'No one has ever become poor by giving.'

'How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.' - Anne Frank

'No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.'

-Charles Dickens (1812-1870), in "Our Mutual Friend"

Anne Frank's father, Otto, speaks to the BBC

The 13-year-old Jewish girl Anne Frank has inspired millions with her optimistic diaries amid Nazi oppression in the Netherlands. In 1976, her father—the sole survivor among Anne's immediate family—showed the world the original copy of one of Anne's three diaries in this BBC interview. Hear why Otto decided to publish the diaries and how that decision changed his life.

The story of Anne Frank

Anne Frank, the Holocaust victim whose world-famous diary provided valuable insights into life during Nazi occupation, is one of history’s most compelling subjects. This interactive resource from the Anne Frank House walks you through her biography and provides greater context about Europe during World War II. Watch the video and scroll through the provided timeline for further understanding of the young girl’s tragic experience caused by war and hatred.

'I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.'

- Modern nursing innovator Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

'Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.'

- 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life"

'One man can make a difference and every man should try.'

- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994)

'Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.'

- Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

'The true measure of all our actions is how long the good in them lasts.'

- Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022)

'The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.'

- Saint Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

'I am a writer who came from a sheltered life. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within.'

- American novelist Eudora Welty (1909-2001)

'One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world'

- Activist and author Malala Yousafzai (1997-present)

'When you're climbing Mount Everest, nothing is easy. You just take one step at a time, never look back and always keep your eyes glued to the top.'

- Author Jacqueline Susann (1918-1974)

'All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.'

- "The Lord of the Rings" author JRR Tolkien (1892-1973)

'Fear of life closes off more opportunities for us than fear of death ever does.'

- Actress Agnes Moorehead (1900–1974)

A quote by gymnast Nadia Comăneci

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray to be a strong person."

'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.'

- Jackie Robinson, the first Black MLB player (1919-1972)

'Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.'

- Inventor Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)

Financial hardships forced functionality into every piece of Marie Curie's wardrobe

Curie's upbringing in a family that lost its fortune when participating in failed uprisings for Polish independence instilled frugality in her. Much of the clothing she purchased, including for special occasions like her wedding, was repurposed for lab use.

'In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.'

-Poet Robert Frost (1874-1963)

A quote from Robin Williams

"There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot."

'Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.'

- Maya Angelou

'I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.'

- Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)

'If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.'

- Billionaire John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

'Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it.'

- Actress Julie Andrews (1935 - present)

A Quote by Sandra Day O'Connor

"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time."

Buffett is known for being extremely generous with his fortune

So generous that in 2010 he pledged to donate 99% of his money. He said this money “can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others.” This letter is Buffett’s philanthropic pledge, which details his commitment to giving and how luck and privilege helped him accumulate so much money.

'Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.'

- Jane Addams (1860-1935)

'At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don’t. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought.'

- Singer Tina Turner (1993–2023)

'Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.'

- Bobby Kennedy

'Don't gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold.'

-Reggae pioneer Bob Marley (1945-1981)

Simone de Beauvoir's lone play has mostly been overlooked

Although primarily known as a philosopher, Beauvoir wrote the play "The Useless Mouths," which debuted in Paris in November 1945. The work is about a government allowing "useless" citizens—women, children, the elderly—to starve during a food shortage. While it's not widely staged, some Beauvoir scholars believe it's a significant text that explores many of the existential themes she explores in her other work.

Polish chemist and physicist Marie Curie (1867–1934) on learning

“Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."

'When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.''

- Mister Rogers (1928-2003)

'May your future be limited only by your dreams.'

- Teacher and astronaut Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986)

'It might be that some day I shall be drowned by the sea, or die of pneumonia from sleeping out at night, or be robbed and strangled by strangers. These things happen. Even so, I shall be ahead because of trusting the beach, the night and strangers.'

-Janet Reno, the US' first female attorney general (1938-2016)

'You don't get to choose how you're going to die or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now.'

- Musician and activist Joan Baez (1941-present)

'Profits made out of the distress of the people are always much smaller than profits made out of the most lavish service of the people at the lowest prices that competent management can make possible.'

- Henry Ford

'Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.'

Meyer Wolfsheim in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"

'Too often we participate in the globalization of indifference. May we strive instead to live global solidarity.'

- Pope Francis (1936 - 2025)

'You only go around once, but if you play your cards right, once is enough.'

- Frank Sinatra (1915–1998)

Former Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is among the world's most generous philanthropists, having given away more than $68B.

'Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on earth' - Charlie Munger

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.'

- Judy Garland

A quote by Herman Melville

"Whoever is not in the possession of leisure can hardly be said to possess independence."

'Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.'

- Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968)

Watch writer John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

'Life's short. Anything could happen, and it usually does, so there is no point in sitting around thinking about all the ifs, ands, and buts.'

'You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.'

- Hollywood legend Bette Davis (1908 - 1989)

Gifting money is one way to avoid death taxes

Gifting money while you're alive is one way people avoid estate and inheritance taxes. There is a yearly cap on how much you can give to a person before that money is taxed—but there isn't a cap on how many people you can give money to in a year.