George Edward Fox (born December 17, 1945) is a researcher at the University of Houston and, with Carl Woese in the early 1970s, was the first scientist to classify Archaea as a separate domain of life within the three-domain system. Fox and Woese also introduced the idea of a progenote as a primordial entity in the evolution of life. While with Woese, he pioneered use of comparative analysis in prediction of RNA secondary structure. Using comparative analysis, he also recognized the limitations that RNA sequences could provide when identifying closely related species. His research centers around understanding the early evolution of life. Fox contends that one of the earliest components of the genetic machinery to appear in a form bearing resemblance to its modern equivalent was the ribosome. His research is actively involved in the search for biosignatures on Mars.

Fox received his B.A. degree in 1967, and completed his Ph.D. degree in 1974; both in chemical engineering at the Syracuse University. From 1973 till 1977, he was a research associate with Carl Woese at the University of Illinois. He became an assistant professor of biochemical & Biophysical Sciences at the University of Houston in 1977; he became a full professor there in 1986.

George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691) was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.

The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war. He rebelled against the religious and political authorities by proposing an unusual and uncompromising approach to the Christian faith. He travelled throughout Britain as a dissenting preacher, for which he was often persecuted by the authorities who disapproved of his beliefs.

Fox married Margaret Fell, the widow of one of his wealthier supporters; she was a leading Friend. His ministry expanded and he undertook tours of North America and the Low Countries, between which he was imprisoned for over a year. He spent the final decade of his life working in London to organize the expanding Quaker movement.

Though his movement attracted disdain from some, others such as William Penn and Oliver Cromwell viewed Fox with respect. His journal, first published after his death, is known even among non-Quakers for its vivid account of his personal journey.

George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799) was the first President of the United States of America, serving from 1789 to 1797, and the dominant military and political leader of the United States from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. Washington became the first president, by unanimous choice, and oversaw the creation of a strong, well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the wars raging in Europe, suppressed rebellion, and won acceptance among Americans of all types. His leadership style established many forms and rituals of government that have been used since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. Washington is universally regarded as the "Father of his country."

Joseph (Hebrew יוֹסֵף, "Yosef"; Greek: Ἰωσήφ) is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ (in distinction to God the Father, his "heavenly father"). In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Christian traditions he is regarded as Saint Joseph.

The Pauline epistles, generally considered the earliest extant Christian records, make no reference to Jesus' father; nor does the Gospel of Mark, generally considered the first of the gospels. The first appearance of Joseph is therefore in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Each contains a genealogy of Jesus tracing his ancestry back to King David, but the two are from different sons of David; Matthew follows the major royal line from Solomon, while Luke follows a minor line from Nathan, another son of David and Bathsheba. Consequently all the names between David and Joseph are different. According to Matthew "Jacob was the father of Joseph," while according to Luke, Joseph, or possibly Jesus, is said to be "of Heli." Some scholars reconcile the genealogies by viewing the Solomonic lineage as Joseph's major royal line, and the Nathanic lineage in Luke to be Mary's minor line.

George Mason IV (December 11, 1725 – October 7, 1792) was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Along with James Madison, he is called the "Father of the Bill of Rights." For these reasons he is considered one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States.

Like anti-federalist Patrick Henry, Mason was a leader of those who pressed for the addition of explicit States rights and individual rights to the U.S. Constitution as a balance to the increased federal powers, and did not sign the document in part because it lacked such a statement. His efforts eventually succeeded in convincing the Federalists to add the first ten amendments of the Constitution. These amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were based on the earlier Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason had drafted in 1776.

On the nagging issue of slavery, Mason walked a fine line. Although a slaveholder himself, he found slavery repugnant for a variety of reasons. He wanted to ban further importation of slaves from Africa and prevent slavery from spreading to more states. However, he did not want the new federal government to attempt to ban slavery where it already existed, because he anticipated that such an act would be difficult and controversial.