Ralph Waldo Emerson, who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking, as well as a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society and conformity. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche thought he was "the most gifted of the Americans", and Walt Whitman called Emerson his "master". May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882; died at 78. Alive at the same time as Abraham Lincoln, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Darwin, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Vincent van Gogh. Wiki link