People behind the words

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213 people, ranked by how much of the catalogue we hold for them. This is a measure of verified material, not of popularity — we do not track what you read.

213 authors

1Ralph Waldo Emerson1803–18821 contestedSelf-Reliance, in Essays: First Series43quotes 2Booker T. Washington1856–19151 contestedUp from Slavery: An Autobiography35quotes 3Samuel Smiles1812–1904Self-Help; with Illustrations of Conduct and Perseverance34quotes 4Henry David Thoreau1817–1862Journal, Volume II: 1850-September 15, 1851 (ed. Bradford Torrey)31quotes 5Helen Keller1880–19681 contestedThe Story of My Life30quotes 6Plutarch46–120On Contentedness of Mind, in Plutarch's Morals (trans. A. R. Shilleto)30quotes 7John Stuart Mill1806–1873Autobiography28quotes 8William James1842–1910The Energies of Men, in Memories and Studies28quotes 9Robert Louis Stevenson1850–1894A Christmas Sermon, in Across the Plains27quotes 10Frederick Douglass1818–1895Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave25quotes 11Lucius Annaeus Seneca4 BC–65Seneca's Morals of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger and Clemency (trans. Roger L'Estrange)25quotes 12Marcus Aurelius121–1801 contestedThe Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (trans. George W. Chrystal)25quotes 13Orison Swett Marden1850–1924An Iron Will25quotes 14Marcus Tullius Cicero106 BC–43 BCLaelius: On Friendship, in Treatises on Friendship and Old Age (trans. E. S. Shuckburgh)24quotes 15Matthew McConaugheyb. 1969Commencement address, University of Houston23quotes 16William H. McRavenb. 1955Commencement address, University of Texas at Austin23quotes 17Abraham Lincoln1809–18651 contestedFirst Inaugural Address21quotes 18Epictetus50–1351 contestedA Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus (trans. George Long)20quotes 19Theodore Roosevelt1858–19191 contestedCitizenship in a Republic, in African and European Addresses20quotes 20Charles Lamb1775–1834The Superannuated Man, in The Last Essays of Elia18quotes 21Denzel Washingtonb. 1954Commencement address, University of Pennsylvania18quotes 22Samuel Johnson1709–1784Boswell's Life of Johnson, Volume II (ed. G. B. Hill)18quotes 23Niccolo Machiavelli1469–1527The Prince (trans. W. K. Marriott)17quotes 24James Allen1864–1912From Poverty to Power16quotes 25Widely circulatedA Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, compiled by Thomas Preston16quotes 26William Hazlitt1778–1830On the Fear of Death, in Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners16quotes 27Arnold Bennett1867–1931The Human Machine15quotes 28Arthur Schopenhauer1788–1860Counsels and Maxims (trans. T. Bailey Saunders)15quotes 29Charlotte Perkins Gilman1860–1935Women and Economics15quotes 30Elizabeth Barrett Browning1806–1861The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume 1 (ed. Frederic G. Kenyon)15quotes 31Florence Scovel Shinn1871–1940The Game of Life and How to Play It15quotes 32Kahlil Gibran1883–1931The Prophet15quotes 33Rabindranath Tagore1861–1941Sadhana: The Realisation of Life15quotes 34Wallace D. Wattles1860–1911The Science of Getting Rich15quotes 35Apsley Cherry-Garrard1886–1959The Worst Journey in the World: Antarctic, 1910-191314quotes 36Ernest Shackleton1874–1922South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-191714quotes 37Henri Frederic Amiel1821–1881Amiel's Journal: The Journal Intime of Henri-Frederic Amiel (trans. Mrs. Humphry Ward)13quotes 38John Muir1838–1914My First Summer in the Sierra13quotes 39Michel de Montaigne1533–1592Of Friendship, in Essays (trans. Charles Cotton)13quotes 40Dorothy Osborne1627–1695The Love Letters of Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple, 1652-54 (ed. Edward Abbott Parry)12quotes 41Louis D. Brandeis1856–1941Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (dissenting)12quotes 42Earl Warren1891–1974Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 48311quotes 43Robert Falcon Scott1868–1912Scott's Last Expedition, Volume I11quotes 44Thomas a Kempis1380–1471The Imitation of Christ (trans. William Benham)11quotes 45Carl von Clausewitz1780–1831On