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 [log in to unmask] Visit the Library of Virginia's web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html