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Government & Politics

Presidents, lawmakers, judges, diplomats and commanders — the people who ran the country and argued about how.

All Presidents Political Leaders & Statecraft Law & the Judiciary Military & National Security
Role: Any Legislator 60 President 45 Lawyer 40 Judge 33 Cabinet Official 30 Military Commander 30 Governor 29 Vice President 21 Diplomat 20 Party Leader 20 Revolutionary 17 Activist 8 First Lady 7 Educator 6 Author 5 Intelligence Officer 4
Order: Most notable By term A–Z Born earliest Born latest Longest lived Shortest lived

8 people

Michelle Obama b. 1964Political Leaders & StatecraftFirst Black First Lady who led national campaigns on childhood nutrition and military family support.Bernie Sanders b. 1941Political Leaders & StatecraftVermont senator whose presidential campaigns moved single-payer health care into mainstream debate.Thurgood Marshall 1908–1993Law & the JudiciaryFirst African American Supreme Court Justice and lead attorney in Brown v. Board of Education.Samuel Adams 1722–1803Political Leaders & StatecraftRevolutionary organizer who helped mobilize resistance to British rule and build support for independence.Al Gore b. 1948Political Leaders & StatecraftVice president and 2000 presidential candidate who became a leading advocate for climate policy.Clarence Darrow 1857–1938Law & the JudiciaryDefense lawyer in the Leopold and Loeb, Scopes, and Sweet trialsShirley Chisholm 1924–2005Political Leaders & StatecraftFirst Black woman elected to Congress and first woman to run for a major party's presidential nomination.Betty Ford 1918–2011Political Leaders & StatecraftFirst Lady who spoke publicly about her breast cancer and her addiction and founded a treatment center.