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Ben Franklin
In 1775 Franklin helped draft out the Declaration of Independence. The Founder-of-all-trades— scientist, printer, writer, diplomat, inventor, and more; like his country, he contained multitudes. -
James Madison
In 1788 Madison wrote a third of the Bill of Rights. He fathered the Constitution and wrote the Bill of Rights. -
George Washington
Geaorge Washington made the United States possible—not only by defeating a king, but by declining to become one himself. He became president in 1789. -
Alexander Hamilton
Hamilton was as oldier, banker, and political scientist, he set in motion an agrarian nation’s transformation into an industrial power. He became president in 1796. -
John Marshall
The defining chief justice, he established the Supreme Court as the equal of the other two federal branches. Became Chief Justice in 1801. -
Thomas Jefferson
The author of the five most important words in American history: “All men are created equal.” He became president in 1801. -
Abe Lincoln
He saved the Union, freed the slaves, and presided over America’s second founding. He became president in 1860. -
John D. Rockefeller
The man behind Standard Oil set the mold for our tycoons—first by making money, then by giving it away. He founded his first Oil Company in 1870. -
Thomas Edison
It wasn’t just the lightbulb; the Wizard of Menlo Park was the most prolific inventor in American history. In 1877 he invented the very first phonograph. -
Teddy Roosevelt
Whether busting trusts or building canals, he embodied the “strenuous life” and blazed a trail for twentieth-century America.Teddy became president in 1901. -
Henry Ford
He gave us the assembly line and the Model T, and sparked America’s love affair with the automobile. The first model T was introduced in 1903. -
Woodrow Wilson
He made the world safe for U.S. interventionism, if not for democracy. Wilson became president in 1912. -
Franklin Roosevelt
He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and then he proved it. He bacame president in 1933. -
MLK Jr.
His dream of racial equality is still elusive, but no one did more to make it real.MLK recieved the Nobel Peace Prize Award in 1964. -
Ronald Reagan
The amiable architect of both the conservative realignment and the Cold War’s end. He became president in 1981.
