I concur, and the “number of revotes” does seem to indicate that I do not stand alone.
And, as noon EST has passed, your final vote tally:
1 George S. Patton 16
2 James K. Polk 15
2 John Brown 15
4 Andrew Carnegie 14
5 Philo T. Farnsworth 13
6 Leonard Bernstein 12
6 J.P. Morgan 12
6 Audie Murphy 12
9 Joshua Chamberlain 11
9 Tecumseh 11
Thomas Jefferson 10
Aaron Copland 7
John Marshall 5
Sitting Bull 5
Helen Keller 5
Langston Hughes 4
Jim Thorpe 4
Jesse Owens 4
Henry Bergh 3
Walt Whitman 3
Albert Einstein 2
George Gershwin 2
Thomas Nast 2
Jackie Robinson 2
Will Rogers 2
Upton Sinclair 2
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Alexander Hamilton
Lewis and Clark
James Madison
Edward R. Murrow
John J. Pershing
Edgar Allen Poe
Jonas Salk
John von Neumann
Many thanks, Tom Scud. Sorry to see the great Chamberlain go, in particular, but them’s the breaks. Patton through Tecumseh are now gone.
That leaves us with:
John Adams: President, writer, statesman
Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist
Henry Bergh: Saved children, animals
George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist
Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt): Leader, peacemaker, tactician
Aaron Copland: Composer, musician
Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator
Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic
Albert Einstein: Scientist, activist
Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero
Ralph Waldo Emerson: Philosopher, writer
John Franklin Enders: Modern vaccines pioneer
Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor
Robert Frost: Greatest American poet
William Lloyd Garrison: Abolitionist, writer
George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer
Alexander Hamilton: Financier, economist, statesman
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Supreme Court Justice
Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet
Thomas Jefferson: President, Declaration writer
Helen Keller: Redefined language, mind
Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian
Lewis and Clark (Meriwether and William, resp.): Louisiana Purchase explorers
Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer
James Madison: President, Framer, statesman
George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman
John Marshall: Fourth Chief Justice
Edward R. Murrow: Broadcaster
Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker
Jesse Owens: Famed Olympic athlete
Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer
John J. Pershing: Top WWI general
Edgar Allan Poe: Poet, writer, critic
Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration
Will Rogers: Humorist, social commentator
Eleanor Roosevelt: Reformer, writer, advocate
Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman
Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman
Jonas Salk: Polio vaccine inventor
William Seward: Diplomat; bought Alaska
Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker
Sitting Bull: Indian leader, warrior
Henry David Thoreau: Poet, naturalist, philosopher
Jim Thorpe: Native American athlete
Harry Truman: President, statesman
Harriet Tubman: Civil rights advocate
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn”
John von Neumann: Mathematician, scientist, polymath
Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor
George Washington: President, general, statesman
Daniel Webster: Orator, advocate, statesman
Walt Whitman: Civil War poet
Eli Whitney: Inventor, cotton gin
Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader
Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors
Same rules as to the next round of voting, which will conclude at noon EST on Weds. Feb. 24.
