Who Should Be Named Person of the Century?

Our continuing series of special issues on the 100 most influential people of the 20th century will culminate in December, when TIME will name a single figure as the Person of the Century. To help the magazine's editors make the choice, we are asking a select group of people to tell us whom they would pick. Here are the latest thought-provoking suggestions:

WINSTON CHURCHILL It is one of the 20th century's ironies that the most poignant tribute to Winston Churchill came from one of the most repugnant tyrants of our time. Toasting the British leader at Yalta in February 1945, Joseph Stalin said, "I can think of no other instance in history where the future of the world depended on the courage of one man." Without that one man, whose abhorrence of tyranny was matched by his contempt for its appeasers, the second half of the century would have become a Nazi-dominated nightmare. That the world witnessed instead the triumph of democracy, the defeat of totalitarianism (including the downfall of Stalin's own empire) and the emergence of new nations--not least the rebirth of Israel--must be attributed to Churchill's indomitable leadership and prophetic vision. --Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel

1874 Born Nov. 30 in Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England 1911-15, 1939-40 First Lord of the Admiralty 1940-45, 1951-55 Prime Minister of Britain 1964 Retires 1965 Dies in London

W.E.B. DU BOIS The great African-American intellectual is the Person of the Century for me. Du Bois was the first black Ph.D. from Harvard; he was one of the founding fathers of the field of sociology. He helped establish the N.A.A.C.P. and edited its journal, The Crisis, for 24 years. He was an architect of the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement, and throughout his life brilliantly fought against racial discrimination and for the full participation of blacks in American society. He conceived of the Encyclopedia Africana, a comprehensive history of the African diaspora. He was a staunch opponent (with Bertrand Russell) of the use of nuclear weapons. He published dozens of books and thousands of pivotal essays. Who could possibly have done more than he to redefine American democracy over 60 years of the 20th century? --Henry Louis Gates Jr., Chair of Afro-American Studies, Harvard University

1868 Born Feb. 23 in Great Barrington, Mass. 1909 Helps found the N.A.A.C.P. 1910-62 Fights racial discrimination in the U.S. 1919-45 Backs Pan-Africa movement 1963 Dies in Ghana