Born on This Day: December 15

Roman emperor whose rule became an enduring example of imperial excess, persecution, and political instability.

French engineer whose iron structures, including the Eiffel Tower, transformed modern engineering and architecture.

French physicist whose discovery of radioactivity transformed modern physics and medicine.

American playwright whose verse dramas and political themes influenced twentieth-century theater.

American industrialist and collector whose fortune and museum shaped art patronage and petroleum business.

American author whose A Tree Grows in Brooklyn became an enduring novel of immigrant and working-class life.

Brazilian architect whose sweeping modernist forms shaped Brasília and twentieth-century architecture.

American comedian whose improvisation and character work influenced television comedy.