Abraham Cahan (July 7, 1860)

Founder of the secular Yiddish-language Forward, which is still in business over 100 years later, Cahan was its guiding force for generations. Further, he wrote stories and novels in English that are still readable and interesting to students. Though his purpose was to educate and Americanize his audience, his paper is now a source of information about the Jewish immigrant experience in New York and to some extent throughout the country.