The category-by-category list, updated for round 5:
Politicians and activists:
US Presidents and other political leaders:
Presidents (9/13):
John Adams: President, writer, statesman
Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero
[del]Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist[/del]
Thomas Jefferson: President, Declaration writer
[del]John F. Kennedy: President, “New Frontier”[/del]
Abraham Lincoln: President, emancipator, writer
James Madison: President, Framer, statesman
[del]Richard Nixon: President, lawyer, author[/del]
[del]James K Polk: President, statesman[/del]
Franklin D. Roosevelt: President, reformer, statesman
Theodore Roosevelt: President, conservationist, statesman
Harry Truman: President, statesman
George Washington: President, general, statesman
Other leaders (9):
Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor
Alexander Hamilton: Financier, economist, statesman
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Supreme Court Justice
George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman
John Marshall: Fourth Chief Justice
William Seward: Diplomat; bought Alaska
Earl Warren: Chief Justice, governor
Daniel Webster: Orator, advocate, statesman
Roger Williams: Statesman, religious leader
Native American leaders (2/3):
Chief Joseph (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt): Leader, peacemaker, tactician
Sitting Bull: Indian leader, warrior
[del]Tecumseh: Indian leader, uniter[/del]
Activists:
Women’s rights/suffrage (1/3):
Susan B. Anthony: Suffrage activist
[del]Carrie Chapman Catt: Women’s rights suffragist[/del]
[del]Margaret Sanger: Birth-control pioneer[/del]
Civil Rights/Abolitionists (7/10):
[del]John Brown: Righteous, inspirational abolitionist[/del]
[del]Cesar Chavez: Civil rights activist[/del]
Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, orator
William Lloyd Garrison: Abolitionist, writer
Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet
Martin Luther King Jr.: Preacher, orator, humanitarian
Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration
Eleanor Roosevelt: Reformer, writer, advocate
Harriet Tubman: Civil rights advocate
[del]Malcolm X: Civil rights leader[/del]
Other Activists (4/5):
Henry Bergh: Saved children, animals
[del]Daniel Bliss: Educator, AUB founder[/del]
Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker
Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer
Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker
Scientists and inventors (9/15):
[del]Willis Carrier: Air conditioning pioneer[/del]
George Washington Carver: Agricultural botanist
Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic
Albert Einstein: Scientist, activist
John Franklin Enders: Modern vaccines pioneer
[del]Philo Farnsworth: TV piorneer, inventor[/del]
[del]Richard Feynman: Physicist, Renaissance man[/del]
Benjamin Franklin: Scientist, statesman, inventor
[del]Kurt Gödel: Mathematician, incompleteness theorem[/del]
[del]Carl Sagan: Astronomer, science popularizer[/del]
Jonas Salk: Polio vaccine inventor
[del]Nikola Tesla: Inventor, engineer[/del]
John von Neumann: Mathematician, scientist, polymath
Eli Whitney: Inventor, cotton gin
Orville and Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers, inventors
Businessmen and industrialists (1/7):
[del]P.T. Barnum: World’s greatest showman[/del]
[del]Andrew Carnegie: Industrialist, philanthropist[/del]
[del]Walt Disney: Animator, entrepreneur, icon[/del]
Thomas Edison: Inventor, workaholic
[del]Henry Ford: Inventor, industrialist, philanthropist[/del]
[del]J.P. Morgan: Financial giant, tycoon[/del]
[del]John D. Rockefeller: Billionaire, philanthropist[/del]
Generals and soldiers (3/8):
[del]Joshua Chamberlain: Civil War hero[/del]
Dwight D. Eisenhower: President, war hero
[del]Andrew Jackson: President, general, populist[/del]
[del]Douglas MacArthur: WWII general[/del]
George Marshall: General, diplomat, statesman
[del]Audie Murphy: Decorated soldier, actor[/del]
[del]George S. Patton: WWII general, orator[/del]
John J. Pershing: Top WWI general
Writers (11/17):
[del]Ambrose Bierce: Author, journalist, satirist, critic[/del]
[del]James Branch Cabell: Author, marriage proponent[/del]
[del]Bruce Catton: Civil War historian[/del]
Ralph Waldo Emerson: Philosopher, writer
