Queen Liliuokalani (1838-1917) The last reigning monarch of Hawaii, who led the unsuccessful fight for native Hawaiians' civil rights on the eve of the annexation of the islands to the U.S.

Connie Chung (b. 1946) Award-winning television newscaster who was co-anchor person on the CBS "Evening News."

March Fong Eu (b. 1929) First woman and first person of color to become California's Secretary of State.

Maxine Hong Kingston (b. 1940) Author whose books explore the dynamics of Chinese-American society and the experience of growing up caught between two cultures.

Yoshiko Uchida (1920-1992) Beginning at age 10, she almost single-handedly created the genre of Japanese-American literature for children, fostering greater understanding of Japanese-American culture and experiences.

Chien-Shiung Wu (b. 1912) After moving to this country from China, she became a physicist and made scientific discoveries that changed our ideas about the structure of the universe.

Shirley Cachola (b. 1947) Of Philippine descent, she has helped bridge two distinctly different cultures as the Executive Director and Chief Physician of the South of Market Clinic in San Francisco.

Jade Snow Wong (b. 1919) Writer whose timeless autobiography, Fifth Chinese Daughter, has educated non-Chinese Americans about Chinese culture in the U.S. for generations.

Polly Bemis (aka Lalu Nathoy (1852-1933) Brought to American on a slave ship from China, she endured many hardships before eventually settling in Idaho and living a life of dignity and remarkable independence.

Amy Tan (b. 1952) Novelist whose books deal with Chinese-American heritage and the conflicts between immigrant mothers and their first-generation American daughters.

Tye Leung Schulze (1881-1972) Worked with Donaldina Cameron in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, rescuing Chinese girls and women who had been sold into slavery in the U.S.; later she became an immigration officer at Angel Islands.

Kristi Yamaguchi (b. 1971) World-class figure skater and Olympic gold medalist in 1992.

Miné Okubo (b. 1912) Artist who began her career in 1939 by painting murals and frescoes at the Golden Gate Exposition. Later she illustrated her experiences while interned with other Japanese Americans during WWII.