Personal Pantheon: Tier List

Criteria — three non-negotiable filters, applied ruthlessly:

1. Work — Enjoyable, flow-state, difficult, competent, successful, important, engaging
2. Relationships — Healthy family. No divorce. Kids who love and don’t resent you. Thriving lifelong non-ephemeral friendships
3. Flourishing — Happy, content, genuinely good internal experience

All three must be present. Great work with a destroyed family is a fail. Happy family with mediocre or immoral work is a fail. Any clear moral stain (antisemitism, authoritarianism beyond a reasonable threshold, etc.) is a fail or demerit.

70 people evaluated. S tier has 9.

---

The Two Axes

The people cluster along two dimensions.

Axis 1: Fuel source

What drives the work? Six fuel sources, in two groups.

Renewable fuels — boundable by temperament. Can be put down at dinner.

Curiosity. The puzzle, the question, the phenomenon. The ego is attached to understanding, not to the answer or to being the one who found it. Thorp, Shannon, Darwin, Maxwell, Moore, Hewlett, Packard, Huang. These people tend to have stable personal lives because the work doesn’t demand worship — it demands concentration, and concentration has natural stopping points. The fuel is renewable: yesterday’s solved puzzle makes today’s unsolved puzzle more interesting, not less.

Craft. The doing, the making, the practice. The ego is attached to quality, not to scale. Berry, Wooden, Faraday, Graves, Chouinard. Very high personal-life success rate because the pace is humane, the ego demands are low, and there’s no insatiable appetite for “more.” Berry just farms and writes. Graves just makes chicken. The internal experience is often the best of any fuel source.

Duty. Service to something larger than the self — workers, institutions, democracy, children. The ego is attached to the institution or the people served, not to personal glory. Rogers, Marshall, Washington, Carter, Adenauer, Nimitz, Sinegal. This fuel has the best personal-life track record because the same temperament that makes someone a reliable steward makes them a reliable partner and parent. They don’t need the work to validate their identity, so they have identity left over for family.

Cultivation. Growing the scene — convening people, creating institutions, building the conditions for others to do great work. The ego is attached to the network and what it produces, not to personal output. Energized by the combinatorics of people and ideas, not by obligation. Bush, Osler, Herschel, Banks. This fuel is structurally unique: it creates a pull toward relational presence because the work is the network. The challenge is that the output is indirect. The cultivator’s greatest achievement is often other people’s achievements. Banks doesn’t have a discovery. Bush’s most cited work is an essay. Osler’s proudest achievement was a teaching system. But the importance is real: without the scene, the discoveries don’t happen.

Consuming fuels — unboundable. Demand everything.

Conquest. Building, winning, expanding, dominating. The empire is the identity. Musk, Bezos, Caesar, Trippe, Ford, Hamilton, Bismarck, Noyce. Personal lives suffer because the empire’s demands are insatiable and the person can’t distinguish between “the empire needs me” and “I need the empire.” The work is never finished — there’s always another market, another conquest, another competitor.

Compulsion. Can’t stop. The drive is involuntary and consuming — felt as need, not want. Rickover, Land, Bosch, Kierkegaard. The difference from curiosity is the internal experience: the curious person is energized; the compulsive person is consumed. Rickover was lonely and combative. Land worked 18-20 hour days. Bosch drank himself to death. Kierkegaard was deeply unhappy. These people often can’t stop, and the inability to stop poisons everything else.

Axis 2: Relational posture

How do they relate to the people around them?

Present. Relationships are ends in themselves. Actively maintained, not squeezed in between work sessions. The person has boundaries — not enforced by willpower, but natural to their temperament.

Absorbed. People are secondary. Physically or emotionally absent from relationships. Not always malicious — often warm in person, which makes the absence sting more because it reads as a choice.

---

S Tier — Passes all three filters cleanly

Ed Thorp

Fuel: Curiosity

Married Vivian in 1956, together until her death in 2011 — 55 years. Three children. Closed his hedge fund specifically to spend more time with family. His own framing of success: “Success for us was having the best life.” Beat casinos at blackjack, beat Wall Street with quantitative strategies, built enormous wealth, never let it consume him. Remarried happily later in life. Wrote about his life with genuine warmth. Possibly the single best exemplar of all three criteria simultaneously.

Why he works as a model: The ambition was always instrumental — the game was interesting, the math was fun, and the money was a way to live well with people he loved. The work never became the identity.

George Westinghouse

Fuel: Curiosity + Duty

Married Marguerite Erskine Walker in 1867, together 47 years until his death in 1914. Telegraphed or telephoned her every single day they were apart. She died three months after him, saying she had nothing to live for. One son (George III). Pioneered worker safety, gave Saturday half-days before anyone else, refused to crush unions the way his contemporaries did. 361 patents, founded 61 companies. No scandals.

Why he works as a model: Obsessed with problems (AC power, air brakes, natural gas distribution), not with empire or legacy. The empire was a byproduct of solving problems that mattered. Treated people well because that’s who he was, not as a strategy.

David Packard

Fuel: Curiosity + Duty

Married Lucile Salter in 1938 (met while washing dishes at her sorority). Together 49 years until her death in 1987. Never remarried. Four children (David, Nancy, Susan, Julie) — all became active philanthropists. Julie ran Monterey Bay Aquarium (which David funded). Susan served on HP’s board. Children joined the Packard Foundation board at age 21. Co-created the “HP Way” — profit-sharing for all employees, management by walking around, both founders took pay cuts during downturns. Served as Deputy Secretary of Defense. At a 1949 business conference, Packard publicly declared companies owe obligations beyond shareholder profit — a position so unusual his peers considered him “not one of them.” Gave $5.6B to charity.

Why he works as a model: Built a massive company with his best friend while maintaining a management philosophy centered on trust and respect for employees. The family and the company reflected the same values. No gap between the work-self and the home-self.

William Hewlett

Fuel: Curiosity + Duty

Married Flora Lamson in 1939 — “a deeply happy relationship.” She managed the home, compensated for Bill’s severe dyslexia in public situations, and is credited as the template for HP’s “family” culture. She died 1977. He remarried Rosemary Bradford 1978, together until his death in 2001. No divorces. Five children (Eleanor, Walter, James, William, Mary), twelve grandchildren. All continued the family’s philanthropic tradition through the Flora Family Foundation. In later years pursued botany and photography. His 60-year friendship with Packard — formed on a two-week camping trip in 1934, resolved the company name with a coin flip — is the gold standard for partnership. No falling-out, ever.

