1. Wilbury A. Crockett Library
Wellesley High School
The names inscribed on the banner in the Wilbury Crockett
Library belong to individuals who achieved excellence in their
respective fields as writers, thinkers, politicians, community
activists, or artists. They inspire us in our work at Wellesley
High School and remind us that our work here prepares us for
the challenges of citizenship in a much larger world.
Additionally, their accomplishments reflect who we are as a
community and embody Wellesley core values:
Academic Excellence
Commitment to Community
Respect for Human Differences
Cooperative and Caring Relationships

2. Confucius
551 BCE - 479 BCE
• Chinese teacher,
philosopher, and founder
of Ju or Confucianism.
• Emphasized education,
moral and virtuous
example, and ritual
correctness.
• His ideas were recorded
after his death in Analects
Image source: Asiasociety.org
(Lunyu).

3. Howard Zinn
1922 - 2010
• American historian, author,
activist, playwright, intellectual,
and professor of political science
at Boston University.
• Most famous book, A People's
History of the United States
(1980), surveys American history
from the point of view of working
class and minority groups.
• Selected Major Works: Vietnam:
The Logic of Withdrawal (1967);
The Twentieth Century: A
People's History (1984); You
Can't Be Neutral on a Moving
Train: A Personal History of Our
Times (1994).
Image source: Howardzinn.org

4. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1929 - 1968
• Minister and civil rights leader whose
actions led to the passage of Civil
Rights Act in 1964.
• Winner of Nobel Peace Prize (1964).
• Founder of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (1957).
• Coordinated civil rights activities such
as Montgomery Bus Boycott, the
March on Washington, the
Birmingham Campaign of 1963, and
the lunch counter sit-in movement with
the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC).
• Assassinated April 4, 1968.
Image source: Credo Reference
Database

5. Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803 - 1882
• American author, resident of Concord,
Mass., leader of New England
transcendentalism, and abolitionist.
• Started his career as a Unitarian
minister and became a prominent
lecturer and essayist.
• Spoke out against materialism,
organized religion, and slavery.
• Selected Major Works: Essays that
includes "Self Reliance" (1841),
Nature (1863).
Image Source: Credo
Reference Database

6. Eleanor Roosevelt
1884 - 1962
• Wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
32nd President of United States.
• As first lady gave regular press
conferences, radio interviews,
lectures and wrote newspaper
columns.
• Worked with the Women's Division
of the Democratic National
Committee (1928).
• Champion of civil rights for African
Americans and women and
advocate for the rural poor.
• Served as a delegate to the United
Nations (1945, 1960) where she
Image Source: Credo Reference Database worked on the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,
adopted by the UN in 1948.

7. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1882 - 1945
• 32nd President of the United
States.
• Stricken with polio (1921)
leaving him paralyzed.
• Elected to presidency for four
terms and led the country
through the Great Depression
and World War II.
• Pioneered the New Deal and
created a more socially
responsible government.
Image Source: Biography in Context
Database
• Helped lay the foundation for
the United Nations.

8. Frederick Douglass
1817 - 1895
• Abolitionist, pacifist, activist and
eminent thinker of the 19th century.
• Born into slavery and escaped to
freedom when he was 18 years old.
• Major lecturer for Massachusetts Anti-
Slavery Society and ally of abolitionist,
William Lloyd Garrison.
• Lived in New Bedford, Mass. (1838)
and Lynn, Mass. (1841)
• Major Works: Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass, An American
Slave, Written by Himself (1845); My
Bondage and My Freedom (1855);
The Life and Times of Frederick
Douglass (1881).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

9. Barack Obama
1961 -
• 44th President of the United
States, first Black president.
• United States Senator for
Illinois (1996 - 2004).
• Awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize (2009).
• Major Publications: Dreams
From My Father: A Story of
Race and Inheritance (1995);
The Audacity of Hope:
Thoughts on Reclaiming the
American Dream (2006).
Image Source: Whitehouse.gov

10. Nelson Mandela
1918 -
• President of South Africa
(1994 - 1999), anti-apartheid
activist.
• Jailed from 1964-1990 for his
efforts to end apartheid.
• Dedicated his life to fighting for
the rights of black South
Africans.
• Selected Major Works: No
Easy Walk To Freedom
(1965); Long Walk to Freedom:
The Autobiography of Nelson
Mandela (1994)
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

