Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

Black and white photograph of Mao Zedong with raised arm.

Mao Zedong

(1893 - 1976)

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

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

Anthony Kennedy

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Michael Phillips-Anderson

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)

Depiction of Mughal dynasty founder Babur.

Babur

(1483 - 1530)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

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

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

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

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)

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

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

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

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

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 writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

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

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

(1647 - 1680)

Classical bust of Thucydides.

Thucydides

(c. 460 BC - c. 404 BC)

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

Jeffrey Gettleman

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

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)

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

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

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

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

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

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)

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

Alexis de Tocqueville

(1805 - 1859)

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)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)