adams, ansel easton (february 20, 1902 – april 22, 1984)
american photographer and environmentalist. his black-and-white landscape photographs of the american west, especially yosemite national park, are famous worldwide.
asperger, hans (february 18, 1906 – october 21, 1980)
austrian pediatrician, medical theorist, and medical professor. he is best known for his early studies on mental disorders, especially in children. asperger syndrome was named after him.
auden, w.h. [wystan hugh] (february 21, 1907 – september 29, 1973)
anglo-american poet, born in england, later an american citizen, regarded by many critics as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of peter pan.
beckett, samuel (april 13, 1906 – december, 22 1989)
irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet.
beerhorst, rick
american contemporary artist
bonaparte, napoleon (august 15, 1769 – may 5, 1821)
french military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the french revolution and its associated wars in europe.
bon iver (justin vernon) (born april 30, 1981)
american indie folk band founded in 2007 by singer-songwriter justin vernon.
buddha, siddhārth (563 bc - 483 bc)
the person who began the religion of buddhism
byrne, david (born may 14, 1952)
scottish-born musician permanently residing in the US, founding member and principal songwriter of the american new wave band talking heads, active between 1975 and 1991.
camus, albert (november 7, 1913 – january 4, 1960)
french nobel prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher. his views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism.
cancellara, fabian "spartacus" (born march 18, 1981)
swiss professional road bicycle racer.
carlin, george (may 12, 1937 – june 22, 2008)
american stand-up comedian, writer, and actor who won five grammy awards for his comedy albums. noted for his black humor as well as his thoughts on politics, the english language, psychology, religion, and various taboo subjects.
carnegie, dale (november 24, 1888 – november 1, 1955)
american writer and lecturer, developer of famous courses in a.o. self-improvement
carroll lewis (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898)
english writer, mathematician, logician, anglican deacon and photographer. most famous for writing ALICE IN WONDERLAND
cole, stan lee (1976)
belgian singer-songwriter
coleridge, samuel taylor (october 21, 1772 – july 25, 1834)
english poet, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend william wordsworth, was a founder of the romantic movement in england and a member of the lake poets.
confucius (551–479 bc)
chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the spring and autumn period of chinese history.
cummings, e.e. [edward estlin] (october 14, 1894 – september 3, 1962)
american poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright.
degas, edgar (july 19, 1834 – september 27, 1917)
french artist famous for his paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings.
de botton, alain (20 december 1969 - )
swiss-born, british-based philosopher, writer, and television presenter.
elkin, stanley lawrence (may 11, 1930 – may 31, 1995)
american jewish novelist, short story writer, and essayist. his extravagant, satirical fiction revolves around american consumerism, popular culture, and male-female relationships.
emerson, ralph waldo (may 25, 1803 – april 27, 1882)
american essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.
erickson, milton (december 5, 1901 – march, 25 1980)
american psychiatrist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy.
fo, dario (born march 24, 1926)
italian actor-playwright, comedian, singer, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter and political campaigner, and recipient of the 1997 nobel prize in literature.
ford, madox ford (december 17, 1873 – june 26, 1939)
english novelist, poet, critic and editor.
france, anatole (april 16, 1844 – october 12, 1924)
french poet, journalist, and novelist.
franklin, benjamin (january 17, 1706 – april 17, 1790)
one of the founding fathers of the united states. a noted polymath, franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
frost, robert lee (march 26, 1874 – january 29, 1963)
american poet. highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of american colloquial speech.
gardner, john champlin jr. (july 21, 1933 – september 14, 1982)
american novelist, essayist, literary critic and university professor. he is perhaps most noted for his novel grendel, a retelling of the beowulf myth from the monster's point of view.
gauguin, {eugène henri} paul (june, 1848 – may, 8 1903)
french post-impressionist artist, not well appreciated until after his death
Gibran, Khalil (january 6, 1883 – april 10, 1931)
lebanese artist, poet, and writer
hoover, herbert clark (august 10, 1874 – october 20, 1964)
31st president of the united states (1929–1933). hoover, born to a quaker family, was a professional mining engineer. he achieved american and international prominence in humanitarian relief efforts in war-torn belgium and served as head of the u.s. food administration before and during world war i.
james, henry (april 15, 1843 – february, 28 1916)
american-born british writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism.
lao tzu (6th century bc)
one of the most famous chinese philosophers. not much is known of the details of his life, and some have thought he was not a real person. he was the author of a book called tao te ching, the way of life, a work of about 81 stories with a consistent theme or moral.
le corbusier (charles-édouard jeanneret-gris) (october 6, 1887 – august 27, 1965)
swiss-french architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now called modern architecture.
lennon, john winston (october 9, 1940 – december, 8 1980)
english musician, singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the beatles.
lincoln, abraham (february 12, 1809 – april 15, 1865)
16th president of the united states, serving from march 1861 until his assassination in april 1865. lincoln led the united states through its greatest constitutional, military, and moral crisis—the american civil war—preserving the union, abolishing slavery, strengthening the national government and modernizing the economy.
marin, roberto
south american fellow blogger, author of oat, oat, oat
martin, steve [stephen glenn] (born august 14, 1945)
american honorary academy award winning actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright and producer.
