Carolus Linnaeus – 1707 – Scientist
“A practical botanist will distinguish at the first glance the plant of the different quarters of the globe and yet will be at a loss to tell you by what marks he detects them.”
Thomas Hood – 1799 – Poet
“A moment’s thinking is an hour in words.”
Margaret Fuller – 1810 – Critic
“A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as for the body.”
John Buchanan Robinson – 1846 – Politician
“According to your sympathy, you will take pleasure in your own happiness or in the happiness of other people; but it is always your own happiness you seek.”
Otto Lilienthal – 1848 – Aviator
“To invent an airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything.”
Alfred P. Sloan – 1875 – Businessman
“If you do it right 51 percent of the time you will end up a hero.”
James Gleason – 1882 – Actor
“It’s better to star in Oshkosh than to starve on Broadway.”
Herbert Marshall – 1890 – Actor
“There is nothing an economist should fear so mush as applause.”
John Bardeen – 1908 – Scientist
“Science is a field which grows continuously with ever expanding frontiers.”
Artie Shaw – 1910 – Musician
“Shoot for the moon – if you miss you’ll end up in the stars.”
James Blish – 1921 – Author
“Credit … is the only enduring testimonial to man’s confidence in man.”
Joshua Lederberg – 1925 – Scientist
“Everybody has to learn for the first time.”
Joan Collins – 1933 – Actress
“Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I’ll show you somebody who has never achieved much.”
Robert Moog – 1934 – Inventor
“I happen to think that computers are the most important thing to happen to musicians since the invention of cat-gut which was a long time ago.”
Johnny Ball – 1938 – Entertainer
“There isn’t a single windmill owner in Holland who doesn’t have a second job, for when there is no wind.”
Robert A. M. Stern – 1939 – Architect
“The dialogue between client and architect is about as intimate as any conversation you can have, because when you’re talking about building a home, you’re talking about dreams.”
Martin Puryear – 1941 – Sculptor
“Although idea and form are ultimately paramount in my work, so too are chance, accident, and rawness.”
John Newcombe – 1944 – Athlete
“So there was a fire inside me. And that fire inside you, it can be turned into a negative form or a positive form. And I gradually realized that I had this fire and that it had to be used in a positive way.”
Gary McCord – 1948 – Athlete
“I made nothing happen very slowly.
Drew Carey – 1958 – Actor
“I’m competitive at everything.”
Mitch Albom – 1958 – Author and Journalist
“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to somebody else.”
Karen Duffy – 1962 – Actress
“Concealing an illness is like keeping a beach ball under water.”
Ken Jennings – 1974 – Celebrity
“Being a nerd really pays off sometimes.”
Jayson Blair – 1976 – Journalist
“I fooled some of the most brilliant people in journalism.”