Norman Matoon Thomas (1884-1968), an American Socialist leader, started his career as a Presbyterian minister in New York City. He became active in the peace movement during World War I and founded the National Civil Liberties Bureau (renamed American Civil Liberties Union in 1920) with Roger Baldwin. Thomas became an active member of the Socialist Party of America, was co-director of the League for Industrial Democracy, and edited the socialist magazine,The World Tomorrow. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the United States six times on the Socialist ticket and was active in the civil rights, universal disarmament, and anti-war movements throughout his life.

Evan W. Thomas (1890-1974) was a pacifist, conscientious objector, and physician. From 1918 to 1919, Thomas was imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth with other World War I conscientious objectors; while imprisoned he was a participant in a 1919 prisoner strike. He obtained an M.D. in 1930 and became a leading expert on syphilis treatment. He later served on the medical faculty of New York University and was a consultant to the World Health Organization and the United States Public Health Service. During World War II he served as chairman of the War Resisters League.