War (trans. J. J. Graham)10quotes 46Emma Goldman1869–1940Anarchism: What It Really Stands For10quotes 47Jane Addams1860–1935Twenty Years at Hull-House10quotes 48Olive Schreiner1855–1920Woman and Labour10quotes 49Thomas Paine1737–1809Common Sense10quotes 50Alexis de Tocqueville1805–1859Democracy in America, Volume 1 (trans. Henry Reeve)9quotes 51Blaise Pascal1623–1662The Thoughts of Blaise Pascal (trans. C. Kegan Paul)9quotes 52Christian D. Larson1874–1954Your Forces and How to Use Them9quotes 53George Washington1732–1799Farewell Address9quotes 54Ulysses S. Grant1822–1885Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant9quotes 55W. E. B. Du Bois1868–1963Of the Passing of the First-Born, in The Souls of Black Folk9quotes 56William Lloyd Garrison1805–1879No Compromise with Slavery: An Address Delivered in the Broadway Tabernacle, New York9quotes 57Florence Nightingale1820–1910Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not8quotes 58Franklin D. Roosevelt1882–1945Third Inaugural Address8quotes 59John Woolman1720–1772The Journal of John Woolman8quotes 60Napoleon Hill1883–1970The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons8quotes 61Robert H. Jackson1892–1954West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 6248quotes 62William O. Douglas1898–1980Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (dissenting)8quotes 63Andrew Jackson1767–1845Proclamation on Nullification7quotes 64Anna Julia Cooper1858–1964The Higher Education of Woman, in A Voice from the South7quotes 65Edmund Burke1729–1797Speech on the Nabob of Arcot's Debts7quotes 66Gerald Ford1913–2006Remarks Upon Taking the Oath of Office as President7quotes 67Harriet Jacobs1813–1897Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl7quotes 68Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.1841–1935Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (dissenting)7quotes 69Richard Nixon1913–1994First Inaugural Address7quotes 70Thomas Henry Huxley1825–1895A Liberal Education, in Autobiography and Selected Essays7quotes 71William Henry Harrison1773–1841Inaugural Address7quotes 72Calvin Coolidge1872–1933To the State Senate on Being Elected Its President, in Have Faith in Massachusetts6quotes 73Donald Trumpb. 1946First Inaugural Address6quotes 74Felix Frankfurter1882–1965Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (concurring)6quotes 75Franklin Pierce1804–1869Inaugural Address6quotes 76G. K. Chesterton1874–1936Orthodoxy6quotes 77George H. W. Bush1924–2018Inaugural Address6quotes 78George W. Bushb. 1946First Inaugural Address6quotes 79Grover Cleveland1837–1908Second Inaugural Address6quotes 80Herbert Hoover1874–1964Inaugural Address6quotes 81Ida B. Wells1862–1931Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases6quotes 82James A. Garfield1831–1881Inaugural Address6quotes 83James Buchanan1791–1868Inaugural Address6quotes 84James K. Polk1795–1849Inaugural Address6quotes 85James Monroe1758–1831First Inaugural Address6quotes 86Joe Bidenb. 1942Inaugural Address6quotes 87Mary Church Terrell1863–1954The Progress of Colored Women6quotes 88Mary Wollstonecraft1759–1797A Vindication of the Rights of Woman6quotes 89Warren G. Harding1865–1923Inaugural Address6quotes 90William J. Brennan Jr.1906–1997Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (concurring)6quotes 91William McKinley1843–1901First Inaugural Address6quotes 92Andrew Johnson1808–1875First Annual Message to Congress5quotes 93Anthony M. Kennedyb. 1936Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 6445quotes 94Benjamin Franklin1706–17902 contestedThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin5quotes 95Benjamin Harrison1833–1901Inaugural Address5quotes 96Chester A. Arthur1829–1886Inaugural Address5quotes 97Dwight D. Eisenhower1890–1969First Inaugural Address5quotes 98Harry S. Truman1884–1972Address before a Joint Session of Congress (the Truman Doctrine)5quotes 99John Adams1735–1826Inaugural Address5quotes 100John Dewey1859–1952Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education5quotes 101John Locke1632–1704Second Treatise of Government5quotes 102John Quincy Adams1767–1848Inaugural