Issued in 1940, this 35-stamp series honors prominent American authors, poets, educators, scientists, composers, artists, and inventors. Each stamp features a portrait of a distinguished individual who made significant contributions to American culture and history.

Itemized List of Stamps:

Authors:

• 859: Washington Irving (1¢)

• 860: James Fenimore Cooper (2¢)

• 861: Ralph Waldo Emerson (3¢)

• 862: Louisa May Alcott (5¢)

• 863: Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) (10¢)

Poets:

• 864: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1¢)

• 865: John Greenleaf Whittier (2¢)

• 866: James Russell Lowell (3¢)

• 867: Walt Whitman (5¢)

• 868: James Whitcomb Riley (10¢)

Educators:

• 869: Horace Mann (1¢)

• 870: Mark Hopkins (2¢)

• 871: Charles W. Eliot (3¢)

• 872: Frances E. Willard (5¢)

• 873: Booker T. Washington (10¢)

Scientists:

• 874: John James Audubon (1¢)

• 875: Dr. Crawford W. Long (2¢)

• 876: Luther Burbank (3¢)

• 877: Dr. Walter Reed (5¢)

• 878: Jane Addams (10¢)

Composers:

• 879: Stephen Collins Foster (1¢)

• 880: John Philip Sousa (2¢)

• 881: Victor Herbert (3¢)

• 882: Edward MacDowell (5¢)

• 883: Ethelbert Nevin (10¢)

Artists:

• 884: Gilbert Stuart (1¢)

• 885: James McNeill Whistler (2¢)

• 886: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (3¢)

• 887: Daniel Chester French (5¢)

• 888: Frederic Remington (10¢)

Inventors:

• 889: Eli Whitney (1¢)

• 890: Samuel F. B. Morse (2¢)

• 891: Cyrus Hall McCormick (3¢)

• 892: Elias Howe (5¢)

• 893: Alexander Graham Bell (10¢