11. Toni Morrison
1931 -
• American novelist known for "her
poetically-charged and richly-
expressive depictions of Black
America." (The Nobel Foundation)
• Editor, public lecturer, and
academic. Has held a chair at
Princeton University since 1988.
• Won the Nobel Prize for literature
(1993), and the Pulitzer Prize for
fiction (1988) for her novel
Beloved.
• Major Works: The Bluest Eye
(1970); Sula (1974); Song of
Solomon (1977); Tar Baby (1981);
Beloved (1987).
Image Source: Credo Reference Database

12. William Shakespeare
1564 - 1616
• English playwright and poet.
• "Shakespeare will go on
explaining [humans], in part
because he invented
us." (Bloom)
• Wrote over thirty plays and
over 150 sonnets.
• Shakespeare's works are
quoted more than the works
of any other single author.
• Major works include: A
Midsummer Night's Dream;
Hamlet; Othello; The
Tempest.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

13. Helen Keller
1880 - 1968
• American lecturer, writer, and
philanthropic fund-raiser.
• Became blind, deaf and mute
from an illness when 19 months
old.
• Student at Perkins School for the
Blind (1888).
• Graduated cum laude from
Radcliffe College (1904).
• Devoted life to social reforms to
benefit women, the deaf and the
blind.
• Awarded the Presidential Medal of
Honor (1964).
• Selected Works: The Story of My
Life (1903); The World I Live In
Image Source: Credo Reference
(1908).
Database

14. Edmund Burke
1729 - 1797
• British statesman, speaker,
political theorist, and writer.
• His speeches and principles
address the importance
of morality implicit in the practical
concerns of politics.
• His work, Philosophical Inquiry
into the Origin of Our Ideas of the
Sublime and Beautiful (1757),
launched him as a leading literary
figure.
• Famous speeches include:
Speech to the Electors of Bristol
and Speech on Presenting to the
House of Commons the 11th of
February a Plan.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

15. Mahatma Gandhi
1869 - 1948
• Leader in Indian Independence
Movement.
• His practice of non-violent civil
disobedience provided an
exemplar for the American
Civil Rights Movement.
• Evolved from an important
political and cultural figure to
the conscience of the Indian
Empire.
• Selected Work: Gandhi an
Autobiography: The Story of
My Experience with Truth
(1993).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

16. John F Kennedy
1917 - 1963
• 35th president of the United
States.
• In a post-Depression era, inspired
confidence in American people to
reach toward new goals and effect
change.
• Called for federal support of the
Civil Rights Movement to enforce
the Voting Rights Act and other
civil rights laws.
• Established The Peace Corps.
• Winner of Pulitzer Prize for
Profiles in Courage (1956)
• Assassinated in November, 1963.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

17. Sylvia Plath
1932 - 1963
• American poet and novelist.
• Became an icon for the
representation of female
"selfhood" in poetry.
• Graduated from Wellesley
High School in 1950.
• Attended master's level
program at Cambridge
University on a Fulbright
Fellowship (1955).
• Selected Works:The Colossus
(1960); The Bell
Jar (1963); Ariel (1965).
Image Source: Poets.org

18. Harvey Milk
1930 - 1978
• American politician, activist.
• Pursued an ambitious agenda
of political, economic, and
social reform including
protection of gay rights.
• Proponent of strong, safe,
cohesive neighborhoods as
essential to urban life.
• Assassinated in 1978.
• Posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
(2009).
Image Source: Credo Reference Database

19. César Chávez
1927 - 1993
• A grass-roots labor organizer
who rose from the ranks of
California migrant workers to
form and lead the first
agricultural union, the National
Farm Workers Association
(NFWA).
• In the 1950's he helped build
Community Service
Organization (CSO) chapters,
which led voter registration
drives and aided dispossessed
Mexicans and Mexican-
Americans on issues of
Image Source: Americaslibrary.gov immigration, welfare, and
police abuse.

20. Jackie Robinson
1919 - 1972
• Major League Baseball player,
civil rights leader,
businessman.
• Leading symbol and
spokesperson for integration
both within baseball, in the
U.S. Army and in broader
society.
• First African American player
to be: Rookie of the Year
(1947), Most Valuable Player
(1949), elected to the Baseball
Hall of Fame (1961).
Image Source: MLB.com

21. Jane Addams
1860 - 1935
• Social worker, reformer, and
pacifist.
• In 1889, founded the most
famous settlement house in
American history, Hull House
in Chicago, which helped
working class people and
immigrants.
• Co-founded the Women's
Peace Party and opposed
both World Wars.
• Was the first American
woman to be awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize (1931).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

22. Albert Einstein
1879 - 1955
• German-born American
physicist.
• Revolutionized the
science of quantum
physics - physics at the
level of atoms and sub
atomic particles.
• Best known for his
theory of relativity.
• Won the Nobel Prize for
Physics (1921).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

