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Max Weber
Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Anti-War Activist, Economist, Literary Critic, Political Scientist, Journalist, Sociologist / 1864 - 1920
Max Weber was a 19th century German sociologist and one of the founders of modern sociology. He wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in 1905.
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(1864-1920)
Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Anti-War Activist, Economist, Literary Critic, Political Scientist, Journalist, Sociologist
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Noah Webster
Academic, Journalist / 1758 - 1843
Noah Webster documented American spelling and grammar in his two major publications, the American Spelling Book and the American Dictionary of the English Language.
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(1758-1843)
Academic, Journalist
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Simone Weil
Educator, Philosopher, Civil Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Journalist / 1909 - 1943
Simone Weil was a French intellectual, activist and Christian Mystic.
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(1909-1943)
Educator, Philosopher, Civil Rights Activist, Anti-War Activist, Journalist
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Steven Weinberg
Academic, Physicist / 1933 -
Steven Weinberg is a U.S. physicist and Nobel laureate who contributed to work on the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles.
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(1933-)
Academic, Physicist
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Cornel West
Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Civil Rights Activist, Academic Author / 1953 -
Cornel West is a scholar of African American studies, and political activist. He published Race Matters in 1993 and appeared in the Matrix sequels.
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(1953-)
Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Civil Rights Activist, Academic Author
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Laura Wheeler Waring
Educator, Painter / 1887 - 1948
Laura Wheeler Waring was an African-American painter who founded and taught in the art and music departments at Cheyney University.
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(1887-1948)
Educator, Painter
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Leonard D. White
Historian, Political Scientist, Journalist / 1891 - 1958
Leonard White was a political scientist and historian who was a leading authority on public administration.
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(1891-1958)
Historian, Political Scientist, Journalist
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Alfred North Whitehead
Philosopher, Mathematician, Journalist / 1861 - 1947
British mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead’s Treatise on Universal Algebra extended Boolean symbolic logic. He received the Order of Merit.
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(1861-1947)
Philosopher, Mathematician, Journalist
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Laura Ingalls Wilder
Educator, Journalist, Author / 1867 - 1957
Pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the autobiographical “Little House” kids’ book series, the basis of the popular television show Little House on the Prairie.
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(1867-1957)
Educator, Journalist, Author
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Emma Willard
Educator / 1787 - 1870
Emma Willard (1787-1870) was a vocal supporter of female education, and started her own school in Troy, New York that is still going strong.
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(1787-1870)
Educator
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George Washington Williams
Scholar, Lawyer, Pastor, Journalist / 1849 - 1891
Civil War veteran George Washington Williams is best known as the author of History of the Negro Race in America, widely considered the first objective history of African Americans.
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(1849-1891)
Scholar, Lawyer, Pastor, Journalist
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Jody Williams
Educator, Activist, Philanthropist / 1950 -
American activist Jody Williams helped found the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). In 1997 she and the campaign won the Nobel Prize for Peace.
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(1950-)
Educator, Activist, Philanthropist
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Mary Lou Williams
Educator, Songwriter, Pianist / 1910 - 1981
Mary Lou Williams was a jazz pianist who performed with and composed for many of the great jazz artists of the 1940s and '50s.
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(1910-1981)
Educator, Songwriter, Pianist
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Woodrow Wilson
Educator, U.S. President / 1856 - 1924
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. resident, led America through World War I and crafted the Versailles Treaty's "Fourteen Points," the last of which was creating a League of Nations to ensure world peace. Wilson also created the Federal Reserve and signed the 19th Amendment, allowing women to vote.
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(1856-1924)
Educator, U.S. President
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Mary Wollstonecraft
Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Women's Rights Activist, Journalist / 1759 - 1797
Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer who advocated for women's equality. Her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman pressed for educational reforms.
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(1759-1797)
Educator, Philosopher, Scholar, Women's Rights Activist, Journalist
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Carter G. Woodson
Historian / 1875 - 1950
Carter G. Woodson was an African-American writer and historian known as the "Father of Black History Month." He penned the influential book The Mis-Education of the Negro.
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(1875-1950)
Historian
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George Wythe
Scholar, Judge, Academic Author / 1726 - 1806
Georges Wythe is best known for his work as an early American judge and law professor to future presidents, like Jefferson.
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(1726-1806)
Scholar, Judge, Academic Author
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Rosalyn S. Yalow
Academic, Physicist / 1921 -
Rosalyn S. Yalow was a Nobel Prize-winning medical physicist who conducted groundbreaking research on type II diabetes.
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(1921-)
Academic, Physicist
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Minoru Yamasaki
Educator, Architect / 1912 - 1986
Minoru Yamasaki is an American architect designed the original World Trade Center complex and the Twin Towers.
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(1912-1986)
Educator, Architect
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Chen Ning Yang
Academic, Physicist / 1922 -
Chinese-American physicist Chen Ning Yang was co-awarded the 1957 Nobel prize for work on parity nonconservation of weak interaction.
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(1922-)
Academic, Physicist
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Ahmed H. Zewail
Educator, Chemist / 1946 -
Chemist Ahmed H. Zewail won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing a rapid laser technique that let scientists study atoms during chemical reactions.
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(1946-)
Educator, Chemist
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Peter Zumthor
Educator, Architect / 1943 -
Peter Zumthro is a Swiss architect who won the Pritzker Prize in 2009 and is known for his minimalist, pure aesthetic.
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(1943-)
Educator, Architect