Why he works as a model: Inseparable from Packard as an exemplar. The friendship itself is a model — 60 years of equal partnership without ego, complementary skills, no competition. Proves that deep collaboration doesn’t require hierarchy.

Vannevar Bush

Fuel: Cultivation

Organized all U.S. wartime R&D as head of the OSRD. Wrote “As We May Think,” anticipating the internet. Mentored an entire generation of scientists and engineers. Married Phoebe Davis in 1916, together 58 years until his death in 1974. Two sons: Richard became a surgeon, John became president of Millipore Corporation. No estrangement. Deep lifelong friendships with Karl Compton (MIT president), Alfred Loomis (physicist-financier), James Conant (Harvard president) — trust-based relationships spanning decades. Blunt but loyal, the kind of person others relied on in crises. Colleagues described him as “energized, not ground down.” Died at 84, mentally engaged to the end.

Why he works as a model: The work was enormous in impact but institutional rather than personal-brand-building. He built ecosystems, not empires. The gardener-organizer archetype: seeing things grow mattered more than getting credit.

John Wooden

Fuel: Craft

Greatest college basketball coach — 10 NCAA championships at UCLA. Married Nell Riley, the only woman he ever kissed. Together 53 years until her death in 1985. After she died, he wrote her a love letter on the 21st of every month and placed it on her pillow — for 25 years, until his own death at 99. Two children. Radiated contentment in every interview into his 90s.

Why he works as a model: The clearest emotional case for S tier. Treated coaching as craft, not conquest. The monthly love letters for a quarter century after his wife’s death say more about his character than any biography could.

Gordon Moore

Fuel: Curiosity

Co-founded Intel, formulated Moore’s Law — one of the most consequential predictions in technology history. Married Betty Whitaker in 1950, together 72 years until his death in 2023. Two sons. Created the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, donating $5.1B. Quiet, unpretentious — split later years between California and Hawaii. Died “peacefully, surrounded by family.” No scandals, no drama.

Why he works as a model: The anti-Noyce. Same company, same era, but Moore was quiet where Noyce was charismatic, stable where Noyce was messy, and present where Noyce was distracted. Proves you don’t need to be the flashy one to build something world-changing.

Wendell Berry

Fuel: Craft

Prolific writer and farmer — dozens of novels, essay collections, and poetry books over 60+ years. Married Tanya Amyx in 1957, nearly 70 years and counting. She types all his manuscripts; he writes longhand, no computer. Two children, both stayed in Henry County, Kentucky, near the family farm. Deep friendships with Gary Snyder, Wes Jackson (Land Institute founder). Resigned from the American Academy of Arts and Letters over environmental principles. Lives exactly what he preaches. Radiates contentment rooted in place and purpose.

Why he works as a model: The most integrated life on the list. The writing comes from the farming, the farming comes from the values, the values come from the place, and the family is embedded in all of it. No compartmentalization. Depends on whether you value the work — writing and farming, not building or inventing — at the same level.

Fred Rogers

Fuel: Duty

Ordained Presbyterian minister. Married Joanne Byrd in 1952, together until his death in 2003 — 51 years. Two sons (James and John). Both sons speak about him with genuine love and warmth. Was privately exactly who he was on television — multiple accounts from people who knew him confirm this. Created one of the most enduring and genuinely beneficial children’s programs in history.

Why he works as a model: His work was a direct expression of who he was as a person, so there was no tension between work-self and home-self. The fuel requires genuine moral seriousness that can’t be faked — you either are this or you aren’t. Different kind of “work” than building companies, but the competence and importance are undeniable.

---

A Tier — Passes all three with real but minor asterisks

Konrad Adenauer

Fuel: Duty

Led West Germany’s democratic reconstruction. First wife Emma died 1916. Remarried Auguste Zinsser 1919, who died 1948 — her health had been broken by Gestapo interrogation. Both marriages loving, ended only by death. Eight children, all remained close and loyal. Adenauer himself was imprisoned twice by the Nazis. Found solace in his rose garden, Catholic faith, and family. Lived to 91, active and purposeful.

Asterisk: Protected some ex-Nazis in his postwar government, notably Hans Globke, who had written legal commentaries on the Nuremberg racial laws. A genuine moral stain, but reflects Cold War realpolitik rather than personal moral failing — Adenauer himself resisted the Nazis at great personal cost.

James J. Hill

Fuel: Curiosity

Built the Great Northern Railway — the only transcontinental railroad without government land grants or subsidies. Married Mary Theresa Mehegan in 1867, 49 years until his death. Ten children (seven survived to adulthood). Strong family cohesion; son Louis became railroad president. Major philanthropist: donated to schools, churches, seminaries, disaster relief. Promoted agricultural education for farmers along his rail lines.

Asterisks: Youngest son Walter was a genuine black sheep (four marriages, car crashes, fired from the railroad). Wife Mary banished eldest son James Norman for marrying a divorced woman. Some competitive ruthlessness in business, though he was considered more ethical than peers (Harriman, Gould). Overall record is strong.

John Adams

Fuel: Duty

The Adams-Abigail correspondence is the gold standard for intellectual partnership in a marriage. 54 years together until her death in 1818. Six children. Son John Quincy became president. Enormous historical contribution — argued for independence, served as first VP and second president, orchestrated peaceful transfer of power.

Asterisks: Son Charles became an alcoholic and died at 30. Son Thomas also struggled with alcohol. The Alien and Sedition Acts are a real moral mark. The marriage is extraordinary, but the “kids who love you” criterion has complications across the full set of children.

Yvon Chouinard

Fuel: Craft

Married Malinda Pennoyer in 1971, 50+ years and counting. Two children (Fletcher, a surfboard designer, and Claire, an artist). Malinda was Patagonia’s first CEO and co-drove the environmental mission. Neither child wanted to run Patagonia, and Chouinard said “I don’t blame them.” The 2022 transfer of the $3B company to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and Holdfast Collective was a shared family decision, not a source of conflict — a shared relief. Deep lifelong friendships from the 1950s-60s Yosemite climbing scene (Tom Frost, Doug Tompkins, Royal Robbins). Friendship with Tompkins lasted until Tompkins’s death in 2015. Clean moral record. Kept climbing and surfing into his 80s.

