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Ideas & Media

Journalists, publishers, scholars, teachers and preachers who shaped what Americans knew and believed.

All Journalism & Mass Media Scholars & Public Intellectuals Education Religion & Religious Movements
Role: Any Author 71 Educator 55 Journalist 49 Activist 31 Religious Leader 28 Broadcaster 27 Economist 24 Philosopher 13 Publisher 12 Psychologist 11 Social Scientist 11 Historian 9 Founder 7 Novelist 6 Central Banker 5 Executive 5 Lawyer 5
Order: Most notable By term A–Z Born earliest Born latest Longest lived Shortest lived

5 people

Alan Greenspan 1926–2026Scholars & Public IntellectualsChaired the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006 across several financial crises.Janet Yellen b. 1946Scholars & Public IntellectualsFirst woman to chair the Federal Reserve and to serve as Treasury Secretary.Jerome Powell b. 1953Scholars & Public IntellectualsFederal Reserve chair who steered monetary policy through the pandemic and the inflation surge that followed.Paul Volcker 1927–2019Scholars & Public IntellectualsBroke 1970s inflation as Federal Reserve chairman through sustained high interest rates.Ben Bernanke b. 1953Scholars & Public IntellectualsLed the Federal Reserve through the 2008 financial crisis and won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Economics.