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.
1864-1920
1758-1843
Simone Weil was a French intellectual, activist and Christian Mystic.
1909-1943
Gideon Welles was a 19th century journalist and politician who served as secretary of the U.S. Navy under presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.
1802-1878
Ida B. Wells was an African-American journalist and activist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s.
1862-1931
1909-2001
Dr. Ruth Westheimer is one of the world's most recognized authorities on sex. She has delivered her advice on TV, radio and the web for decades and has written numerous books.
1928-
1891-1958
T.H. White was an English writer known for his novel series about King Arthur, The Once and Future King.
1906-1964
1915-1986
1861-1947
Walt Whitman was an American poet whose verse collection Leaves of Grass is a landmark in the history of American literature.
1819-1892
John Greenleaf Whittier was an American poet and abolitionist who, in the latter part of his life, was a household name in both England and the United States.
1807-1892
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.
1867-1957
Roy Wilkins was best known as the executive director of the NAACP and a leader of the African-American civil rights movement.
1901-1981
1849-1891
1897-1972
Sarah Winnemucca was a member of the Native American Paiutes nation, an activist for her people and the first Native woman to publish in the English language.
1844-1891
Tom Wolfe is a journalist and best-selling author well known as a proponent of the New Journalism, using fiction-writing techniques in journalism.
1931-
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.
1759-1797
Bob Woodward is an American journalist and author who reported on the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. His coverage greatly contributed to the Post's 1973 Pulitzer Prize.
1943-
English Writer Virginia Woolf became famous for her nonlinear prose style, especially noted in her novels Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse.
1882-1941
Pioneering African-American writer Richard Wright is best known for the classic texts Black Boy and Native Son.
1908-1960
Stefan Zweig was an Austrian writer and novelist popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
1881-1942