Asterisk: Reluctant businessman who disliked the corporate side. He loved designing gear and being outdoors, not running a company. Work enjoyment was mixed — the “enjoyable work” criterion applies to the craft, not the business.

Jimmy Carter

Fuel: Duty

Married Rosalynn for 77 years — the longest presidential marriage in history. Four children, 11 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren. Post-presidency (Carter Center, Habitat for Humanity, Nobel Peace Prize 2002) is arguably the greatest second act of any president. Shared hobbies: bird-watching, fly-fishing. Genuinely devoted to the end.

Asterisk: Middling presidency. The “work” dimension is strongest post-office. But the combination of moral seriousness, post-presidential achievement, and family devotion is very strong.

Chester Nimitz

Fuel: Duty

Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet — arguably the most important naval commander of the 20th century. Married Catherine Freeman in 1913; their wartime letters (published as “Best Beloved”) reveal deep tenderness across decades. Four children, including a son who became a rear admiral. After retirement, lived quietly in Berkeley. He is buried alongside Catherine, and alongside his lifelong friends Admirals Spruance, Turner, and Lockwood and their wives — a testament to enduring bonds.

Asterisk: Military career meant long absences from family. The buried-beside-friends detail is one of the most quietly moving facts on this entire list.

George Marshall

Fuel: Duty

Zero ego, universally respected. Truman called him “the greatest American of the generation.” Eisenhower said Marshall was the person he most admired. Refused to lobby for command. Organized the logistics that won WWII, then designed the Marshall Plan as Secretary of State. Nobel Peace Prize. Devoted second marriage to Katherine Tupper Brown (married 1930, together until his death in 1959). First wife Lily died in 1927.

Asterisks: Emotionally reserved in the military manner. No biological children (stepchildren from Katherine’s first marriage). First marriage ended by death, not choice. The moral record and the work are both extraordinary.

Dwight Eisenhower

Fuel: Duty

Supreme Allied Commander, then two-term president. Married Mamie Doud in 1916, 53 years until his death in 1969. Two sons: Doud Dwight (“Icky”), who died of scarlet fever at age 3 — Ike called it “the greatest disappointment and disaster in my life” — and John, who became a West Point graduate, Army officer, ambassador to Belgium, and military historian, and wrote admiringly of his father. Contented retirement at Gettysburg farm — painted, golfed, wrote memoirs, enjoyed grandchildren. Maintained a lifelong “gang” of close friends (Bill Robinson, Cliff Roberts, Ellis Slater). His dying words: “I’ve always loved my wife. I’ve always loved my children. I’ve always loved my grandchildren. And I have always loved my country.”

Asterisk: The Kay Summersby question. Summersby was his wartime driver and secretary. Her 1975 memoir (written while dying of cancer, with a ghostwriter) claimed a romantic relationship that was never consummated — her earlier 1948 memoir made no such claim. The purported letter from Ike to Marshall requesting permission to divorce Mamie has never been found in archives. Historian Robert Ferrell found no mention of Summersby on the original Truman interview tapes. Most Eisenhower biographers dismiss the affair. Mamie described the post-war and White House years as the happiest of her life. The evidence is too weak to constitute a clear fail, but strong enough to prevent a clean S-tier pass.

J.R.R. Tolkien

Fuel: Craft

Created the modern fantasy genre with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Married Edith Bratt in 1916, 55 years. Their love story inspired Beren and Luthien — he literally wrote her into his mythology. Four children, all adored him; Christopher became his literary executor and lifelong champion. After Edith’s death, he had “Luthien” engraved on her tombstone; “Beren” was later added to his.

Asterisks: Edith sometimes resented his close friendship with C.S. Lewis and his insistence on Catholicism. The marriage had real friction. But the devotion was genuine and deep — the tombstone engravings speak for themselves.

Charles Darwin

Fuel: Curiosity

Revolutionized biology with the theory of evolution. Married his cousin Emma Wedgwood in 1839; their correspondence reveals deep affection across 43 years. Ten children in a warm, non-authoritarian household; three sons became Fellows of the Royal Society. Emma nursed him devotedly through decades of chronic illness, and he died in her arms. The marriage worked despite significant religious disagreement — he was agnostic, she devout.

Asterisks: Daughter Annie died at age 10, devastating him. His own chronic illness cast a long shadow. But the family life was genuinely loving despite the grief.

Jim Sinegal

Fuel: Duty

Built Costco into one of the most admired companies in the world. Lowest employee turnover in American retail. Answered his own phone, wore a nametag reading “JIM,” capped his own salary while paying employees far above industry norms. Described as having “a moral compass and an attentiveness to humane and ethical behavior” that pervaded everything. Married Janet since 1962, three children. They run the Sinegal Family Foundation together.

Asterisk: Lower profile means less data, but what exists is clean and consistent.

Claude Shannon

Fuel: Curiosity

Built information theory — arguably the most important intellectual contribution of the 20th century. Then spent decades building juggling machines and riding unicycles through Bell Labs hallways. Married Betty Moore (also a mathematician) in 1949, together until his death in 2001. Three children. Genuinely did not care about status or credit. The work was play and the play was work and he didn’t seem to distinguish.

Asterisk: Not much documented about family life in detail. Partly inferring from the absence of negative evidence. Developed Alzheimer’s later in life.

Jensen Huang

Fuel: Curiosity

Built Nvidia into one of the most valuable companies in the world. Married Lori (college sweethearts at Oregon State), 40+ years. Two children (Madison and Spencer), stayed private. Maintains close ties with Nvidia co-founders Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem decades later. Known as intensely loyal. Projects energy and enthusiasm consistently.

Asterisk: Still mid-career, limited public info on family dynamics. Could move to S tier with time.

Michael Faraday

Fuel: Craft + Curiosity

Unified electromagnetism, invented the electric motor and generator, discovered benzene. Also one of the great scientific scene-builders: established the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1825 — still running nearly 200 years later — and the Friday Evening Discourses, transforming the RI from a struggling institution into the premier venue for public science in Britain. Personally delivered 19 series of Christmas Lectures. Mentored John Tyndall, who became his successor and greatest champion. The cultivation was a natural extension of the craft — he loved sharing the beauty of science as much as discovering it. Married Sarah Barnard in 1821, together 46 years until his death. No children — but deeply embedded in his Sandemanian church community, universally regarded as warm and generous. Turned down a knighthood. Turned down the presidency of the Royal Society. Twice. Zero ego noise. The work was the reward. The humility wasn’t performative — he genuinely didn’t want status.

