Peter Hess Stone (February 27, 1930 – April 26, 2003) was an American writer for theater, television and movies.

Stone was born in Los Angeles. His mother, Hilda (née Hess), was a film writer, and his father, John Stone (born Saul Strumwasser) was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple and Charlie Chan movies. He graduated from University High School, attended Bard College starting in 1947, and received a Master's degree from Yale University in 1953. In 1964, Stone won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his screenplay for Charade.

Stone is among that rarefied group of writers who have conquered stage, screen, and television by winning an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy. In 1965, he won an Oscar for his work as a screenwriter on Father Goose. He won Tony Awards for his books for the Broadway musicals Titanic, Woman of the Year and 1776. He won an Emmy for a 1962 episode of The Defenders.

Shortly after Stone's death, in a memorial ceremony held June 30, 2003, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, it was observed that the two most famous ships of all time were Noah's Ark and the Titanic, and that Stone had written Broadway musicals about both of them (Noah's Ark being the topic of Two by Two).

John Adams (October 30, 1735 (O.S. October 19, 1735)  – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, and the second President of the United States (1797–1801). He was also a lawyer, statesman, diplomat, political theorist, and a leading champion of independence in 1776. Hailing from New England, Adams, a prominent lawyer and public figure in Boston, was highly educated and represented Enlightenment values promoting republicanism. A Federalist, he was highly influential and one of the key Founding Fathers of the United States.

Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution. As a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, he played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence and assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence. As a diplomat in Europe, he was a major negotiator of the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain, and chiefly responsible for obtaining important loans from Amsterdam bankers. A political theorist and historian, Adams largely wrote the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which soon after ended slavery in Massachusetts, but was in Europe when the federal Constitution was drafted on similar principles later in the decade. One of his greatest roles was as a judge of character: in 1775, he nominated George Washington to be commander-in-chief, and 25 years later nominated John Marshall to be Chief Justice of the United States.