Gideon Granger, Former Postmaster General

A loyal supporter of Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans, Gideon Granger (1767–1822) was appointed Postmaster General at the start of President Jefferson’s first term in 1801.  Granger continued to serve in this post until 1814, when President Madison appointed Return J. Meigs to replace him.  Holding office for more than 12 years, Granger is the longest-serving Postmaster General in U.S. history.  During his tenure, Granger was responsible for managing the expansion of the post office to serve territories acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.  After leaving office, Granger moved to western New York, where he continued to be active in local politics and served a term in the New York State Senate.  He was an influential figure in the creation of the Erie Canal.

Russian-American sculptor Gleb W. Derujinsky was born to aristocratic parents in Smolensk, Russia, in 1888.  A student of Rodin, Derujinsky studied at the Académie Julian in Paris and the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.  After the Russian Revolution, he departed Crimea as a sailor on a ship bound for America.  Derujinsky arrived in the U.S. in 1919, and soon established himself as a prominent sculptor in New York.  Among his best known works are portrait busts of presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy.