Peter the Great (reigned 1682-1725) the Czar of Russia, had contact with Friends, discussed religion with William Penn and visited Quaker meetings on his visit to England in 1698. In 1817 Czar Alexander asked for a Quaker engineer to be sent to help in draining the St Petersburg marshes. Daniel Wheeler and his family moved to Russia and took on this challenge. Other contacts with Czars of Russia took place in other centuries. There is now a Monthly Meeting for Russian Quakers in Moscow.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) sixteenth president of the United States, had Quaker ancestors and was sympathetic to Quaker concerns during the American Civil War.

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was an American poet, journalist and essayist, the son of Quaker parents. His inspirational poetry has been set to music by Vaughan Williams in his Sea Symphony, the cantata Dona Nobis Pacem, the song Towards the Unknown Region (words from Leaves of Grass), and other song settings. Frederick Delius set further words from Leaves of Grass in his Songs of Farewell, and other composers have made use of Whitman's poetry.

Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) had some Quaker connections and was attracted to Quaker ideas. She was born in Dublin. Iris Murdoch had various relatives who were Quakers and Quakerism is often mentioned in her novels. One example is in The Philosopher's Pupil, where one of the main characters is a Quaker and there is a vivid description of a Quaker Meeting for Worship. She was touched by the emphasis on integrity, quietness and peace, and the belief that all are capable of growing in wisdom and understanding. Iris was friends with Margaret Drabble (another Quaker) and it seems appropriate that the part of Iris was played in the recent film bearing her name by Judi Dench (also a Quaker) who attended the same Quaker school in York as Margaret Drabble.