Jacob Bronowski (1908–1974)

Jacob Bronowski's family fled Poland when it was occupied by Russia in World War I, and arrived in England in 1920.  He spoke no English, but eventually won a scholarship to Cambridge University and became a mathematician, scientist, and historian of science. He began appearing on British television in the 1950s and is best remembered as the host and writer of the groundbreaking 13-part 1973 BBC documentary series, The Ascent of Man.