23. Benjamin Franklin
1706 - 1790
• Statesmen, writer, printer,
scientist, inventor and
diplomat to France during the
American Revolution.
• Signer of Declaration of
Independence, Constitution
of the United States, and
Treaty of Peace with Great
Britain.
• Proved that lightning is
electricity.
• Selected Works: Poor
Richard's Almanack (1723);
Autobiography (1757)
Image Source: Archives.gov

24. Susan B. Anthony
1820 - 1906
• Leader of the American
women's suffrage
movement.
• Formed the National Woman
Suffrage Association.
• Published weekly journal,
The Revolution and 4-volume
set, History of Woman
Suffrage.
• 19th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution giving women
the right to vote became law
14 years after her death.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

25. Abraham Lincoln
1809 - 1865
• 16th President of the United
States.
• Issued the Emancipation
Proclamation (1863).
• During his presidency the 13th
Amendment, which abolished
slavery, passed.
• His speeches, such as the
Gettysburg Address are classic
statements of democratic
beliefs and goals.
• Assassinated by John Wilkes
Booth.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

26. Immanuel Kant
1724 - 1804
• German philosopher.
• Critical philosophy
constituted a watershed in
Western intellectual
history.
• Major Works: The Critique
of Pure Reason (1781);
Foundations of
Metaphysics of Morals
(1785); Critique of
Judgement (1790).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

27. Mark Twain
1835 - 1910
• Born Samuel Langhorne
Clemens.
• Humorist and major author
who developed a uniquely
American writing style.
• "All modern American literature
comes from...Huckleberry
Finn." - Ernest Hemingway
• Selected Major Works: The
Adventures of Tom
Sawyer (1875); The
Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn (1885); A Connecticut
Yankee in King Arthur's Court
(1889).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

28. Louis Armstrong
1901 - 1971
• American trumpeter and
singer, born in New Orleans.
• One of the most influential
figures in jazz.
• Recordings made in the 1920's
under the names Hot five and
Hot Seven are considered
masterpieces that show his
tremendous range and tone
and include his famous scat
singing (rhythmic wordless
singing).
• Famous Songs: "Hello Dolly!"
(1963) and "What a Wonderful
World" (1968).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

29. Bob Dylan
1941 -
• American Singer and
songwriter.
• Born Robert Allen
Zimmerman.
• Influential folk-song writer of
the early 1960's.
• Early songs often protested
the wrongs of society that
were emblematic of the
counter-culture movement.
• Songs: "The Times They are
A-Changin'" (1963), "Like a
Roling Stone" (1965),
"Blowin' in the Wind" (1962).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

30. Dalai Lama
1935 -
• Leader of the Yellow Hat, the
chief Buddhist sect of Tibet.
• Has lived in exile since 1959 in
response to China's control of
Tibet.
• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
(1989) for his non-violent struggle
to end China's rule of Tibet.
• Has dedicated his life to
campaigning peacefully for world
peace and the liberation of
oppressed people.
• Selected Works: My Land and My
People (1997); Freedom in Exile:
The Autobiography of the Dalai
Lama (1991).
Image Source: Dalailama.com

31. John Adams
1735 -1826
• 2nd president of the United
States.
• Born in Braintree (now
Quincy), Mass.
• Signer of Declaration of
Independence.
• Department of Navy and
Marine Corps established
under his presidency.
• Wrote the Massachusetts
Constitution of 1780.
• Father of John Quincy
Adams, 6th President of
Image Source: Credo Reference the United States.
Database

32. Homer
Dates Unknown
• Blind, Greek, oral poet who
composed the first epic
poems, The Iliad and The
Odyssey (8th Century,
BC), essentially defining
the Greek people as a
nation.
• Details about his life and
work are controversial and
debate about the "Homeric
question" still exists today.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

33. Sitting Bull
1831 - 1890
• Medicine man and leader
of the Teton Sioux Indians.
• Encouraged Indians to
fight to preserve their land.
• Participated in the battle at
Little Bighorn during which
General George Custer
was defeated and killed
(1876).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

34. John Locke
1632 - 1704
• British moral and political
philosopher who began the
empiricist tradition.
• Attempted to center philosophy
on an analysis of the extent
and capabilities of the human
mind.
• Major Works: Two Treatises
(1690); Essay Concerning
Human Understanding (1690).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

35. Jane Austen
1775 - 1817
• 19th century English writer.
• Recognized for her shrewd
observations of the human
condition and society in her
novels.
• Masterfully crafted character,
scene, and plot while
introducing profound themes
found in ordinary life.
• Major Works: Sense and
Sensibility (1811); Pride and
Prejudice (1813); Emma
(1816); Persuasion (1815).
Image Source: Literaryhistory.com

