13 Jan 11
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_of_Fame_for_Great_Americans
From 1900 to 1976, distinguished Americans met every five (or latterly, every three) years to choose the names of even more distinguished, dead Americans to include in a national Hall of Fame for Great Americans (located in New York University's Bronx campus). The nominees had to have been dead for twenty-five years and to have made a major contribution to the economic, political or cultural life of the nation.
The 25-year limit, coupled with the cessation of new nominations in 1976, means that no one is in the Hall of Fame who died after 1950.
So, for American posters: who would you nominate to join the Hall of Fame if it was revived? They need to have died before 1986 (of course, it's fine to nominate people who died before 1950, as long as they weren't in the original Hall of Fame, a list of whose members can be found on the Wikipedia page above).
For posters from other countries, who would you nominate from your country's history to join your own national hall of fame? I suggest choosing a maximum of ten names in the first instance.
13 Jan 11
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Originally posted by sh76Wow, that was prompt! And interesting choices. Conceivably you could get away with Einstein on the grounds that he was a naturalised citizen, but on the other hand, his major work was done in Europe, so that might invalidate him. I take it you are nominating Smith for the Empire State Building, not for his political career? Or was his term as Governor more significant than I realised?
Benjamin Cardozo
Robert H. Jackson
Jackie Robinson
Babe Ruth
Chester Nimitz
Dwight Eisenhower
William Jennings Bryan
Alfred E. Smith
John Wayne
Humphrey Bogart
(Einstein doesn't count; does he?)
Note: Jonas Salk, when he's eligible in a few years
Your choice of actors is probably right, even though Jimmy Stewart is a much better actor than either - less iconic though.
I'll think about my British nominees over dinner.
13 Jan 11
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Originally posted by TeinosukeMaybe my parochial New York view is causing me to take an outsize view of Smith, but he was probably the most beloved politician in NY history and was the person who really brought down the Tammany Hall corrupt dominance of city politics. Nationally, in garnering the 1928 Dem nomination, he represented the rise of progressive urban interests in the United States (this was back when those were good things). He symbolized the rise from nothingness that was and is the "American dream" and without Smith blazing the trail, there's no telling whether FDR could have succeeded.
Wow, that was prompt! And interesting choices. Conceivably you could get away with Einstein on the grounds that he was a naturalised citizen, but on the other hand, his major work was done in Europe, so that might invalidate him. I take it you are nominating Smith for the Empire State Building, not for his political career? Or was his term as Governor more ...[text shortened]... er actor than either - less iconic though.
I'll think about my British nominees over dinner.
As for John Wayne, yes, he was a terrible actor (IMHO), but he was the symbol of American cinema and the face of an entire genre for a long time.
13 Jan 11
Originally posted by PalynkaEnormous contributions to legal jurisprudence in the US, both as a member of the NY Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
Just curious, given the (tenuous) link to Portugal, why did you chose him?
I don't have stats on this, but it felt like we read more Cardozo opinions in law school than of any other justice.
13 Jan 11
Originally posted by KazetNagorraYou haven't been dead for 25 years. Also violating the spirit of things are the still living van Halen and Akkerman, plus Drees (d. 1988) and Tinbergen (d.1994). So I put it to you that you have another five places to fill.
Let's see...
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke
Hendrik Lorentz
Jan Akkerman
Jan Tinbergen
Max Euwe
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
Willem Drees
Anton Philips
Edward van Halen
and of course myself.
I take it you were counting only those who date from after the foundation of the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands - which is a shame given that indisputably the most famous Dutchmen on a world scale are its great painters, Vermeer and Rembrandt (Van Gogh I suppose could be excluded at the basis that his great works were executed in France). And of course there's Erasmus - surely one of the post-classical world's first truly enlightened minds, and a pan-European hero.
13 Jan 11
Originally posted by TeinosukeCome to think of it, I may let you off with Drees, as he played the statistical trick of living to be nearly 102; if he'd died at a normal age, he would have easily been eligible by now.
You haven't been dead for 25 years. Also violating the spirit of things are the still living van Halen and Akkerman, plus Drees (d. 1988) and Tinbergen (d.1994). So I put it to you that you have another five places to fill.
13 Jan 11
Originally posted by TeinosukeWell, it would be hard to include great Dutchmen with such a limit considering there are few. I don't care about painting and Erasmus wasn't really Dutch as there was no Netherlands at the time.
You haven't been dead for 25 years. Also violating the spirit of things are the still living van Halen and Akkerman, plus Drees (d. 1988) and Tinbergen (d.1994). So I put it to you that you have another five places to fill.
I take it you were counting only those who date from after the foundation of the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands - which is a sha ...[text shortened]... ely one of the post-classical world's first truly enlightened minds, and a pan-European hero.
13 Jan 11
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Originally posted by TeinosukeOK - I'm going to cheat. British history is longer than that of the US, so I'm going to supply two lists. The first is of people who would already have been eligible in 1900, when the US Hall of Fame began, ie, who died before 1875. The second is of people who died since 1875.
I'll think about my British nominees over dinner.
Historical list (excluding monarchs):
Geoffrey Chaucer
William Shakespeare
William Tyndale
Oliver Cromwell
Isaac Newton
Captain Cook
William Wilberforce
Horatio Nelson and the Duke of Wellington
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Charles Dickens
List of those who died since 1875
George Eliot
Charles Darwin
Florence Nightingale
Robert Falcon Scott
Alexander Graham Bell
John Maynard Keynes
Alexander Fleming
Winston Churchill
Charles Chaplin
Francis Crick
Admittedly, I'm breaking the 25-year rule myself with the last one. Chaplin arguably could be disqualified on the grounds that his career was almost entirely an American one, but for a poor boy from South London to become, arguably, the most famous man in the world is too impressive to omit.
13 Jan 11
Originally posted by KazetNagorraOf course that assumes that the list is supposed to be of your favourite people, rather than acknowledging those who have had a broad impact in their respective field. I included Chaplin although I don't find him funny, for instance. Also, if I was being strict with the term "Britain", I'd probably have to exclude some of my earlier nominees who date from before the foundation of the United Kingdom. However, I took it to mean natives of Great Britain.
Well, it would be hard to include great Dutchmen with such a limit considering there are few. I don't care about painting and Erasmus wasn't really Dutch as there was no Netherlands at the time.