Asterisk: No children — the “kids who love you” criterion is untestable, not failed. Everything else is spotless. The only reason he’s not S tier.

Todd Graves

Fuel: Craft

Married his college sweetheart, still together. Built Raising Cane’s into a massive restaurant chain from a single location. Deliberately bounded ambition — he just makes chicken. Invested heavily in Baton Rouge community. No scandals. Seems to genuinely enjoy what he does without existential torment about whether it’s important enough. The appropriately scoped ambition might be exactly why it works.

Asterisk: Still mid-career, limited public data on family life. Work importance is lower than most entries — the life is exemplary but the “great work” criterion is thinner. Could move to S tier with time if the arc holds.

George Washington

Fuel: Duty

Won the Revolution, established the presidency, then voluntarily relinquished power — the act that stunned the world and defined the republic. Married Martha Dandridge Custis in 1759, together 40 years until his death in 1799. No biological children; raised Martha’s two children (Jacky and Patsy) and later their grandchildren. Deep lifelong friendships: Lafayette (a father-son bond that lasted decades), Henry Knox (“no man in the United States with whom I have been in habits of greater intimacy”), and many others. Repeatedly expressed that his greatest desire was to return to Mount Vernon: “I had rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me, than to be attended at the Seat of Government by the Officers of State.” Genuinely content in retirement, farming and managing his estate.

Asterisks: Slaveholder. Owned hundreds of enslaved people throughout his life. He evolved: freed all 123 of his own slaves in his will — one of the only founding slaveholders to do so — and expressed that slavery had become “a huge moral issue” for him. But the emancipation came only at death, and 153 dower slaves belonging to the Custis estate were not freed. A genuine moral stain, mitigated by historical context and late-life reckoning but not erasable. Stepdaughter Patsy died of epilepsy at 17; stepson Jacky died of camp fever during the Revolution. Devastating losses, but not failures of character.

James Clerk Maxwell

Fuel: Curiosity

Achieved the second great unification in physics — electricity, magnetism, and light as one phenomenon. Einstein considered Maxwell’s work the most profound contribution to physics since Newton. Also founded statistical mechanics. Married Katherine Dewar in 1858; biographer Lewis Campbell described their married life as “one of unexampled devotion.” Katherine assisted in his experiments — Maxwell wrote that she “did all the real work of the kinetic theory.” Deep friendships: P.G. Tait (lifelong, from schoolboy days at Edinburgh Academy), Michael Faraday, Lord Kelvin. Colleagues universally described him as humble, genial, and kind — “such complete unselfishness and tender consideration as he exhibited for those around him are seldom to be met with.” On his deathbed at 48, dying of the same cancer that killed his mother at the same age, he said: “I have been thinking how very gently I have always been dealt with. I have never had a violent shove all my life.”

Asterisks: No children — the “kids who love you” criterion can’t be evaluated. Died at 48, limiting the dataset. What exists is extraordinarily clean: no divorce, devoted marriage, warm friendships, genuine contentment at the end. The early death and childlessness are the only reasons he’s not S tier.

Norman Borlaug

Fuel: Duty

Father of the Green Revolution. Married Margaret Gibson in 1937, together until her death in 2007 — 70 years. Two children. Arguably saved a billion lives by developing high-yield, disease-resistant wheat for the developing world. Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal.

Asterisk: Lived in Mexico away from his family for years at a time. The work is so staggeringly important it’s hard to fault him, but the “present father” criterion is genuinely compromised. Classic case of the absent pattern — the absence wasn’t selfishness, but the family still paid the cost.

Walt Disney

Fuel: Curiosity

Married Lillian Bounds in 1925, 41 years until his death. Two daughters: Diane (biological) and Sharon (adopted). Drove his daughters to school every day, didn’t bring work home. Diane designed the Walt Disney Family Museum and spoke warmly of him throughout her life. Built one of the most enduring entertainment empires in history.

Asterisks: The workplace was demanding — the 1941 animators’ strike revealed harsh labor practices, and he testified before HUAC, naming alleged communists among his employees. Strained relationship with brother Roy. The antisemitism accusations are disputed: Neal Gabler’s deep-dive into the Disney archives concluded the evidence doesn’t support it, but his association with the Motion Picture Alliance earned him the reputation. The “cold and controlling” characterization applies to the workplace, not the home — a genuine split.

Niels Bohr

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

Nobel Prize, fundamentally shaped quantum mechanics — but his deepest contribution may have been the scene he built. Founded the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen (1921) and turned it into the world center for atomic physics. Heisenberg, Pauli, Dirac, Born, Kramers, Landau, Gamow, and Wheeler all did formative work there — the Institute produced more Nobel laureates than most countries. Created what visitors called the “Copenhagen spirit”: open debate, playful irreverence, radical informality where young physicists were encouraged to challenge anyone, including Bohr himself. His method was the long walk and the unfinished sentence — endless discussions that visitors described as joining a family, not visiting a laboratory. Married Margrethe Norlund in 1912; she was described as making “his whole scientific and personal activity possible and harmonious.” Served as his sounding board, helped him articulate ideas, and co-created the domestic warmth that made the Institute’s social fabric hold together. Son Aage Bohr won his own Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975.

Asterisks: Two sons died young — one in a boating accident, one from meningitis. Devastating, though not a character flaw.

John Herschel

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

Son of the astronomer who discovered Uranus, and possibly the more important Herschel. Surveyed the entire southern sky from Cape Town (1834–38), cataloging 68,948 stars and 1,700 nebulae. Coined “photography,” “positive,” and “negative.” Wrote Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy, which Darwin called the single most influential thing he ever read — and then Darwin modeled the structure of Origin of Species on it. Co-founded the BAAS with Whewell and Babbage. But his real genius was connective: 10,900 surviving letters, the largest Victorian scientific correspondence. He crossed institutional, political, and philosophical divides to enable cooperation between otherwise isolated groups. Contemporaries called him “the Homer of science” — warm, humble, conscientious, universally admired. Married Margaret Brodie Stewart in 1829, together 42 years. Twelve children — Caroline became woman of the bedchamber to Queen Victoria, William James pioneered fingerprint identification, Alexander became a physicist. Did botanical illustrations together with Margaret in South Africa, which he called “probably the happiest time in his life.” No moral stains.

