Former President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

(1914 - 1994)

Painted portrait of Florentine statesman and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli.

Niccolò Machiavelli

(1469 - 1527)

Depiction of Chinese philosopher Mozi.

Mozi

(c. 470 BC - c. 391 BC)

Photo of stone Aristotle statue face

Aristotle

(384 BC - 322 BC)

Portrait of American general and first president George Washington.

George Washington

(1732 - 1799)

Photograph of American politician and orator Stephen Douglas standing.

Stephen Douglas

(1813 - 1861)

Painted portrait of former American first lady Abigail Adams.

Abigail Smith Adams

(1744 - 1818)

Photograph of American writer Ralph Ellison.

Ralph Ellison

(1914 - 1994)

Photograph of Egyptologist Kara Cooney.

Kara Cooney

Painted portrait of Native American leader Black Hawk.

Black Hawk

(1767 - 1838)

Statue of the Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Ferdowsi

(c. 935 - c. 1020)

Photograph of American journalist and novelist George Packer.

George Packer

Black and white photograph of English writer Virginia Woolf.

Virginia Woolf

(1882 - 1941)

Italian courtier, diplomat, and writer Baldassare Castiglione.

Baldassare Castiglione

(1478 - 1529)

Black and white photograph of Ryszard Kapuściński holding a book.

Ryszard Kapuściński

(1932 - 2007)

Photograph of American historian Robert Caro.

Robert Caro

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

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(1815 - 1902)

Photograph of author and historian H.W. Brands.

H.W. Brands

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899 - 1977)

Photograph of English novelist Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens

(1812 - 1870)

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

Gil Scott-Heron

(1949 - 2011)

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

Ferdinand II & Isabella I

(1479 - 1504)

Photograph of American journalist and Bolshevik sympathizer Louise Bryant.

Louise Bryant

(1885 - 1936)

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

Anthony Kennedy

Arrian

(c. 86 - c. 160)

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862)

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

John Adams

(1735 - 1826)

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

Albert Camus

(1913 - 1960)

Black and white photograph of folksinger Phil Ochs.

Phil Ochs

(1940 - 1976)

Michael Phillips-Anderson

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

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

(1647 - 1680)

Quintus Tullius Cicero

(c. 102 BC - 43 BC)

Photograph of former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Nikita Khrushchev

(1894 - 1971)

Depiction of Pennsylvania Senator William Maclay.

William Maclay

(1737 - 1804)

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

H.L. Mencken

(1880 - 1956)

Portrait of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

(1792 - 1822)

Artist rendering of Hindu statesman and philosopher Kautilya.

Kautilya

(c. 350 BC - c. 300 BC)

Drawing of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813 - 1855)

Photograph of writer, poet, and professor George Garrett.

George Garrett

(1929 - 2008)

Portrait of French political philosopher Montesquieu.

Montesquieu

(1689 - 1755)

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

Notker the Stammerer

(c. 840 - 912)

Bust of Athenian statesman Solon.

Solon

(c. 630 BC - c. 560 BC)

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 American anarchist Emma Goldman.

Emma Goldman

(1869 - 1940)

Painted portrait of English poet John Milton.

John Milton

(1608 - 1674)

Photograph of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Anna Politkovskaya

(1958 - 2006)

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

Homer

(c. 800 BC - 725 BC)

Painted portrait of British statesman and political thinker Edmund Burke.

Edmund Burke

(1729 - 1797)

Portrait of English-American writer and polemicist Thomas Paine.

Thomas Paine

(1737 - 1809)

Photograph of German sociologist and political economist Max Weber.

Max Weber

(1864 - 1920)

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

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

(1712 - 1778)

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)

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

Jeffrey Gettleman

Lewis Lapham at his desk

Lewis H. Lapham

(1935 - 2024)

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

Friedrich Nietzsche

(1844 - 1900)

Photograph of American novelist and writer Flannery O’Connor.

Flannery O’Connor

(1925 - 1964)

Black and white image of English novelist Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope

(1815 - 1882)

Photograph of Russian poet and critic Osip Mandelstam.

Osip Mandelstam

(1891 - 1938)

Photograph of Chinese dissident and memoirist Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng

(1915 - 2009)

W.H. Auden

(1907 - 1973)

Black and white photograph of American author Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton

(1862 - 1937)

Photograph of historian Anthony Grafton.

Anthony Grafton

Sculpture bust of Greek historian Herodotus.

Herodotus

(c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC)

Photograph of English socialite and Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford.

Unity Mitford

(1914 - 1948)

Classical engraving of Aristophanes with a long beard.

Aristophanes

(c. 446 BC - c. 386 BC)

Photograph of Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-Sen.

Sun Yat-Sen

(1866 - 1925)

Photograph of American author Daniel Alarcón.

Daniel Alarcón

Photograph of Survivor contestant Sue Hawk.

Sue Hawk

Photograph of professor and editor Robert Boyers.

Robert Boyers

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

Malcolm X

(1925 - 1965)

Photograph of American politician Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm

(1924 - 2005)

Portrait of third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson

(1743 - 1826)

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)