1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [40]
Faulkner, William (1897–1962) Faulkner drew on his experience of the American South, especially his native Mississippi, to create a fictional universe of remarkable depth and richness. He took an intensely local approach that illuminated fundamental and universal human issues, and he did so in a bravura narrative style that combined the timeless elements of traditional storytelling with avant-garde literary modernism, including dazzling shifts in time, place, and the consciousness of his characters. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950.
Felt, W. Mark, Sr. (1913– ) Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein received much of the information that allowed them to expose the Watergate scandal that undid the Nixon presidency from an insider source known only as “Deep Throat.” In May 2005, 30 years after the revelation of the scandal, Felt finally revealed himself as the whistleblower. During part of the investigation of the Watergate scandal (1972–1974), Felt was the FBI’s associate director, its second in command.
Ferraro, Geraldine (1935– ) A member of the House of Representatives, Ferraro was selected in 1984 by Democratic Party presidential candidate Walter Mondale as his running mate. Mondale was defeated by incumbent president Ronald Reagan.
Field, Marshall (1834–1906) Born on a Massachusetts farm, Field became a dry-goods store errand boy, but rapidly metamorphosed into a talented salesman. He moved to Chicago in 1856 and went to work for a mercantile concern, in which he became a partner. From here, in 1865, he joined the merchandising firm of Potter Palmer, which became Field, Leiter and Company in 1867 after Palmer withdrew. The following year, Field and Leiter opened their first department store, which, in 1881, became Marshall Field and Company. Field created the modern department store, adopting as his motto “Give the lady what she wants.” He revolutionized retailing in the United States.
Fillmore, Millard (1800–1874) Fillmore was elected vice president in 1848, ascending to the presidency on the death of President Zachary Taylor in July 1850. He served out Taylor’s term, which ended in 1853. Fillmore sought to appease the South by insisting on strong federal enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act that was part of the Compromise of 1850. This not only alienated the North, spelling the end of the Whig Party, but served to galvanize the abolition movement, giving rise to a militant, radical antislavery faction and bringing the nation closer to civil war.
Finster, Howard (1916–2001) A native of Summerville, Georgia, Finster was a “born again” Christian who became a Baptist pastor and created folk art under what he claimed was the inspiration of God, who enjoined him to preach the gospel through an art assemblage called “Paradise Garden” and some 46,000 individual pieces of art. The incredibly prolific Finster incorporated a dazzling array of images in his art, which included paintings and three-dimensional works, appropriating pop culture icons (especially Elvis Presley), historical figures (Lincoln and Washington), and renderings of more conventional religious images. During the 1970s, his work began to receive national recognition, and he emerged as the first of the so-called “outsider artists,” artists who are not part of the academic or commercial art establishment.
Firestone, Harvey (1868–1938) An early believer in rubber tires, Firestone drove the first rubber-tired buggy in Detroit. He moved to Chicago in 1896 and opened a retail tire business before relocating to Akron, Ohio, in 1900, where he exploited his patent on a device that applied rubber tires to carriage wheel channels. This led to his founding the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, which became