Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Black and white photograph of Mao Zedong with raised arm.

Mao Zedong

(1893 - 1976)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Photograph of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen.

Sun Yat-Sen

(1866 - 1925)

Miniature portrait of monk, musician, poet, and librarian Notker the Stammerer.

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

Depiction of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Black and white photograph of Mencken looking over his shoulder at the camera

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Photograph of American women's rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815 - 1902)

Photograph of American musician, songwriter, and writer Gil Scott-Heron.

Gil Scott-Heron

(1949 - 2011)

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

Classical bust of Thucydides.

Thucydides

(c. 460 BC - c. 404 BC)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Depiction of Mughal dynasty founder Babur.

Babur

(1483 - 1530)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

Portrait bust of presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey Homer.

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Black and white photograph of African-American leader Malcolm X.

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton

Photograph of New York Times East Africa Bureau Chief Jeffrey Gettleman.

Jeffrey Gettleman

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

Photograph of writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

Black and white photograph of a young Mark Twain with dark hair.

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

Black and white photograph of Friedrich Nietzsche with a huge mustache.

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

Artist rendering of Hindu statesman and philosopher Kautilya.

Kautilya

(c. 350 BC - c. 300 BC)

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Michael Phillips-Anderson

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

Black and white photograph of American anarchist Emma Goldman.

Emma Goldman

(1869 - 1940)

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Portrait of English wit and poet John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester with monkey.

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

(1647 - 1680)

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

Portrait of English-American writer and polemicist Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine

(1737 - 1809)

Black and white photograph of French novelist, essayist, and playwright Albert Camus.

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Photograph of U.S. Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy.

Anthony Kennedy

Portrait of Swiss-born philosopher, writer, and political theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)

Portrait of Alexis de Tocqueville wearing a black suit and standing in front of a chair.

Alexis de Tocqueville

(1805 - 1859)

Painted portrait of second President of the United States John Adams.

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)