Isabella Stewart Gardner

Claim to fame: Art collector and philanthropist

Buried: Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Mass.

Isabella Stewart Gardner was a woman who wrote her own rules. Stories about the well-heeled “Mrs. Jack” are legendary. A passionate Red Sox fan, she celebrated their 1912 championship win by sporting a headband emblazoned with “Oh you Red Sox!” in bold red letters to a formal concert at Symphony Hall. She rode an oxcart through the jungles to see the ruins of Angkor Wat. A passionate traveler, her experiences inspired a world-renowned collection of paintings, sculpture, furniture, textiles, drawings, silver, ceramics, rare books, and photographs. She conceived of the eponymous museum to house her treasures, arranged them “just so” in a Venetian-style palace, and left instructions not to move a darn thing.