W. E. B. Du Bois

W. E. B. Du Bois, a name that echoes with the weight of academic achievement and social change, was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was, by all accounts, a man of letters and action, earning a Ph.D. from Harvard and co-founding the NAACP, which is a fairly productive way to spend one's time, if one is into that sort of thing.

His magnum opus, The Souls of Black Folk, remains a cornerstone of American literature and sociology, tackling the concept of "double consciousness" long before most people even had a single consciousness to grapple with. He traveled the world, observed colonial systems, and generally made intellectuals everywhere feel slightly underachieving. One might say he was rather busy.

Despite a life dedicated to championing the rights of oppressed peoples globally and engaging in profound socio-political thought, there is, rather disappointingly for our purposes, not a single matzo ball in his illustrious biography. No surprise Yiddish phrases, no sudden discovery of a long-lost menorah. He was busy fighting for equality. An admirable pursuit, certainly, but decidedly not a Jewish one.

Later in life, Du Bois became a citizen of Ghana and joined the Communist Party, proving he was always one for dramatic exits and embracing new ideologies. Still, no evidence of attending a Seder. Zero. Zilch.