This is a very interesting question to ponder. The possibilities listed
thus far are compelling, particularly George C. Marshall, who rarely
seems to get his due as a prominent Virginian, perhaps because he worked
more on a national and global stage (although that in my view speaks
more in his favor than not). For the sake of further expanding such
possibilities, I wonder if we should also work to include figures from
outside politics. Who from, or operating in, Virginia exerted major
influences on fields such as business, science, literature, art, and
music? Would we consider any of them top shelf, so to speak? Naturally
the state has made contributions in all fields, but I am not sure we
could point to much greatness or importance. Any Bill Gateses? Or
William Faulkners? Scrolling through my all-too feeble mental rolodex, I
can't come up with any truly major figures (defined essentially as those
who might be defined as pivotal in their respective fields both inside
and outside the VA-Hist orbit).

I will venture one stab at this question. I suggest the Carter Family,
whose impact on popular music in the U.S. was truly profound. Okay, so
that's three people, not one, but for the sake of this discussion, I
think they need to be considered as an individual entity.

Thanks,

Bland Whitley
Library of VA



-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brent Tarter
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 9:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Great/Important Virginian

Now that the whole of the 20th century is history, let me propound a
question for discussion on Va-Hist:

Who was the greatest or most important Virginian of the 20th century?

Greatness and imporance are not the same (Hitler, because of what he did
and its consequences, might have been the most important person of the
20th century, but he wasn't the greatest), so please give your reasoning
for our considerations and discussions.

Let's hold questions about great and/or important Virginians of other
centuries for the ensuing weeks.

Brent Tarter
The Library of Virginia
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