36. Leo Tolstoy
1828 - 1910
• 19th century Russian
prose writer.
• Dissident, religious
thinker and social
reformer.
• Anna Karenina (1875-
77) and War and Peace
(1869) are considered
literary masterpieces.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

37. Leonardo DaVinci
1452 - 1519
• Italian painter, sculptor, architect,
engineer, costume and set
designer, mathematician,
musician, and inventor during the
Italian Renaissance.
• Considered the Father of the
Modern Age with drawings of
architecture, botany, physics,
engineering, cartography,
anatomy anticipating future
discoveries such as flight, the
effect of the moon on tides, and
blood circulation.
• His most famous paintings include
The Virgin of the Rocks (1483-
85), the Mona Lisa (1503), and
The Last Supper (1495-97).
Image Source: Credo
Reference Database

38. Anne Frank
1929 - 1945
• German teenager, who fled
the Nazis with her family and
lived in hiding in Amsterdam
for two years.
• Her diary documents her life,
including the two years, she
and 7 others hid in the attic
rooms of her father's office.
• Died of typhus in Bergen-
Belsen concentration camp,
Germany.
• The Diary of Anne Frank
(1947) has been translated
into fifty-five languages.
Image Source: Thedigitaljournalist.org

39. Emily Dickinson
1830 - 1886
• American poet.
• Born, lived, and died in
Amherst, Mass.
• Her poetic style employs the
common ballad meter while, at
the same time, using rhythm
and meter in a revolutionary
way.
• Her poetry expresses her
defiance of literary and social
authority.
• All of her 1,775 poems are
published in The Poems of
Emily Dickinson (1955).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

40. Duke Ellington
1899 - 1974
• American jazz composer, prolific
song writer, renowned
bandleader, arranger, and
pianist.
• As bandleader at Harlem's
Cotton Club (1927-1931)
became internationally
recognized.
• Won 11 Grammy Awards and
Presidential Medal of Freedom
(1970).
• Selected Hits: "It Don't Mean A
Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing";
"Don't Get Around Much
Anymore".
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

41. Pablo Picasso
1881 - 1973
• Spanish painter, sculptor,
and graphic artist.
• A revolutionary and prolific
artist who established the
basis for abstract art.
• Establish a legacy of
artistic "adventurism"
through exploration of
monochromatic color,
Cubism, papires collé
(paper collage), and
Surrealism.
Image Source: Pablopicasso.org

42. René Descartes
1596 - 1650
• French Thinker, called "the
father of modern philosophy".
• Initiated the Rationalism
movement and defined the
basic problems of philosophy
for at least a century.
• Major Works: Rules for the
Directions of the Mind (1629);
The World (1634); Treatise on
Man (1634); Discourse on
Method (1637).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

43. Sir Isaac Newton
1642 - 1727
• English scientist and
mathematician.
• Made major contributions in
mathematics and theoretical
and experimental physics.
• Achieved a synthesis of the
work of his predecessors on
the laws of motion,
especially the law of
universal gravitation.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

44. Charles Darwin
1809 - 1882
• English naturalist.
• Developed the theory of
evolution that placed humans
in the natural order of life
amongst other creatures for
the first time.
• On the Origin of Species
(1859) shaped the
development of modern
biology, ecology, embryology,
morphology, and paleontology.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

45. Marie Curie
1867 - 1934
• Polish born internationally
renowned physicist and chemist.
• First female professor at the
Sorbonne, Paris.
• Discovered the elements radium
and polonium and launched the
study of modern physics.
• Made significant advancements in
radiological technology during
World War I.
• Winner of Nobel Prizes in
Chemistry and Physics (1903 and
1911).
Image Source: Credo
Reference Database

46. Socrates
469 - 399 BC
• Greek philosopher,
teacher.
• Famous for his view of
philosophy as a pursuit
proper and necessary to all
intelligent men.
• Developed the Socratic
Method of reasoning that
involves questions and
answers designed to
evoke truths.
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

47. Georgia O’Keeffe
1887 - 1986
• American Modernist
painter.
• "I simply paint what I see."
(G. O'Keeffe)
• Known for her artistic form
and paintings of nature:
flowers, bleached skulls,
Western terrain.
• Famous works include
Blue and Green Music
(1919), Black Iris (1926),
and From the Faraway
Nearby (1934).
Image Source: Metmuseum.org