Asterisk: Depression and nervous breakdown during administrative stint as Master of the Mint (1850–56). Privately called Darwin’s theory “the law of higgledy-piggledy.” The flourishing was real but not unbroken.

William Osler

Fuel: Cultivation

Called the “father of modern medicine” — but his contribution wasn’t a discovery, it was a system. Invented the clinical clerkship: students learning at the bedside, not in lecture halls. Built the residency model. Founded journals, medical societies, and journal clubs at Johns Hopkins. His homes in Baltimore and Oxford were permanent gathering places — open to students, colleagues, refugees, strangers. Colleagues described “an extraordinary capacity for friendship” and warmth that was mischievous and genuine, not performative. His proudest achievement was the teaching system, not the textbook (which he called “a millstone around my neck”). Married Grace Revere Gross (great-granddaughter of Paul Revere) in 1892, stable until his death. One surviving son, Revere, killed at Passchendaele in 1917 at age 21. Osler never recovered — died two years later, seemingly broken by the loss. No moral stains. Baronetcy from George V.

Asterisk: Only child killed in WWI — devastating but not a character flaw. Limited documentation of the marriage’s emotional texture. The flourishing was real but cut short by tragedy.

Josiah Wedgwood

Fuel: Craft + Cultivation

Revolutionary potter who ran 5,000+ glaze experiments to develop creamware and jasperware, industrialized European pottery manufacturing, and pioneered modern marketing. Lost his right leg to smallpox complications as a child, which redirected him from the potter’s wheel to design and experimentation — arguably the best thing that happened to his career. Core member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he connected science and industry: supplied experimental apparatus to Priestley and Lavoisier, shared knowledge across disciplines, built the factory town of Etruria modeled on Boulton’s Soho. Created the “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” abolitionist medallion — one of the most recognizable pieces of anti-slavery iconography ever produced, distributed by Benjamin Franklin in America. Married his cousin Sarah (“Sally”) in 1764 — described as “great lovers” with “a broad sense of humour and a strong sense of family duty.” Eight children. Daughter Susannah married Robert Darwin, producing Charles Darwin. The Wedgwood-Darwin intermarriage network is multi-generational scene-building: the families kept producing scientists, MPs, and reformers for over a century. Deep friendship with business partner Thomas Bentley — Wedgwood was devastated by Bentley’s death.

Asterisk: Suppressed workers’ wages despite progressive rhetoric. Factory conditions were hazardous, though better than competitors’. The “important work” question: pottery is revolutionary in material culture but less obviously consequential than, say, information theory.

Ernest Rutherford

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

Discovered the atomic nucleus, split the atom, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry — for showing that radioactivity was atomic transmutation. “The fastest transformation I’ve ever known,” he quipped, “from physicist to chemist.” But his deepest contribution was the scene he built. At the Cavendish Laboratory (1919–1937), he created the most productive physics lab in history: Chadwick discovered the neutron, Cockcroft and Walton split the atom artificially, Appleton, Blackett, and Powell all won Nobels. Earlier at Manchester: Bohr, Geiger, and Hevesy. The atmosphere was famously low-budget — “string and sealing wax” — loud, and collaborative. He walked the lab daily, knew every experiment, bellowed encouragement. “We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think.” Chaired the Academic Assistance Council, helping Jewish physicists flee Nazi Germany. Married Mary Newton in 1900, together 37 years until his death. One daughter, Eileen, who married physicist Ralph Fowler. Clean moral record. Buried in Westminster Abbey near Newton and Kelvin.

Asterisk: Eileen died in 1935, two years before him — devastating. Only one child, so the “kids who love you” criterion is thin. Died at 66 from a hernia he delayed treating. The flourishing was real but cut short.

Hans Christian Ørsted

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

Discovered electromagnetism in 1820 — the insight that led to Faraday’s motor, Maxwell’s equations, and the entire electrical age. But he was also one of the great scientific institution-builders: founded the Polyteknisk Læreanstalt (now the Technical University of Denmark) in 1829, the Danish Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science in 1824, and served as permanent secretary of the Royal Danish Academy for decades. Coined the word “thought experiment.” Central node connecting Danish science to European networks. Married Inger Birgitte Ballum in 1814, together 37 years until his death. Seven children. Close friendships with Goethe and — delightfully — Hans Christian Andersen, who was a frequent guest in the Ørsted household and regarded him as a mentor. No moral stains. Died at 73, honored and active.

Asterisk: The discovery of electromagnetism was partly serendipitous — he noticed a compass needle deflecting during a lecture demonstration. But the institutional legacy is unambiguous.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

Founded modern neuroscience. Nobel Prize 1906 for establishing the neuron doctrine — that the nervous system is made of discrete cells, not a continuous network. But his ambition was larger: he wanted Spain to matter scientifically, and he built the infrastructure to make it happen. Founded the journal Trabajos del Laboratorio de Investigaciones Biológicas (1901), established the Laboratorio de Investigaciones Biológicas in Madrid (now the Instituto Cajal), trained an entire generation of Spanish neuroscientists, and used his Nobel prestige to lobby for research funding in a country with almost none. His Advice for a Young Investigator is one of the wisest books ever written about the scientific life — pragmatic, disciplined, warm, and genuinely funny. Married Silveria Fañanás García in 1879, together 51 years until her death in 1930. Seven children.

Asterisk: Obsessively consumed by microscopy — the partnership with Silveria was heavily asymmetric by modern standards. Some melancholy after her death and Spain’s political deterioration. The cultivation was nationalist in flavor — he wanted Spain to matter — but the institutional achievement is real and enduring.

Arnold Sommerfeld

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

Possibly the greatest physics teacher who ever lived. Trained more Nobel laureates than any other physicist: Debye, Pauli, Heisenberg, Bethe, and Pauling all came through his Munich seminar (1906–1935). Also closely associated with Rabi. What made it special: he gave students real frontier problems, maintained an open-door policy, mixed experimentalists and theorists in his weekly colloquium, and — critically — let students surpass him without resentment. His textbook Atombau und Spektrallinien trained an entire generation beyond his own students. Opposed the Nazi “Deutsche Physik” movement at personal cost — Stark and Lenard called him a “white Jew” for teaching relativity and quantum mechanics. Married Johanna Höpfner in 1897, together 54 years until his death. Four children. Clean moral record.