masters, edgar lee (august 23, 1868 – march 5, 1950)
american poet, biographer, and dramatist.
morris, william (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896)
english textile designer, poet, novelist, translator, and socialist activist.
english novelist, poet, critic and editor.
france, anatole (april 16, 1844 – october 12, 1924)
french poet, journalist, and novelist.
franklin, benjamin (january 17, 1706 – april 17, 1790)
one of the founding fathers of the united states. a noted polymath, franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
frost, robert lee (march 26, 1874 – january 29, 1963)
american poet. highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of american colloquial speech.
gardner, john champlin jr. (july 21, 1933 – september 14, 1982)
american novelist, essayist, literary critic and university professor. he is perhaps most noted for his novel grendel, a retelling of the beowulf myth from the monster's point of view.
gauguin, {eugène henri} paul (june, 1848 – may, 8 1903)
french post-impressionist artist, not well appreciated until after his death
Gibran, Khalil (january 6, 1883 – april 10, 1931)
lebanese artist, poet, and writer
hoover, herbert clark (august 10, 1874 – october 20, 1964)
31st president of the united states (1929–1933). hoover, born to a quaker family, was a professional mining engineer. he achieved american and international prominence in humanitarian relief efforts in war-torn belgium and served as head of the u.s. food administration before and during world war i.
james, henry (april 15, 1843 – february, 28 1916)
american-born british writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism.
lao tzu (6th century bc)
one of the most famous chinese philosophers. not much is known of the details of his life, and some have thought he was not a real person. he was the author of a book called tao te ching, the way of life, a work of about 81 stories with a consistent theme or moral.
le corbusier (charles-édouard jeanneret-gris) (october 6, 1887 – august 27, 1965)
swiss-french architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now called modern architecture.
lennon, john winston (october 9, 1940 – december, 8 1980)
english musician, singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the beatles.
lincoln, abraham (february 12, 1809 – april 15, 1865)
16th president of the united states, serving from march 1861 until his assassination in april 1865. lincoln led the united states through its greatest constitutional, military, and moral crisis—the american civil war—preserving the union, abolishing slavery, strengthening the national government and modernizing the economy.
marin, roberto
south american fellow blogger, author of oat, oat, oat
martin, steve [stephen glenn] (born august 14, 1945)
american honorary academy award winning actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright and producer.
masters, edgar lee (august 23, 1868 – march 5, 1950)
american poet, biographer, and dramatist.
morris, william (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896)
english textile designer, poet, novelist, translator, and socialist activist.
nietzsche, friedrich wilhelm (october 15, 1844 – august 25, 1900)
german philologist, philosopher, cultural critic, poet and composer. he wrote several critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and aphorism.
picasso, pablo ruiz y (october 25, 1881 – april 8, 1973)
spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer who spent most of his adult life in france.
poe, edgar allan (january 19, 1809 – october 7, 1849)
american author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the american romantic movement. best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre.
rilke, [rené karl wilhelm johann josef] rainer maria (december 4, 1875 – december, 29 1926)
bohemian-austrian poet and novelist, "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense german-language poets", writing in both verse and highly lyrical prose.
saint-exupéry, antoine de (june 29, 1900 – july 31, 1944)
french aristocrat, writer, poet, and pioneering aviator. best remembered for his novella the little prince (le petit prince) and for his lyrical aviation writings, including wind, sand and stars and night flight.
simmons, charles (9 april 1893 – 11 august 1975)
british lecturer, journalist and politician.
solzhenitsyn, aleksandr isayevich (december 11, 1918 – august 3, 2008)
eminent russian novelist, historian, and tireless critic of communist totalitarianism. he helped to raise global awareness of the gulag and the soviet union's forced labour camp system.
sufi, a practitioner of sufism is generally known as a ṣūfī; religious branch historically deriving from sunni islam,[1] defined by some adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of islam, others contend that it is a perennial philosophy of existence that pre-dates religion, the expression of which flowered within islam. its essence has also been expressed via other religions and metareligious phenomena.
tennyson, alfred lord (august 6, 1809 – october 6, 1892)
poet laureate of great britain and ireland during much of queen victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular british poets.
thoreau, henry david (july 12, 1817 – may 6, 1862)
american author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist. best known for his book walden
wayne, john (may 26, 1907 – june 11, 1979)
known by his stage name and by his nickname "Duke", american film actor, director, and producer.
white, e.b. [elwyn brooks] (july 11, 1899 – october 1, 1985)
american writer. contributor to the new yorker magazine. wrote books for children, including charlotte's web, stuart little and the trumpet of the swan.
whitman, walt [walter] (may 31, 1819 – march 26, 1892)
american poet, essayist and journalist. a humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. his work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection leaves of grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.
wilbur, richard (march 1, 1921)
american poet and literary translator.
yeats, w.b. [william butler] (june 13, 1865 – january, 28 1939)
irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. a pillar of both the irish and british literary establishments, in his later years he served as an irish senator for two terms.
zimmerman, john (born november 26, 1973)
american athlete and figure skater