Address5quotes 103John Tyler1790–1862Inaugural Address5quotes 104Marcus Garvey1887–1940Man Know Thyself, in Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, Volume 15quotes 105Martin Van Buren1782–1862Inaugural Address5quotes 106Millard Fillmore1800–1874First Annual Message to Congress5quotes 107Rutherford B. Hayes1822–1893Inaugural Address5quotes 108Thomas Jefferson1743–1826First Inaugural Address5quotes 109William Howard Taft1857–1930Inaugural Address5quotes 110Zachary Taylor1784–1850First Annual Message to Congress5quotes 111Charles Darwin1809–1882The Voyage of the Beagle4quotes 112Confucius551 BC–479 BC3 contestedLetter VII, in The Citizen of the World, by Oliver Goldsmith4quotes 113Elizabeth Cady Stanton1815–1902Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences 1815-18974quotes 114Enos A. Mills1870–1922Alone with a Landslide, in The Spell of the Rockies4quotes 115Frederick Winslow Taylor1856–1915The Principles of Scientific Management4quotes 116Hugo L. Black1886–1971New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (concurring)4quotes 117James Madison1751–1836The Federalist No. 104quotes 118John Burroughs1837–1921Wake-Robin4quotes 119John Marshall Harlan II1899–1971Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 154quotes 120John Ruskin1819–1900Sesame and Lilies4quotes 121Lillian Moller Gilbreth1878–1972The Psychology of Management4quotes 122Mary Austin1868–1934The Land of Little Rain4quotes 123Rick Rigsbyb. 1956Commencement address, California Maritime Academy (video)4quotes 124TraditionalCommon saying4quotes 125William Morris1834–1896Useful Work versus Useless Toil, in Signs of Change4quotes 126William Osler1849–1919Aequanimitas, in Aequanimitas, with Other Addresses4quotes 127Xenophon430 BC–354 BCCyropaedia: The Education of Cyrus (trans. Henry Graham Dakyns)4quotes 128Ada Lovelace1815–1852Note A to Sketch of the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage3quotes 129Al-Ghazali1058–1111Concerning Self-Examination and the Recollection of God, in The Alchemy of Happiness (trans. Claud Field)3quotes 130Aristotle384 BC–322 BC1 contestedThe Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle (Everyman's Library edition)3quotes 131Barack Obamab. 1961Inaugural Address3quotes 132Charles Babbage1791–1871Passages from the Life of a Philosopher3quotes 133Charlotte Bronte1816–1855Jane Eyre: An Autobiography3quotes 134Edward Gibbon1737–1794Memoirs of My Life and Writings3quotes 135Elizabeth Blackwell1821–1910Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women3quotes 136Ellen H. Richards1842–1911The Cost of Shelter3quotes 137Friedrich Nietzsche1844–1900Beyond Good and Evil (trans. Helen Zimmern)3quotes 138Harlan F. Stone1872–1946Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (dissenting)3quotes 139Jane Austen1775–1817Pride and Prejudice3quotes 140John Paul Stevens1920–2019Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (dissenting)3quotes 141Kakuzo Okakura1862–1913Art Appreciation, in The Book of Tea3quotes 142Margaret Chase Smith1897–1995Declaration of Conscience (remarks in the United States Senate)3quotes 143Maria Mitchell1818–1889Address to Her Students, in Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals3quotes 144Maria Montessori1870–1952The Montessori Method3quotes 145Mary Shelley1797–1851Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus3quotes 146Mary Somerville1780–1872Personal Recollections, from Early Life to Old Age, of Mary Somerville3quotes 147Nikola Tesla1856–1943My Inventions: My Early Life, in Electrical Experimenter3quotes 148Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Picture of Dorian Gray3quotes 149Richard Jefferies1848–1887The Pageant of Summer, in The Life of the Fields3quotes 150Swami Vivekananda1863–1902Karma in Its Effect on Character, in Karma-Yoga3quotes 151Thomas Carlyle1795–18811 contestedThe Hero as Divinity, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History3quotes 152Thucydides460 BC–400 BCThe History of the Peloponnesian War (trans. Richard Crawley)3quotes 153Thurgood Marshall1908–1993Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 2653quotes 154Woodrow Wilson1856–1924First Inaugural Address3quotes 155Zhuangzi369 BC–286 BCHow to Govern, in Chuang Tzu: Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer (trans. Herbert A. Giles)3quotes 156Barbara Jordan1936–1996Statement in the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry2quotes 157Bill Clintonb. 