Asterisk: Nominated for the Nobel Prize over 80 times — never won. Reportedly stung by this. Killed by a car at 82 while walking with his grandchildren. The flourishing was real but the end was tragic and abrupt.

Joseph Henry

Fuel: Duty + Cultivation

First Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1846–1878) — 32 years building America’s scientific infrastructure. Discovered electromagnetic self-inductance independently of Faraday (the unit of inductance, the henry, honors him), but chose institution over personal glory: resisted pressure to make the Smithsonian a museum, instead establishing it as an engine of original research and scientific communication. Created a national weather observation network (precursor to the National Weather Service), built an international publications exchange system, and made the Smithsonian the hub of American science. Married Harriet Alexander in 1830, together 48 years until his death. Four children. Corresponded cordially with Faraday despite private frustration over priority — bore it with dignity. Clean moral record. Universally respected.

Asterisk: Son William died young. Largely forgotten — like all scene-builders, he put the institution forward instead of himself. The obscurity is evidence of the archetype.

---

B Tier — Strong on some dimensions, meaningfully mixed on others

Theodore Roosevelt

Fuel: Duty + Conquest

The surface read is magnificent — devoted to Edith, kids adored him, boundless joy and energy. He’s one of the most charismatic fathers in American political history. But the multi-generational outcomes are much darker than the surface suggests. He aggressively pushed all four sons toward military glory and the “strenuous life.” Quentin was killed in WWI at 20. Kermit suffered lifelong depression and alcoholism, had a mistress, and committed suicide in Alaska in 1943. Kermit’s son Dirck committed suicide at 28. Alice’s daughter Paulina committed suicide with sleeping pills. Ted Jr. died of a heart attack at 56 on the beach at Normandy. The Roosevelt family had a genetic predisposition to depression and alcoholism (TR’s brother Elliott died of alcoholism too), but TR’s relentless emphasis on martial valor amplified it. He acknowledged this near the end: “To feel one has inspired a boy to conduct that has resulted in his death has a pretty serious side for a father.” He died six months after Quentin, seemingly broken. The joy was real but the costs were enormous. Also: the restlessness looks compulsive rather than joyful — unclear if he was genuinely content or papering over grief with manic energy after his first wife’s death.

Fails on: Multi-generational family outcomes. Two suicides among grandchildren, one son’s suicide, one son killed in a war TR actively promoted.

Charlie Munger

Fuel: Curiosity

Married Nancy Huggins 1945, divorced 1953. Son Teddy died of leukemia at age 9 during this period. Remarried Nancy Barry Borthwick 1956, together 67 years until his death in 2023. Eight children across two marriages. Daughter Molly became a prominent civil rights attorney. His 64-year intellectual partnership with Buffett is one of the great friendships in business history. Also close with Li Lu, Atul Gawande, and many others. Enormous wealth held lightly — lived in the same house for decades. Read voraciously, maintained sharp wit until 99. Famous quote: “The best way to get what you want is to deserve what you want.”

Fails on: Divorce. The first marriage failed during an incredibly painful period. The arc from terrible to excellent is genuine — the second marriage, the friendships, the Stoic contentment are all real. But the early record can’t be erased.

Warren Buffett

Fuel: Curiosity

Eats McDonald’s, lives in the same house, plays bridge. The empire-building is a puzzle with a score. Genuinely seems content. Low lifestyle inflation, low ego entanglement. Intellectual partnership with Munger was one of the great friendships in business history.

Fails on: Separated from first wife Susan in 1977 (she moved to San Francisco to pursue singing), though they never divorced and remained close until her death in 2004. Lived with Astrid Menks from 1978 onward, married her in 2006. Susan even introduced Astrid to Warren. All three sent Christmas cards signed “Warren, Susie and Astrid.” The arrangement apparently worked, but it’s not the clean family picture the criteria call for. Son Peter’s book about being Buffett’s kid is more nuanced than purely positive.

Lee Kuan Yew

Fuel: Duty + Conquest

The marriage is extraordinary — read to his stroke-stricken wife Kwa Geok Choo every night for over two years, walked the Istana gardens arm-in-arm with her every evening during his decades in power. 60 years married. Three accomplished children. Transformed Singapore from a third-world port into one of the wealthiest nations on Earth.

Fails on: Children ended up in a bitter, public, ugly feud over his estate after his death, with siblings accusing the eldest (the Prime Minister) of abusing state power. The marriage passes spectacularly; the children outcome is a genuine failure. Also: authoritarian governance — crushed political opposition, restricted press freedom, used defamation suits to bankrupt opponents. Whether the outcomes justify the methods is a values question.

Henry Kaiser

Fuel: Conquest

Long first marriage to Bess Fosburgh (1907-1951, her death). She advised him on business, they seemed close. Sons worked in the family business. Built an enormous industrial empire. Founded Kaiser Permanente out of genuine concern for workers’ health — the first major HMO. Built Liberty ships, dams, highways.

Fails on: Married Bess’s 34-year-old nurse, Alyce Chester, within a month of Bess’s death — he was 69, she was 34. The fact that she had been Bess’s caretaker during a long illness strongly implies a pre-existing emotional relationship. Son Henry Jr. died at 44 from MS. Total workaholic: 12-hour days until death at 85 “with no indication he knew how to relax.” The worker treatment was excellent, but the remarriage speed and the inability to stop are real marks.

Edwin Land

Fuel: Compulsion

62-year marriage to Helen “Terre” Maislen. Two daughters. Jennifer, at age three, inspired instant photography by asking why she couldn’t see a vacation photo right away. 535 patents — second only to Edison at the time. No personal scandals. Described lab work as play. Deeply fulfilled by the work itself.

Fails on: Famously consumed — 18-20 hour days, told a nephew “My work is my life,” cut off extended family after his father’s death. Not a hands-on father. The defining wound: forced out as Polaroid CEO 1982, left the board 1985, sold all his stock and severed every tie with the company he founded. Reportedly bitter. Founded the Rowland Institute and continued research until his death in 1991, but the Polaroid exit cast a long shadow. The marriage was stable but the evidence points to “stable on paper” rather than warm flourishing.

