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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

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

Jeffrey Gettleman

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

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

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

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

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Depiction of Mughal dynasty founder Babur.

Babur

(1483 - 1530)

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Artist rendering of Hindu statesman and philosopher Kautilya.

Kautilya

(c. 350 BC - c. 300 BC)

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)

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

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

(1647 - 1680)

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

Photograph of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen.

Sun Yat-Sen

(1866 - 1925)

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

Black and white photograph of American anarchist Emma Goldman.

Emma Goldman

(1869 - 1940)

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

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

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

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

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815 - 1902)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton

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

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Portrait of English-American writer and polemicist Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine

(1737 - 1809)

Classical bust of Thucydides.

Thucydides

(c. 460 BC - c. 404 BC)

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

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

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

Black and white photograph of Mao Zedong with raised arm.

Mao Zedong

(1893 - 1976)

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

Alexis de Tocqueville

(1805 - 1859)

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

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

Photograph of writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Michael Phillips-Anderson

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

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

Anthony Kennedy

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

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

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

Gil Scott-Heron

(1949 - 2011)

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)