Robert Frost: Greatest American poet
[del]Robert Heinlein: Science fiction author[/del]
Langston Hughes: Harlem Renaissance poet
Helen Keller: Redefined language, mind
[del]H.P. Lovecraft: Horror writer[/del]
Thomas Paine: Political theorist, pamphleteer
Edgar Allan Poe: Poet, writer, critic
Will Rogers: Humorist, social commentator
[del]Shel Silverstein: Author, humorist[/del]
Upton Sinclair: Author, muckraker
Henry David Thoreau: Poet, naturalist, philosopher
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): Humorist, “Huckleberry Finn”
Walt Whitman: Civil War poet
“Show biz” (1/7):
[del]Lucille Ball: Actress, comedian, redhead[/del]
[del]P.T. Barnum: World’s greatest showman[/del]
[del]Walt Disney: Animator, entrepreneur, icon[/del]
[del]Jim Henson: Beloved children’s programmer[/del]
[del]Marilyn Monroe: Legendary film star[/del]
Edward R Murrow: Broadcaster
[del]Orson Welles: Writer, director, actor[/del]
Musicians and composers (2/6):
[del]Leonard Bernstein: Composer, conductor, educator[/del]
[del]John Coltrane: Musician, composer[/del]
Aaron Copland: Composer, musician
George Gershwin: Prolific, versatile composer
[del]Jimi Hendrix, musician and activist[/del]
[del]Elvis Presley, rock-and-roller[/del]
Comics (1/3):
[del]Walt Kelly: “Pogo” creator, humorist[/del]
[del]Jack Kirby: Comics pioneer[/del]
Thomas Nast: Editorial cartoonist, muckraker
Athletes (3/5):
Jesse Owens: Famed Olympic athlete
Jackie Robinson: Athlete, activist, inspiration
[del]Babe Ruth: Legendary baseball icon[/del]
Jim Thorpe: Native American athlete
[del]Babe Zaharias: Greatest female athlete[/del]
Miscellaneous (1/3):
Lewis and Clark (Meriwether and William, resp.): Louisiana Purchase explorers
[del]Charles Lindbergh: Aviator, American hero[/del]
[del]Frank Lloyd Wright: Prairie School architect[/del]
Going to do a straight vote, 10 candidates and one vote each, this time.
John Adams
Aaron Copland
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Robert Frost
Alexander Hamilton
Chief Joseph
Jesse Owens
Jim Thorpe
John von Neumann
Eli Whitney
Adams and Hamilton as an anti-Federalist vote; Copland doesn’t really move me that much as a musician; Emerson and Frost seem to me relatively weak links in the writer category, which still has too many entries; Whitney’s invention may have done more ill than good; von Neumann just doesn’t quite seem to have the revolutionary effect of some of the other scientists and inventors; Chief Joseph also seems relatively less important than Sitting Bull or Tecumseh for that matter; I’ve been voting Owens and Thorpe for a while and see no reason to stop.
So I don’t have to go back and try and find them, what were the rules again? No more than 5 votes per person?
10 total votes, no more than 5 per person, yeah. Multiple votes in the format:
Person’s name # (i.e. Jack Abramoff 5)
John von Neumann 5
Albert Einstein 5
Jesse Owens 2
Jackie Robinson 2
Jim Thorpe 2
Helen Keller 2
Will Rogers 2
Voting for the athletes just because I don’t really feel like being an athlete qualifies you for greatness. And the other two just because, while interesting people who did many worthwhile things, I’m not sure they qualify for greatness either. And writers are over-represented anyway.
I’m gonna vote a spread this time, these are people who are notable, but I don’t think really embody what I consider to be Great or even Greatest. Also, it’ll be sad to see von Neumann go, but it’s probably time so I’m not going to buffer for him.
Henry David Thoreau
Thomas Nast
Robert Frost
Edward R. Murrow
Jesse Owens
Jim Thorpe
William Seward
Eli Whitney
Aaron Copeland
Langston Hughes
Aaron Copland 5** votes**.
**Thomas Jefferson **5 votes
I concur with you on Jesse Owens and Jim Thorpe, but Jackie Robinson was much more than an athlete–and much more than just some random MLB-level Negro League guy that Branch Rickey picked to integrate the Dodgers. Had his monumental achievements in baseball not come along, Robinson may well be remembered today for winning his court martial, wherein the panel ruled, among other things, that a bus driver was out of line telling a black officer to move to the back of the bus, regardless of what other fabricated charges the CO wanted to hang on the incident.
Sound familiar?