Richard Feynman

Fuel: Curiosity

First wife Arline — genuinely beautiful, tragic relationship. She died of TB. Second marriage to Mary Lou was a disaster: brief, bitter divorce. Third marriage to Gweneth was stable and happy, two kids. Various accounts of his treatment of women in the 1950s-60s are not flattering. The final chapter was good but the full record is mixed. The profile (playful genius) is aspirational; the personal life execution wasn’t clean enough.

Fails on: Divorce. The strict “no divorce” criterion catches him. The third marriage was genuine, but the second was a clear failure and the pattern of treatment of women is a real mark.

Freeman Dyson

Fuel: Curiosity

Jumped between fields — physics, biology, space, policy — because things were interesting. Never seemed tortured. Wrote beautifully. Comfortable being contrarian without making it his identity. Remarried Imme Jung in 1958, together until his death in 2020. Six children across two marriages.

Fails on: Divorced first wife Verena Huber-Dyson. The work and the vibe are perfect, but the divorce dings the filter.

Richard Branson

Fuel: Conquest

First marriage to Kristen Tomassi 1972, divorced 1979. Married Joan Templeman 1989, 35+ years, two children (Holly and Sam). Built the Virgin empire across music, airlines, space. Genuinely seems to enjoy himself — frames everything as a dare or a stunt. Low shame, high energy.

Fails on: First divorce. The second marriage has lasted 35+ years and seems genuine. The “thrill-seeking as life philosophy” correlates poorly with stable family life in general, but Branson may be the rare exception.

Alexander von Humboldt

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

The most famous scientist in the world during his lifetime, now almost unknown. Spent five years exploring South America, measuring everything, connecting everything — then spent the rest of his life synthesizing it. His Cosmos lectures in Berlin drew over 1,000 attendees per session (free admission, women included — unprecedented in Prussian universities). Published five volumes of Cosmos that sold 87,000+ copies. Directly inspired Darwin (who modeled the Beagle voyage on Humboldt’s travels and sent him an advance copy of Origin), Thoreau, Muir, and Bolívar. Maintained intense lifelong friendships — wrote to his travel companion Bonpland: “I know that I live only through you.” Deep friendship with Goethe. Correspondence spanned continents. Died at 89, still working on the fifth volume of Cosmos — less than a month after sending it to the publisher.

Fails on: Never married — explicitly stated “I regard marriage as a sin.” No children. Not a failure of execution but a deliberate opt-out. The relationship criterion can only be evaluated on friendships, which were deep and genuine. Arguably the greatest scene-builder in the history of science, but the framework can’t fully evaluate someone who rejected its second criterion by design.

Joseph Banks

Fuel: Cultivation

President of the Royal Society for 42 years — the longest tenure in its history. Attended 417 of 450 council meetings despite crippling gout in later decades. Sailed with Cook on the Endeavour at 25, collecting 30,000 plant specimens. Then spent the rest of his life not doing science himself, but building the infrastructure for others to do it: made his Soho Square house a permanent scientific salon, opened his library and herbarium to any scholar, sent botanists worldwide, turned Kew Gardens into the world’s leading botanical institution, maintained scientific correspondence across national borders even during the Napoleonic Wars. Patronized Humphry Davy and connected Alexander von Humboldt to the British scientific network. His own scientific contributions were modest. The work was the scene. Married Dorothea Hugessen in 1779, stable but childless. His sister Sophia lived with them harmoniously and collaborated on his work. His grief at Daniel Solander’s death — “a friend whom I have loved and will always miss” — reveals genuine relational depth beneath the institutional surface.

Fails on: No children. Moral stains: committed imperialist who ignored indigenous land claims, purchased indigenous skulls for scientific collections, facilitated slavery while claiming abolitionist views. The scene-building is extraordinary but the moral record prevents A tier.

Wilhelm von Humboldt

Fuel: Cultivation + Curiosity

Alexander’s elder brother — and arguably the more consequential Humboldt. Founded the University of Berlin (1810) on principles that became the model for every modern research university: the unity of teaching and research (Einheit von Forschung und Lehre), academic freedom, the university as a site of knowledge creation rather than mere transmission. The appointment lasted only 16 months — he resigned in 1810 — but the institutional design was his, and it reshaped higher education globally. Also a pioneering linguist whose theory that language shapes thought anticipated the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis by over a century. Diplomat at the Congress of Vienna. Married Caroline von Dacheröden in 1791 — a deep intellectual and emotional partnership with voluminous correspondence and mutual devotion. Eight children, five surviving to adulthood.

Fails on: Both pursued what they called “free” relationships — Wilhelm had affairs, notably during his years in Rome (1802–1808). Caroline was aware and largely tolerant, understanding it as consistent with their shared ideals of personal freedom. The marriage remained primary and emotionally central to both. Not betrayal in the conventional sense, but not the clean family picture the criteria call for. The university achievement may be the single most important act of institutional cultivation in the history of education — but the personal life is genuinely complicated.

---

C Tier — Clearly fails one or more key criteria

Benjamin Franklin

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

GOAT-tier work, intellect, and social energy. The Junto, the American Philosophical Society, the postal system as connective tissue — his genius was partly convening, which makes the decades of European absence a deeper failure: he had Cultivation fuel, which structurally requires presence, and chose absence anyway. Probable affairs in Paris. Never reconciled with his Loyalist son William. The charm was real; the family man wasn’t. Fails the relationship filter across multiple dimensions on honest inspection.

Alexander Hamilton

Fuel: Conquest

The Reynolds Affair. Died in a duel at 49 leaving his family. The work was historically enormous but the personal life is a clear fail.

Henry Ford

Fuel: Conquest

One long marriage to Clara. But: virulent antisemite — published The Dearborn Independent for years, received the Grand Cross of the German Eagle from Nazi Germany. The moral stain is disqualifying regardless of family stability.

Robert Noyce

Fuel: Conquest

“Mayor of Silicon Valley.” Co-invented the integrated circuit, co-founded Fairchild and Intel. Charismatic and beloved professionally. But divorced, remarried, personal life messy. Fails the relationship filter.

