Jewish-American Heritage Month Figures

Stan Lee

Stan Lee was a Jewish-American who was best known for his comics. He was a writer, editor, and publisher who played a significant role in the Marvel Universe. He was born in New York in 1922, and graduated high school at the age of 16. After he graduated, he became an editorial assistant for Timely Comics, and was later promoted to become the editor. During his time at Timely Comics, Lee created a variety of comic book series such as The Witness, The Destroyer, Jack Frost, Whizzer, and Black Marvel. In 1961, Stan Lee made one of his biggest accomplishments in the comic book industry with releasing The Fantastic Four. This led him to create comic books for Marvel that are still being read over thousands of fans today along with new adaptations being released. Some of these comic books consist of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, and Doctor Strange. With his honorable contributions to Marvel, Lee became the president and chairman of Marvel Comics for 60 years. In November 2008, Stan Lee was recognized for his hard and talented work as he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Two years later, Lee decided to expand his contribution to society by creating the Stan Lee Foundation that would promote literacy, education, diversity, culture, and the arts. Sadly, on November 12, 2018, Stan Lee died from cardiac arrest at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Although his passing marked the end of an era in the comic book world, Stan Lee's enduring legacy continues to inspire generations of fans and creators worldwide.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was a Jewish-American figure who ultimately changed history. Ginsburg was born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York - a highly populated Jewish area. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954 and had two children with him, a daughter (Jane) and a son (James). She attended Harvard Law School and Columbia Law School, where she received her LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) degree, and Cornell University, where she received her B.A. (Bachelor of Arts). Between 1959 and 1961, Ginsburg served as a law clerk to the Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York at the time. From 1961 to1963, she worked as  a research associate and then as an associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. Her other many roles include being Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law (1963–1972), Professor of Law at Columbia Law School (1972–1980), and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California (1977–1978). Additionally, she co-founded the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (1971), served as the ACLU’s General Counsel (1973–1980) and on the National Board of Directors (1974–1980). Several more of her achievements not named led to Ruth Bader Ginsburg being one of the most influential women to have some role(s) in the history of the United States court. President Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat August 10, 1993. Unfortunately passing on September 18, 2020, Justice Ginsburg’s empowerment and legacy remains strong to this day.

Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan was born on February 4, 1921 in Peoria, Illinois. Friedan was a prominent journalist, activist, and co-founder of the National Organizations for Women, making her one of the first leaders of the women’s rights movement of the 1960s. Throughout her life, she was an active advocate for gender equality and women’s rights. In 1942, Friedan graduated from Smith College with a psychology degree. She later spent a year in the University of California Berkeley training as a certified psychologist. During World War II, Friedan was in connection with multiple political sources. After a year, she dropped the program and moved to New York. For the next three years, she was a reporter for the Federal Press. After, she became a writer for the UE News, a media branch for the United Electric, Radio, and Machine Workers of America. During this time, she gained an interest in advocating for extensive jobs and workspaces for women. In 1947, Friedan married Carl Friedan, later having three children. She spent the next five years interviewing various women, from career focused women to housewives in order to compose her bestselling book of 1963, The Feminine Mystique. The book explored the expectations of being a woman in the 1960s and the limitations of jobs being offered to them. In 1966, she became the first president of the National Organization for Women. The feminist organization continues to play an important role to this day. On August 26, 1970, Friedan organized the Women’s Strike for Equality, dating as the 50th anniversary of women's suffrage. In 1971, she became the co-founder of National Women’s Political Caucus. Through her activities, Friedan coined the name “mother” of the modern women’s rights movement. For the rest of her life, she published numerous books and became a professor at New York University and University of Southern California. In 2006, Friedan died of congestive heart failure. Throughout her life, Friedan has advocated for women’s rights and her contribution is cherished by many people to this day.