Jackie Robinson is a seminal American figure, and it would be a shame to let him go while we’re still culling the herd.
Now, as to voting:
John Adams x5. Anyone who would sign the Sedition Act and let David Brown and Matthew Lyon sit in jail for orderly protest does not deserve to be in this discussion. At all.
Thomas Nast. I like the cartoons too, but c’mon.
Jesse Owens. An important symbol, but his major accomplishment was running fast.
Jim Thorpe. My boyhood idol, but his influence was largely relegated to playing sports. As first president of the NFL, he was a figurehead.
Will Rogers. Hell of a guy, but not in the same league as Lincoln and Washington. Not really even in the same league as Thoreau and Emerson.
Daniel Webster.
In honor of Washington’s Birthday:
“He is polite with dignity, affable without formality, distant without haughtiness,
grave without austerity; modest, wise and good.” – Abigail Adams, 1789
“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” - Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, 1799
Washington’s Monument, February 1885
by Walt Whitman
Ah, not this marble, dead and cold:
Far from its base and shaft expanding—the round zones circling,
comprehending,
Thou, Washington, art all the world’s, the continents’ entire—not
yours alone, America,
Europe’s as well, in every part, castle of lord or laborer’s cot,
Or frozen North, or sultry South—the African’s—the Arab’s in his tent,
Old Asia’s there with venerable smile, seated amid her ruins;
(Greets the antique the hero new? ‘tis but the same—the heir
legitimate, continued ever,
The indomitable heart and arm—proofs of the never-broken line,
Courage, alertness, patience, faith, the same—e’en in defeat
defeated not, the same)
Wherever sails a ship, or house is built on land, or day or night,
Through teeming cities’ streets, indoors or out, factories or farms,
Now, or to come, or past—where patriot wills existed or exist,
Wherever Freedom, pois’d by Toleration, sway’d by Law,
Stands or is rising thy true monument.
Upton Sinclair x5
Walt Whitman x5
I’m glad Jefferson was saved! The man who wrote “All men are created equal” certainly belongs in the Top Five, and perhaps even the Top One.
4 on Truman
5 on Eisenhower
1 on John Adams
I’m voting the following 10 off the island:
Henry Bergh
Chief Joseph
Aaron Copland
George Gershwin
Edward R Murrow
Thomas Nast
John von Neumann
Earl Warren
Walt Whitman
Eli Whitney
A lot of these are not quite as big as others in their category (Whitman vs. Frost, which is admittedly close; Whitney vs. Edison; Chief Joseph vs. Sitting Bull; Earl Warren vs. a couple others in “other leaders”) . Copland and Gershwin both have probably gone as far as they should go. Ditto for Murrow.
Well put. He was a great American.
Two of the five greatest I picked in a similar poll a few years ago are now gone, and a third (Jefferson) barely survived last round. I was going to slate ten for elimination this time, but could only find seven that I was currently comfortable with voting against. However, I decided to “double up” on the ones I had named previously, and thus keep Eleanor Roosevelt off this ballot. So my choices (subject to strategic change) are:
Helen Keller 2
Will Rogers 2
Jonas Salk 2
William Seward
John von Neumann 2
Daniel Webster
Early Count:
John von Neumann 9
Aaron Copland 8
John Adams 7
Walt Whitman 6
Jesse Owens 5
Jim Thorpe 5
Albert Einstein 5
Will Rogers 5
Thomas Jefferson 5
Upton Sinclair 5
Dwight Eisenhower 5
Helen Keller 4
Harry Truman 4
Eli Whitney 3
Thomas Nast 3
Robert Frost 2
Chief Joseph 2
Jackie Robinson 2
Edward R. Murrow 2
William Seward 2
Daniel Webster 2
Jonas Salk 2
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Alexander Hamilton
Henry David Thoreau
Langston Hughes
Henry Bergh
George Gershwin
Earl Warren
Don’t mean to overstep, but as long as I was doing it for me, I figured I’d share.