Thomas Nast (September 27, 1840 – December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was the scourge of Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall political machine. Among his notable works were the creation of the modern version of Santa Claus and the political symbol of the elephant for the Republican Party. Contrary to popular belief, Nast did not create Uncle Sam (the male personification of the American people), Columbia,^{[disambiguation needed ]} the female personification of American values, or the Democratic donkey, though he did popularize these symbols through his art.

Nast was born in the barracks of Landau, Germany (now in Rhine Palatinate), the son of a trombonist in the Bavarian 9th regiment band; he had a half sister named Andie. The elder Nast's socialist political convictions put him at odds with the Bavarian government, and in 1846 he left Landau, enlisting first on a French man-of-war and subsequently on an American ship. He sent his wife and children to New York City, and at the end of his enlistment in 1850 he joined them there.

Ric Burns (born 1955) is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. He has written, directed and produced historical documentaries for nearly 20 years, beginning with his collaboration on the celebrated PBS series The Civil War (1990), which he produced with his older brother Ken Burns and wrote with Geoffrey C. Ward.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Burns moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan at an early age, and attended Columbia University and Cambridge University, breaking from his graduate work to join his brother on the production of the Civil War series. Since founding Steeplechase Films in 1989, he has directed several programs for WGBH Boston's American Experience, including Coney Island (1991). He also wrote and directed The Donner Party (1992).

In 1995, Burns wrote, directed, and co-produced The Way West. In April 2002, Burns completed Ansel Adams, a co-production of Steeplechase Films and Sierra Club Productions for American Experience.

Burns is probably best known for his series New York: A Documentary Film, which premiered nationally on PBS. The eight-part, seventeen-and-a-half-hour film chronicles the city’s rise from a tiny Dutch trading post through its continuing preeminence as an economic and cultural capital of the world.

Rob Rogers born 12 November 1983 is a FIFA Futsal Referee and League of Ireland referee. A notable entrant into RTÉ's Good, Bad and Ugly on their flagship League of Ireland Association Football Show MNS, for his "cheeky backheel".

Rogers was appointed to the National League panel of referees in 2005 as an assistant referee. Rogers took charge of his first League of Ireland match in 2007 in which Athlone Town beat Kildare County by 4 goals to 2.

Rob Rogers was appointed to the FIFA International List for Futsal Referees for the 2009 season. In doing so he became the first ever referee from Ireland to hold this position. He has officiated at the Four Nations championship held in England in December 2008, taking charge of the opening fixture between Libya and Lithuania and the final match between hosts England and Libya before a packed house in Loughborough.