Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Classical bust of Thucydides.

Thucydides

(c. 460 BC - c. 404 BC)

Black and white photograph of Mao Zedong with raised arm.

Mao Zedong

(1893 - 1976)

Photograph of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen.

Sun Yat-Sen

(1866 - 1925)

Photograph of writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)

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

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815 - 1902)

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

Black and white photograph of American anarchist Emma Goldman.

Emma Goldman

(1869 - 1940)

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

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

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

English-born American poet W. H. Auden.

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Portrait of English-American writer and polemicist Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine

(1737 - 1809)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

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

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

Artist rendering of Hindu statesman and philosopher Kautilya.

Kautilya

(c. 350 BC - c. 300 BC)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

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

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Depiction of Mughal dynasty founder Babur.

Babur

(1483 - 1530)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

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

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

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

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

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

Gil Scott-Heron

(1949 - 2011)

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

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

Anthony Kennedy

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

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

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

Jeffrey Gettleman

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)

Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

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

Alexis de Tocqueville

(1805 - 1859)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

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

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

(1647 - 1680)

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Michael Phillips-Anderson

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

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

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)