Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

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

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Photograph of writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

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

Jeffrey Gettleman

Michael Phillips-Anderson

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Classical bust of Thucydides.

Thucydides

(c. 460 BC - c. 404 BC)

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

Alexis de Tocqueville

(1805 - 1859)

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

Photograph of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen.

Sun Yat-Sen

(1866 - 1925)

Portrait of English-American writer and polemicist Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine

(1737 - 1809)

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

Black and white photograph of Mao Zedong with raised arm.

Mao Zedong

(1893 - 1976)

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

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

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

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

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

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

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

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

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815 - 1902)

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

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

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

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

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

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

Gil Scott-Heron

(1949 - 2011)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

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

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

(1647 - 1680)

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)

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

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

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

Anthony Kennedy

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Artist rendering of Hindu statesman and philosopher Kautilya.

Kautilya

(c. 350 BC - c. 300 BC)

Black and white photograph of American anarchist Emma Goldman.

Emma Goldman

(1869 - 1940)

Depiction of Mughal dynasty founder Babur.

Babur

(1483 - 1530)