Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

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 photograph of Friedrich Nietzsche with a huge mustache.

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

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

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

Depiction of Mughal dynasty founder Babur.

Babur

(1483 - 1530)

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

Artist rendering of Hindu statesman and philosopher Kautilya.

Kautilya

(c. 350 BC - c. 300 BC)

Michael Phillips-Anderson

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Black and white photograph of American anarchist Emma Goldman.

Emma Goldman

(1869 - 1940)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Portrait of English-American writer and polemicist Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine

(1737 - 1809)

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

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

Alexis de Tocqueville

(1805 - 1859)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Depiction of Greek philosopher Plato.

Plato

(c. 427 BC - c. 347 BC)

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

Classical bust of Thucydides.

Thucydides

(c. 460 BC - c. 404 BC)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

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

Anthony Kennedy

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

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

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

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

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

Photograph of writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

Photograph of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen.

Sun Yat-Sen

(1866 - 1925)

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

Gil Scott-Heron

(1949 - 2011)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

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

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815 - 1902)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

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

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Black and white photograph of Mao Zedong with raised arm.

Mao Zedong

(1893 - 1976)

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

Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

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

Jeffrey Gettleman

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

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

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton