20 Famous Teachers Everyone Should Know

In 1990, before Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling landed a publishing deal that would change her life, she actually worked in Portugal as an English language instructor, giving her students some major (future) bragging rights.

South African Anglican cleric, activist, author, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu began his career not as a clergyman, but as a teacher in the very high school he graduated from. After spending three years teaching English and history, Tutu left the school to pursue a degree in theology, leading him to become a deacon in the church, which would begin his journey toward becoming one of the greatest theologians and spiritual teachers in the world.

Although Christa McAuliffe is remembered as one of the seven brave NASA crew members who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986, she was also the first civilian passenger in space exploration history. The former high school teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, entered and won a contest in 1984 to put a teacher in space, beating out more than 11,000 entrants. Sadly, just two minutes after the shuttle launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it exploded, killing everyone onboard.

Technically speaking, Bill Nye isn't a certified instructor, but for nearly 30 years, the mechanical engineer has spent his days educating audiences on all things science. From his popular series Bill Nye, the Science Guy to StarTalk and his many talks, debates, and presentations, Nye has led thousands of curious minds to the fascinating world of science. If that weren't enough, he's also served as an honorary Rhodes Class of '56 guest professor for lucky students at Cornell University.

Anne Sullivan (right) is one of the most famous teachers in history, remembered for her life-changing work to help a young, blind, deaf, and mute child named Helen Keller learn to communicate with the world. Sent to the Keller residence when she was just 20 years old, Sullivan (who also suffered limited vision) was determined to teach Keller language associated with objects, which opened a new world for the young girl. The two women remained close throughout their lives, until Anne's death in 1936.

It's true, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak isn't just a major inventor, engineer, computer programmer, and noted philanthropist, but once upon a time, he was a teacher. Although "Woz" wasn't an actual licensed educator, he volunteered after school in the 1990s to teach elementary students (like his then-5th grade daughter, Sara) how to use computers. Not only did he wear the mantle of teacher, but he also funded the program, proving he was always the coolest guy ever.

Mother Teresa, who was canonized as a saint in 2016, once worked as a teacher while serving as a nun in India. She spent 17 years at Saint Mary's High School for Girls in Calcutta (and was later made the school principal) before leaving her profession in 1948 to pursue a new path — as an aide to the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Mother Teresa quickly became known as a savior to the poor and sick, founding the Order of the Missionaries of Charity years before her death in 1997.

He's the Oscar-winning director and producer responsible for films like BlacKkKlansman, Jungle Fever, Do the Right Thing, and Malcolm X, who also happens to teach filmmaking at the New York University Tisch School of Arts. Prior to his professorial role at the school, Spike Lee (who in 2017 created, produced and directed the TV series version of his 1986 movie She's Gotta Have It) taught a filmmaking course at the prestigious Harvard University in 1991.

Erin Gruwell was a 9th grade English teacher at Long Beach's Woodrow Wilson High, and was later depicted in the 2007 film Freedom Writers starring Hilary Swank. It was Gruwell's unwavering dedication to her students that helped them succeed academically and express themselves through their class journals, which were later published in the bestselling collection of essays The Freedom Writers Diary. Today, Gruwell runs the Freedom Writers Foundation to help disadvantaged students across the country.

Not only was Frederick Douglass a civil rights leader, abolitionist, and the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, but he was also the first African American to hold a high-ranking position in the US government. Perhaps most importantly, he was also a teacher who risked his life to help other African Americans learn to read and write, which gave them powerful tools to fight against their enslavement.

In 1975, after working as a substitute teacher for 14 years, Marva Collins, frustrated by the lack of opportunities for African American students, opened the Westside Preparatory School on her home's second floor. The school welcomed students who struggled in traditional classrooms and focused on phonics, math, and reading (later called the "Collins Method") and was highly successful, helping some of the most marginalized students graduate. Collins was recognized globally for her work before her death in 2015.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein, who was responsible for forming the theory of relativity, as well as the powerful mathematical equation E=mc(squared) (among other discoveries), was also trained as a teacher, later becoming a professor of theoretical physics in Prague, Zurich, and Berlin. After renouncing his German citizenship in 1933, the noted genius took his amazing mind to the US, where he worked again as a theoretical physics professor for Princeton University.

The late Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison (The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon) wasn't just one of the most prolific African American writers of our time, she also served as a professor at Princeton University for 17 years. Joining the creative writing program in 1989, Morrison worked alongside students and faculty to create an enriching program for emerging new authors before retiring as professor emeritus in 2006.

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, holds the highest office of the Roman Catholic Church. Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has spent his days advocating for the less fortunate, making him a popular figure both inside and outside the church. Known for his impassioned speeches, it's likely he developed his oration style while teaching both literature and psychology at Immaculate Conception College and Colegio del Salvatore from 1964 to 1966.

Twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Montessori was the first female doctor in Italy and later developed the Montessori educational system still used throughout the world today. After earning her doctorate, Montessori worked as a medical school instructor, but after spending years researching and studying child development, she moved into education and created a prepared teaching program for kids (later known as the Montessori method) that allowed for a child-led learning environment.

In 1988, Edward James Olmos (left) starred as Jaime Escalante (right) in Stand and Deliver, the biographical movie about Escalante's work as a math teacher with troubled students from an East Los Angeles high school. Teaching those considered "unteachable," Escalante's dedication and perseverance with his students helped them pass an AP calculus exam and earned him the status as an inspiring educator who defied the odds.

Acclaimed British author C.S. Lewis was the mastermind behind novels like The Chronicles of Narnia series and The Screwtape Letters. He was also, for many years, a professor of literature, working first at Magdalen College at Oxford University in 1925 before transferring to Cambridge University in 1954. He worked with students at Cambridge until he resigned in 1963, after experiencing heart problems. Just a few months after he left his teaching position, he passed away, leaving a body of work that inspires readers to this day.

Today, Maxine Waters is a congresswoman for California, but back in 1965, following the Watts riots in California, she took on the job of assistant teacher at the Watts' Head Start Program. In fact, she credits her time at Head Start as the motivation for running for political office. After working with parents to demand more federal funding for the program, Waters decided to first become an assemblywoman in 1976, believing she could make more of a difference while in office.

He's the award-winning author who made everyone look at food differently. Michael Pollan, who's known for books like The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire, is also a journalism professor at the University of California at Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. In fall 2017, Pollan joined Harvard's creative writing program as a lecturer, focusing on the elements of storytelling and, of course, food.

Any fan of Little House on the Prairie (both the TV series and the books) knows that author Laura Ingalls Wilder wasn't simply an illuminating voice of the early 19th-century Midwest, she was also a teacher. While working as a teen at her local schoolhouse, she met her future husband, Almanzo Wilder. Her background in education led Ingalls Wilder to a career as a writer whose legacy is still felt today.