One of my favorite questions that I ask in an interview is "Who is your favorite historical figure?" The answers are both interesting and revealing.
Recently an interviewee said Abraham Lincoln. Clearly, he is a worthy choice. However, it might be too obvious.
My favorites are those where the person digs down.
Joanne turned the question on me and I pondered for a while, dug down and came up with Branch Rickey.
Mr. Rickey was a significant figure in the first half of the 20th century and although his purview was our National Pastime (Baseball) his impact was far wider and crucial to our country.
His 1947 signing of Jackie Robinson, an African American, to a Brooklyn Dodger contract was a seminal moment in the Civil Rights movement. Thus was broken Major League Baseball's color barrier. All that followed had its start then and there.
His barrier breaking was born out of a combination of idealism and astute business sense.
Rickey's epitaph was "It is not the honor that you take with you but the heritage you leave behind."
Posted By : hydrajet