48. Alfred Hitchcock
1899 - 1980
• British filmmaker.
• Master of suspense and
director with distinctive film
making style.
• Nominated for five Oscars.
• Famous Works: The Birds,
Strangers on a Train,
Vertigo, Notorious, Rear
Window, Psycho, North by
Northwest.
Image Source: Credo Reference Database

49. Stephen Sondheim
1930 -
• 20th century lyricist and
composer of American
musicals.
• One of the most important
creative personalities in
American musical theatre.
• Selected Works: A Little
Night Music (1973);
Sweeney Todd (1977); Into
The Woods (1987).
Image Source: Broadwayworld.com

50. Rachel Carson
1907 - 1964
• American biologist,
environmentalist.
• In 1929, had a Fellowship at
Woods Hole Marine Biology
Laboratory in Massachusetts.
• Gathered empirical evidence
showing correlation between
DDT usage, insect resistance
and thinning of avian eggshells.
• Challenged scientific
communities' and petrochemical
big business' views of
conquering nature.
• Major Work: Silent Spring
(1962).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

51. George Orwell
1903 - 1950
• 20th century British author.
• Work is characterized by a
sense of social conscience
and distrust of political
dictatorship.
• Major Works: Animal Farm
(1945); Nineteen Eighty-
Four (1949).
Image Source: Credo Reference Database

52. Maya Lin
1959 -
• American architect and
artist.
• Awarded the National
Medal of Arts by President
Obama in 2009.
• Important Designs:
Vietnam Veterans'
Memorial in Washington,
D.C; Civil Rights Memorial
in Montgomery, Alabama;
Memorial at Ground Zero,
New York City.
Image Source: Prelectur.stanford.edu

53. Jorge Luis Borges
1899 - 1986
• Argentine poet, critic, and
short-story writer.
• Widely hailed as the foremost
contemporary Spanish-
American writer.
• Exponent of ultraísmo, a poetic
movement that followed the
decline of modernismo.
• Selected Major Works:
Ficciones (1962); Dreamtigers
(tr.1964); Other Inquisitions
(1964); In Praise of Darkness
(tr.1972)
Image Source: Credo
Reference Database

54. Chinua Achebe
1930 -
• Nigerian novelist, critic, poet and
teacher.
• One of Africa's most acclaimed
authors; considered by some to be the
father of modern African literature.
• Awarded Man Booker International
Prize (2007).
• Teacher at University of Nigeria (1976-
81) and Bard College (1990-present).
• Selected Work: Things Fall Apart
(1958), No Longer At Ease (1960), A
Man of the People (1966), Beware
Soul Brother (1971).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

55. James Joyce
1882 - 1941
• Irish Modernist novelist and
poet.
• Experimented with language,
symbolism and use of narrative
technique.
• "His intellectualism and grasp of
a wide range of philosophy,
theology, and foreign languages
enabled him to stretch the
English language to its limits."
(Biography in Context)
• Selected works: A Portrait of the
Artist as a Young Man
(1916); Ulysses (1922);
Finnegan's Wake (1939).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

56. George Washington
1732 - 1799
• 1st president of the United
States.
• Commander in chief of the
American and French forces
in the American Revolution.
• Presided over Constitutional
Convention that led to
adoption of Constitution of
the United States.
• Famous for his Farewell
Address (1796).
Image Source: Credo Reference
Database

57. Bill Gates
1955 -
• Chairman and co-founder,
Microsoft Corporation.
• Designed and developed
innovative software for the
personal computer (PC).
• The Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation funds education
initiatives, technology in
schools, and provides college
scholarships.
• The Gates Foundation also
funds worldwide health
initiatives to provide vaccines
to children, eradicate polio,
Image Source: Credo Reference Database and prevent the spread of
HIV/ AIDS.

58. Frank Lloyd Wright
1867-1959
• American architect.
• Known for designing many
buildings that were in
harmony with nature and were
made of natural materials
such as Falling Water in
Pennsylvania.
• Famous building designs: the
Kaufman House (1936).
Johnson Wax Company
headquarters (1936-37, 1947-
50), Taliesin West (1938), the
Usonian houses.
Image source: Credo Reference
Datbase

59. Sources
American National Biography. John Garrity and Mark C. Carnes, eds. New York: Oxford,
1999.
American National Biography.
Biography in Context Database.
Credo Reference Database.
Dictionary of World Biography. Frank N. Magill, ed. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Jack Salzman et al., eds. New
York: MacMillan, 1996.
Encyclopedia of Asian History. Anslie T. Embree, ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988.
The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States. Cathy N. Davidson and
Linda Wagner-Martin, eds. New York: Oxford, 1993.
World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, 1998.