Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of meters and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy and color; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters and nearly 3,000 drawings by him exist. Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881) was a Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher. Considered one of the most important social commentators of his time, he presented many lectures during his lifetime with certain acclaim in the Victorian era. One of those conferences resulted in his famous work On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History where he explains that the key role in history lies in the actions of the "Great Man", claiming that "History is nothing but the biography of the Great Man". Anna Swanwick (1813 - 1899) was an English author and feminist. Miss Swanwick's life was divided between literary pursuits and active philanthropy. She never sought publicity, but her example and influence had an important and invigorating effect on women's education and on their position in the community. She signed John Stuart Mill's petition to parliament in 1865 for the political enfranchisement of women. The University of Aberdeen conferred on her the honorary degree of LL.D. She was a Unitarian. Miss Swanwick was the centre of a large circle of distinguished friends, who included Crabb Robinson, Tennyson, Browning, Gladstone, James Martineau, and Sir James Paget, and these, with many others, were frequent visitors at her house. Her marvelous memory made her a delightful talker, and she was full of anecdotes in her later years about the eminent persons she had known.