Jack Hamilton Beeson (July 15, 1921 – June 6, 2010) was an American composer. He was known particularly for his operas, the best known of which are Lizzie Borden, Hello Out There! and The Sweet Bye and Bye.

Born in Muncie, Indiana, Beeson began with music when he started piano lessons with Luella Weimer in 1928, but it was not until 1933 that he began to compose. He decided to become an "opera-composer," influenced by Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. From 1936 until 1939, he switched piano teachers and was with Percival Owen during this period of time. In 1938 he received certificates with first class honors in piano and theory from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Toronto, a very well earned accomplishment at the age of 21. From 1944 to 1945 he had private studies with Béla Bartók in New York City. At this time he was also associating with the Columbia University Opera Workshop and the opera productions of Columbia Theatre Associates. This led to the first performance of his music in New York City. Throughout 1946 and 1947 Beeson was adapting Paul Goodman's play and composing the music for Jonah as well as writing and performing the Fifth Sonata on piano. Beeson won the Prix de Rome and Fulbright scholarship which allowed him to live in Rome from 1948–1950.

Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was a woman in New England who was tried for killing her father and stepmother with an axe on August 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts. The murders, subsequent trial, and ensuing trial by media became a cause célèbre. Although Lizzie Borden was acquitted, no one else was ever arrested or tried and she has remained a notorious figure in American folklore. Dispute over the identity of the killer or killers continues to this day. Lizzie's life before the murder trial was quite mundane. When Lizzie Borden was at the proper age she went to the Morgan Street School where she had her primary and grammar training. She had a relatively religious upbringing and was a regular face at the Central Congregational Church. After graduating high school she became more involved with her church as means to escape her uncomfortable home life. She taught Sunday school class to immigrant children and became the secretary-treasurer of the Christian Endeavor. Lizzie Borden also became involved with the politics and social problems of her day and became active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

Jack T. Ramsay (born February 21, 1925, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American former basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack" (as he holds an earned doctorate, see below). He is best known for coaching the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA Title, and for his broadcasting work with the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and for ESPN TV and ESPN Radio. Ramsay is among the most respected coaches in NBA history and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ramsay graduated from Upper Darby High School (UDHS) in 1942. He was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame in 1979. He received his bachelor's degree from Saint Joseph's College in 1949, and his master's and doctorate degrees (the latter in education) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and 1963, respectively.

After coaching in the high school and minor-league ranks for the early postwar years, he became head coach at his alma mater, Saint Joseph's College, in 1955. In his first season, Ramsay would lead the Hawks to their first Big 5 crown and their first-ever postseason berth (in the NIT). Ramsay would remain there through 1966, leading the Hawks to six more Big 5 crowns and ten postseason appearances (including a Final Four) in all.