The names and quotes in the Great Hall were chosen by Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford (1825–1908) and Charles W. Eliot (1834–1926), president of Harvard University. The works of these illustrious authors were popular at the time the building was constructed, and they were considered to have made great contributions to literature and the study of history.

• Henry Wordsworth Longfellow
(1807–1882), American Poet

• Alfred, Lord Tennyson
(1809–1892), British Poet

• Edward Gibbon
(1737–1794), British Historian and Statesman