Sue Bird

Sue Bird is one of the most influential basketball players ever to play the sport. Her skill brought attention to the WNBA that nobody could do at the time. Born in New York in 1980, she started playing basketball in 6th grade. In high school, she led her team to the New York state title and a national title. After she graduated, she attended the University of Connecticut for four years and became one of the most decorated college athletes ever. Bird was named the best point guard for three straight years, and was named the women’s college player of the year in her senior year. She also led them to NCAA titles in 2000 and 2002. Immediately after leaving the University of Connecticut, she played for the US women’s national team.There she helped win the World Championships in 2002, 2010, 2014, and 2018. As well as consecutive gold medals from 2004 to 2016 and another one in 2020. During the 2002 WNBA draft Sue Bird was selected No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm, who were just created in 2000 and were the worst team in the league. However, Bird and the Seattle Storm would win their first WNBA Championship in 2004. With Bird by their side, along with star Lauren Jackson and coach Brian Agler, kept the teams a consistent and dangerous team to play against. The Storm would win their second championship in 2010, where they went 28-6 and were perfect in their home area. After struggling from injuries and departures, Bird and the Storm would have eight years to win another championship in 2018, and then a final one in 2020 during the pandemic. At the end of the 2022 season, her 20th season in the WNBA, Bird decided to retire at the age of 41, where a record 18,100 people attended her final game. She retired as the most decorated WNBA player ever and one of the most accomplished athletes ever. Some of her accolades include being the all-time assist leader, four WNBA championships, 13 All-Star appearances, eight All-WNBA teams, and earning five Olympic gold medals.

Jonas Salk

Jonas Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York City to Russian-Jewish immigrants. He was the first member of his family to attend college and received a medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine in 1939. Three years later, Salk went to University of Michigan to research developing an influenza vaccine. He became the assistant professor of epidemiology and learned the methodology of developing vaccines. In 1947, he became a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where he spent the next seven years studying the different types of polio viruses to develop a polio vaccine. Salk created the vaccine by killing strains of polio and injecting them into a healthy person’s bloodstream so that the body would create antibodies to resist future exposure to polio. To prove that the dead polio would immunize without creating health risks, Salk tested the vaccine on former polio patients, himself, and his family. The tests proved successful and in 1953, Salk announced on CBS his findings. Salk was hailed as a “miracle worker” and chose not to patent or seek profit from the vaccine so that it could be as widely distributed as possible. In 1954, clinical trials using the vaccine began on 1.3 million American school children. The vaccine was revealed to be safe and effective and a global inoculation campaign began. Polio cases in the US went from 45,000 before the vaccine was widely available to 910 in 1962. Less than 25 years after Salk’s vaccine, transmission of polio in the US was eliminated. In 1963, Salk founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California which became a center for medical and scientific research. He spent the last years of his life searching for a vaccine against HIV before passing away in 1995 at the age of 80. Salk’s life of medical innovation and humanitarian efforts saved the lives of millions of people and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman, celebrated for her intriguing performances, rose to fame with her breakout role in Léon: The Professional at the tender age of 12. Since then, her career has flourished, spanning decades and encompassing diverse characters, from the Black Swan to the iconic Star Wars franchise, where she portrayed Padmé Amidala. Beyond her cinematic career, Portman's Jewish heritage holds significant importance in her life. Born in Jerusalem, Israel, she moved to the United States with her family at a young age. This upbringing instilled in her a deep connection to her roots, prompting her to actively support Jewish causes globally. Portman's advocacy extends to political realms as well, where she lends her voice to causes she believes in. Her commitment to justice and equality is evident in her actions, as she utilizes her platform to raise awareness and effect positive change.

Steven Spielberg

Born in 1946 to first-generation American Jewish parents, Steven Spielberg is one of the most successful film directors of all time. With an incredibly successful career spanning over fourty years as a producer, writer, and film director, Spielberg is responsible for some of the highest grossing films of their time. The most famous of his works include E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, Jurassic Park and the original Indiana Jones trilogies. In total all of Spielberg’s films have amassed 35 Academy Awards and countless other awards. 

To pay homage to his Jewish heritage as well as Holocaust survivors, Spielberg also directed Schindler’s List, which ended up winning seven Academy Awards and was named one of the greatest films ever created. With a portion of the profits that were made from Schindler’s List, Spielberg formed the Shoah Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that records and archives the stories and testimonies of Holocaust survivors.