1946First Inaugural Address2quotes 158Boethius477–524The Consolation of Philosophy (trans. H. R. James)2quotes 159Charles Evans Hughes1862–1948Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 6972quotes 160Francis Bacon1561–1626Of Boldness, in The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral2quotes 161Francois de La Rochefoucauld1613–1680Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (trans. Willis Bund and Friswell)2quotes 162Fyodor Dostoevsky1821–1881Crime and Punishment (trans. Constance Garnett)2quotes 163George C. Marshall1880–1959Remarks at Harvard University on the European Recovery Program2quotes 164George Eliot1819–1880Adam Bede, Chapter LIV2quotes 165Isabella L. Bird1831–1904Letter I, A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains2quotes 166Jimmy Carter1924–2024Inaugural Address2quotes 167L. M. Montgomery1874–1942Anne of Green Gables, Chapter XIX2quotes 168Lewis F. Powell Jr.1907–1998Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 2652quotes 169Lyndon B. Johnson1908–1973Inaugural Address2quotes 170Mark Twain1835–19101 contestedFollowing the Equator, Chapter XLVIII2quotes 171Ruth Bader Ginsburg1933–2020United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 5152quotes 172Sandra Day O'Connor1930–2023Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 5072quotes 173Sun Tzu544 BC–496 BCThe Art of War (trans. Lionel Giles)2quotes 174Thomas A. Edison1847–19311 contestedEdison: His Life and Inventions, by Frank Lewis Dyer and Thomas Commerford Martin2quotes 175W. H. Hudson1841–1922Far Away and Long Ago: A History of My Early Life2quotes 176Abe Fortas1910–1982Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 5031quotes 177Alexander Hamilton1755–1804The Federalist No. 701quotes 178Bram Stoker1847–1912Dracula, Chapter XIV1quotes 179Charles Dickens1812–1870Great Expectations1quotes 180David H. Souter1939–2025Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 (concurring in part)1quotes 181Edith Wharton1862–1937The Age of Innocence, Book II, Chapter XXIX1quotes 182Eleanor Roosevelt1884–19621 contestedThe Invincible Strategy, in The Supreme Conquest and Other Sermons Preached in America, by W. L. Watkinson1quotes 183Eric Thomasb. 1970The Secret to Success: When You Want to Succeed as Bad as You Want to Breathe1quotes 184Frank Murphy1890–1949Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (dissenting)1quotes 185George F. Kennan1904–2005Telegram from the Chargé in the Soviet Union to the Secretary of State (the Long Telegram)1quotes 186George Santayana1863–1952Reason in Common Sense, Chapter XII: Flux and Constancy in Human Nature, in The Life of Reason1quotes 187Harry A. Blackmun1908–1999Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (dissenting)1quotes 188Heraclitus535 BC–475 BC1 contestedThe Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot1quotes 189Herman Melville1819–1891Moby-Dick; or, The Whale1quotes 190John F. Kennedy1917–1963Inaugural Address1quotes 191John Marshall1755–1835Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 1371quotes 192John Marshall Harlan1833–1911Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (dissenting)1quotes 193Joshua Reynolds1723–1792Discourse XII, in Fifteen Discourses Delivered in the Royal Academy1quotes 194Kate Chopin1850–1904The Awakening1quotes 195Leo Tolstoy1828–1910Anna Karenina (trans. Constance Garnett)1quotes 196Lord Acton1834–1902Letter to Mandell Creighton, excerpted in Historical Essays and Studies1quotes 197Louisa May Alcott1832–1888Little Women1quotes 198Marie Antoinette1755–17931 contestedThe Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau, Book VI1quotes 199Michael Faraday1791–1867The Chemical History of a Candle1quotes 200Nicholas Klein1884–1951Address to the Third Biennial Convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America1quotes