Henry David Thoreau

He was born David Henry Thoreau and never made a legal name change.

His brother John cut himself shaving and got lockjaw, dying a few days later in Henry Davis's arms.

He was mentored by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who inspired him to keep a journal, encouraged him to begin publishing essays and poems, and suggested a personal respite near a pond called Walden. Emerson also hosted the Thoreau family at his house for a while and wrote Thoreau's eulogy.

He looked like Abe Lincoln, especially due to a neckbeard that would, according to Louisa May Alcott, "most assuredly deflect amorous advances."

His last sentence on his deathbed was, "Now comes good sailing."

He is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, MA.