Killer Questions – Favorite Person in History
Everyone has a favorite person in history. Here are ours:
Korina Moss: There are so many people I admire, but my favorite? That’s a tough one. One person that comes to mind is Norman Rockwell. I’ve visited the Norman Rockwell Museum a couple of times, and his body of work is incredible. His paintings and illustrations tell decades worth of stories of the American middle class. It’s the epitome of Americana.
Grace Topping: Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a remarkable woman who traveled around the country and to parts of the world during WWII representing her husband, wheelchair-bound President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was his eyes and ears of what was going on in the country during the war. She was also instrumental in getting the United Nations established following the war.
Lori Roberts Herbst: This was a tough one, but I finally settled on the 14th Dalai Lama. I find his perspectives soothing and inspiring.
Shari Randall: I’ll just go with the one that came to mind first. Abraham Lincoln. He was an excellent writer, an underappreciated facet of his many accomplishments.
Mary Dutta: I’m going to shout out Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967. She registered using only her initials, and there’s a famous photo of a race official trying to drag her off the course. She finished the race and five years later women were finally allowed to participate equally. I grew up watching the marathon pass through my hometown, and then took my kids to watch it run through our neighborhood in Boston. Switzer’s accomplishment helped to make it an event everyone could celebrate.
Molly MacRae: In all of history? Really? Okay, the unknown Mesolithic person who organized and oversaw the building of Skara Brae in Orkney. The houses, tunnels between houses, built-in stone benches—all of it is a work of genius.
Heather Weidner: There are so many. Jane Goodall, Helen Keller, and Florence Nightingale. I read their biographies in elementary school, and all were inspiring women who made a difference.
James M. Jackson: Ben Franklin: he did it all: scientist, inventor, author, philosopher, revolutionary, diplomat, framer of our nation, and flawed.
Martha Reed: Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator of Egypt. She stayed in the game until her dying day and died on her own terms. It fascinates me how historians (and Hollywood) insist on portraying her as a beguiling feminine beauty instead of an astute politician and master-class world leader and getting her so wrong.
Margaret Hamilton: Antonio Vivaldi.
Sarah Burr: The British Royal family. With all their scandals and drama, they’ve entertained me for decades, but I also appreciate the charity work they do. Prince William and Princess Catherine are examples of how privileged individuals can give back to the world. The work Prince William is doing, in particular, to save the planet and end homelessness, is truly inspiring, and the wealthy could learn a valuable lesson from him.
Kait Carson: Beryl Markham – she refused to be defined – the first African bush pilot and, the female thoroughbred trainer. Amazing woman.
Susan Van Kirk: Thomas Paine, because his words had the power to move peoples’ souls.
Elaine Douts: Ben Franklin—because he got us the money, and I think he had a great, jolly time doing so! (He was also from PA, my home state.
K.M. Rockwood: Abraham Lincoln. My image of him is as a sincere, humble statesman who had the best interests of the country at heart.
Debra H. Goldstein: I’m torn between Golda Meier and Frances Perkins. Both held positions that had always been held by men – Prime Minister of Israel and Secretary of Labor (a cabinet position), respectively. Both were responsible for forward thinking ideas, decisions, and programs that impacted their countries.
