By Ed Stannard, Community Engagement Editor

Twitter: @edstannardnhr, @nhrvoices

Facebook: Ed Stannard-Register, Your Open Newsroom

We know that New Haven and surrounding towns have been home to some important people: Eli Whitney (right), inventor of the cotton gin; Constance Baker Motley (left), federal judge; Bart Giamatti, president of Yale and commissioner of Major League Baseball.

As the New Haven Register gets ready to celebrate its 200th anniversary on Dec. 1, we want to know who you think made a difference in this area in the last two centuries — politicians or scientists, academics or artists.

Post your nominations here or email them to me at estannard@nhregister.com, Include a paragraph — and a photo if you have one — about why you think this person is among the top 200. You can also post a nomination below in the comments!