private school, in the tradition of the one-room schoolhouse, where Wales received his education. Most of the time there were four children in his grade so the school grouped the first through fourth grade students together and the fifth through eighth grade students togetherAfter eighth grade, Wales attended Randolph School, a university-preparatory school in Huntsville, Alabama, which was an early supporter of computer labs and other technology for student use. Wales has said that the school was expensive for his family, but that education was regarded as important. "Education was always a passion in my household… you know, the very traditional approach to knowledge and learning and establishing that as a base for a good life." He received his Bachelor's degree in finance from Auburn University and started with the Ph.D. finance program at the University of Alabama, where he left with a Master's in finance. After that, he took courses offered in the Ph.D. finance program at Indiana University. He taught at both universities during his postgraduate studies, but did not write the doctoral dissertation required to earn a Ph.D.

Will Wright

Will Wright is an American computer game designer and co-founder of the game development company, Maxis. He is best known as the original designer of groundbreaking computer games such as SimCity, The Sims and Spore.

Sean “P. Diddy” Combs

Combs has also explored an acting career, appearing in films such as Made (2001) and Monster’s Ball (2001). In 2003 he received mixed reviews for his Broadway debut in Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun. Under the direction of Combs, Bad Boy Entertainment has branched out to include a clothing line (Sean John) and a variety of marketing and publishing businesses.

Sean Combs, also known as Puffy, Puff Daddy, and P. Diddy. After establishing his reputation as a successful record company executive and talent manager, Combs became a bestselling artist himself.

Alice Waters

Alice Waters, restaurateur and writer, is a former Montessori teacher.

Thomas Edison

Mister Rogers, children's TV personality, strong supporter of the Montessori method.


Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison, noted scientist and inventor, helped found a Montessori school.