Steve Wozniak

Fuel: Curiosity

Genuinely warm, generous, zero ego. Gave away stock to early Apple employees because it felt right. Teaches elementary school kids. But four marriages, three divorces. The personal warmth is real; the relationship track record is a clear fail. One divorce might be B tier; four marriages is a pattern.

Elon Musk

Fuel: Conquest + Compulsion

Multiple divorces, estranged children, publicly not happy. The work output is extraordinary but he is almost an anti-example for the life criteria. The empire became the identity.

Jeff Bezos

Fuel: Conquest

Divorce, tabloid mess. Same pattern as Musk: world-changing work, failed personal life.

Julius Caesar

Fuel: Conquest

Obviously.

Carl Bosch

Fuel: Compulsion

Nobel Prize. Haber-Bosch process arguably saved billions of lives. But: descended into depression and alcoholism, died at 65 after the Nazis stripped his positions. Fails the flourishing test completely.

Deng Xiaoping

Fuel: Duty + Conquest

Transformed China, lifted hundreds of millions from poverty. Three marriages (first two ended by death and political persecution, not by choice). Third marriage to Zhuo Lin was stable and lasted decades, children accomplished. But: Tiananmen Square is a clear moral fail on any reasonable standard.

Hyman Rickover

Fuel: Compulsion

Father of the nuclear navy — extraordinary achievement in bureaucratic persistence and technical excellence. But: consumed by work, emotionally distant from his one son, few genuine friendships. In 1984, censured for accepting gifts from General Dynamics worth ~$67,000. Forced retirement at 82 devastated him. Driven, isolated, combative. Not a picture of flourishing — more relentlessly driven. Worth studying for the work, not for the life.

Otto von Bismarck

Fuel: Conquest

Masterful statesman. Married Johanna von Puttkamer in 1847, 47 years until her death — a genuinely devoted, loving marriage with tender letters. But: dominated his son Herbert’s life, famously destroying Herbert’s relationship with a woman Bismarck deemed unsuitable. Herbert never fully recovered and became an alcoholic. Bismarck himself suffered chronic insomnia, overeating, heavy drinking, neuralgia, and depression. Post-dismissal years (1890-1898) were bitter. Engineered three wars, manipulated the Ems Dispatch, suppressed Catholics and socialists. The marriage passes; the fathering, the morality, and the personal happiness all fail.

Juan Trippe

Fuel: Conquest

Built Pan Am into the world’s most glamorous airline — pioneered transoceanic flight, commissioned the Boeing 747, democratized international air travel. Married Betty Stettinius 53 years. But: notoriously secretive and manipulative, used relationships instrumentally. Few deep friendships beyond Lindbergh. Emotionally distant at home, not a warm or present father. Forced out as CEO 1968, never recovered emotionally. Not happy.

Soren Kierkegaard

Fuel: Compulsion

Broke off his engagement to Regine Olsen, which haunted him for the rest of his life. Never married. No children. Died at 42. Deeply unhappy. Fascinating thinker, but an anti-example for these criteria.

Alfred Lee Loomis

Fuel: Cultivation + Curiosity

Wall Street tycoon turned physicist. Built a private laboratory at his Tuxedo Park mansion that Einstein called “a palace of science” — Bohr, Fermi, Heisenberg, and Compton all visited, all expenses paid. Did real science himself: 29 peer-reviewed papers, discovered the sleep K-complex brainwave, co-invented the microscope centrifuge, proposed LORAN (which remained essential for navigation until GPS). Then pivoted to the war effort: chaired the Microwave Committee, personally funded the MIT Radiation Laboratory when Congress was slow, and helped develop radar that arguably won the Battle of the Atlantic. Close friendship with Vannevar Bush — “they almost finished each other’s sentences.” Elected to the National Academy of Sciences despite having no PhD.

Fails on: Had a 7-year affair with his laboratory colleague’s wife. Attempted to have his depressed first wife permanently institutionalized — his eldest son had to rescue her. Divorced and remarried the same day in 1945. Two of three sons never forgave him. High society cut him dead: “like a non-person.” Became a total recluse for the last 28 years of his life. The scene-builder who betrayed the relational core.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Fuel: Curiosity + Cultivation

Co-invented calculus, pioneered binary arithmetic, envisioned a universal calculating machine, made foundational contributions to philosophy, law, and diplomacy. Massive scene-building energy: founded the Berlin Academy of Sciences (1700), proposed academies in Vienna, St. Petersburg, and Dresden, maintained one of the largest correspondence networks in the history of ideas — over 1,100 correspondents including Newton, Huygens, Spinoza, and the Bernoullis. His letters alone fill dozens of volumes. The cultivation instinct was genuine: he wanted to connect knowledge across domains and borders.

Fails on: Never married. No children. Died alone in Hanover in 1716, neglected by the court he had served for decades. Only his secretary attended the funeral. Georg I didn’t bother to acknowledge the death. The scene-building was extraordinary but the relational life was empty. The cultivator who built networks for everyone except himself.

Jesus

Unmarried, no children, executed at ~33. Important work of course. Different framework entirely.

---

Summary

Tier	Count	Dominant Fuels	What They Share
S	9	Curiosity, Craft, Duty, Cultivation	Work bounded by temperament, not willpower
A	28	Duty, Curiosity, Craft, Cultivation	Same fuel, minor asterisks
B	12	Curiosity, Conquest, Cultivation, mixed	Divorced, absorbed, opted out, or mixed fuel
C	16	Conquest, Compulsion, Cultivation (failed)	Consuming fuel, moral failure, or relational betrayal
Unplaced	6	—	Insufficient data

Fuel distribution

Fuel	S Tier	A Tier	B Tier	C Tier
Curiosity	5	13	5	4
Craft	2	5	0	0
Duty	4	10	2	1
Cultivation	1	9	3	3
Conquest	0	0	4	9
Compulsion	0	0	1	4

Counts include people with mixed fuels in both categories. The renewable fuels (curiosity, craft, duty, cultivation) account for every S-tier entry. The consuming fuels (conquest, compulsion) account for 0 S-tier entries and 12 of 16 C-tier entries. The four C-tier exceptions — Franklin, Wozniak, Loomis, and Leibniz — have renewable fuel but failed on relationships.

---

Last updated: April 11, 2026 This is a living document. Entries should be updated as new information emerges or as further research is conducted on unplaced candidates.