People
Notable peoplePoliticians and leadersScientists, inventors, and mathematiciansWriters and journalistsReligious figuresRevolutionaries and activistsPhilosophers and social scientistsWritersScientists, inventors and mathematiciansMusicians and composersPhilosophers, historians, political and social scientistsVisual artistsSports figuresMilitary leaders and theoristsRebels, revolutionaries and activistsEntertainersLeaders and politiciansExplorersDirectors, producers and screenwritersBusinesspeopleScientists and inventorsMathematiciansJournalistsArtistsMusiciansCriminalsFilmmakers
Notable people
See all →- Dutch RepublicPredecessor state of the Netherlands (1581–1795)
- Mandatory PalestineBritish mandate territory (1920–1948)
- LuftwaffeAir force of Nazi Germany (1935–1945)
- Second French EmpireFrance under Napoleon III (1852–1870)
- HispaniaRoman province (218 BC – 472 AD)
- Chola EmpireMedieval Indian empire (848–1279)
- East PakistanFormer provincial wing of Pakistan (1956–1971)
- British MalayaBritish territories on the Malay Peninsula (1826–1957)
- Second TempleTemple in Jerusalem (c. 516 BCE–70 CE)
- Alexander HamiltonAmerican Founding Father (died 1804)
- Imperial Russian ArmyArmy of the Russian Empire (1721–1917)
- Digital Equipment CorporationAmerican computer manufacturer (1957–1998)
Politicians and leaders
See all →- Donald TrumpPresident of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)
- Barack ObamaPresident of the United States from 2009 to 2017
- JesuitsMale religious congregation of the Catholic Church
- Franklin D. RooseveltPresident of the United States from 1933 to 1945
- George W. BushPresident of the United States from 2001 to 2009
- Winston ChurchillBritish statesman and writer (1874–1965)
- Ronald ReaganPresident of the United States from 1981 to 1989
- Vladimir LeninLeader of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924
- Richard NixonPresident of the United States from 1969 to 1974
- Elizabeth IIQueen of the United Kingdom from 1952 to 2022
- Benito MussoliniDictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943
- Queen VictoriaQueen of the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901
Scientists, inventors, and mathematicians
See all →- National Academy of SciencesScience branch of the US National Academies
- Bill ClintonPresident of the United States from 1993 to 2001
- American Philosophical SocietyAmerican scholarly organization and learned society
- Birth nameA birth name is the name of a person given when they are born. The term may be applied to
- National Institutes of HealthUS government medical research agency
- GermansPeople of Germany
- Legion of HonourHighest French order of merit
- Order of the British EmpireBritish order of chivalry established in 1917
- Fellow of the Royal SocietyAward by the Royal Society of London
- EmeritusHonorary title for retired professionals
- French Academy of SciencesFrench learned society
- JSTORNon-profit digital library
Writers and journalists
See all →- Aldous HuxleyEnglish writer and philosopher (1894–1963)
- Pliny the YoungerRoman lawyer, author and magistrate (61 – c. 113)
- Allen GinsbergAmerican poet and writer (1926–1997)
- J. K. RowlingBritish author (born 1965)
- Nathaniel HawthorneAmerican author (1804–1864)
- Robert GravesEnglish poet, novelist and critic (1895–1985)
- Waka (poetry)Waka (和歌, "Japanese poem") is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although
- Neil GaimanEnglish writer (born 1960)
- André BretonFrench co-founder of Surrealism (1896–1966)
- Upton SinclairAmerican writer (1878–1968)
- Gertrude SteinAmerican author (1874–1946)
- William Makepeace ThackerayEnglish novelist and illustrator (1811–1863)
Religious figures
See all →- JesusFirst-century Jewish preacher and religious leader
- MuhammadFounder of Islam (c. 570–632)
- The BuddhaFounder of Buddhism
- Mary, mother of JesusMother of Jesus
- Paul the ApostleChristian apostle and missionary (c. 5 – c. 64/65)
- Pope John Paul IIHead of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005
- Martin LutherGerman priest, theologian and author (1483–1546)
- Pope FrancisHead of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025
- UlamaMuslim legal scholars
- Pope Benedict XVIHead of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013
- Saint PeterApostle of Jesus
- AliShia Imam (632–661) and Rashidun caliph (656–661)
Revolutionaries and activists
See all →- Edward SnowdenAmerican whistleblower (born 1983)
- Marquis de LafayetteFrench military officer and politician (1757–1834)
- Samuel PepysEnglish writer and politician (1633–1703)
- William Tecumseh ShermanUnited States Army general (1820–1891)
- Colin PowellAmerican U.S. Army general and diplomat (1937–2021)
- Matthew C. PerryUnited States Navy officer (1794–1858)
- Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl KitchenerBritish army officer and colonial administrator (1850–1916)
- Joachim MuratFrench military officer and statesman (1767–1815)
- George S. PattonUnited States Army general (1885–1945)
- John Brown (abolitionist)American abolitionist (1800–1859)
- Giuseppe MazziniItalian activist, politician, journalist and philosopher (1805–1872)
- Lin BiaoChinese marshal and politician (1907–1971)
Philosophers and social scientists
See all →- AristotleAncient Greek philosopher and polymath (384–322 BC)
- PlatoAncient Greek philosopher (c. 428-347 BC)
- Karl MarxGerman philosopher and socialist (1818–1883)
- Sigmund FreudAustrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis (1856–1939)
- Immanuel KantGerman philosopher (1724–1804)
- CiceroRoman statesman and lawyer (106–43 BC)
- René DescartesFrench philosopher and mathematician (1596–1650)
- John LockeEnglish philosopher and physician (1632–1704)
- SocratesAncient Greek philosopher (c. 470–399 BC)
- Adam SmithScottish economist and philosopher (1723–1790)
- ConfuciusChinese philosopher (c. 551 – c. 479 BCE)
- Pausanias (geographer)2nd-century AD Greek geographer
Writers
See all →- William ShakespeareEnglish playwright and poet (1564–1616)
- HomerAncient Greek poet
- Johann Wolfgang von GoetheGerman writer and polymath (1749–1832)
- VoltaireFrench writer and philosopher (1694–1778)
- Virgil1st-century-BC Roman poet
- Dante AlighieriItalian writer and philosopher (1265–1321)
- OvidRoman poet (43 BC – AD 17/18)
- Nobel Prize in LiteraturePrize established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel
- Charles DickensEnglish writer and journalist (1812–1870)
- AllegoryLiterary device
- Leo TolstoyRussian writer (1828–1910)
- John MiltonEnglish poet and civil servant (1608–1674)
Scientists, inventors and mathematicians
See all →- Carl LinnaeusSwedish biologist and physician (1707–1778)
- Pliny the ElderRoman military commander and writer (AD23/24–79)
- PtolemyGreco-Roman astronomer and geographer (c. 100–170)
- Gottfried Wilhelm LeibnizGerman polymath (1646–1716)
- GalenGreek physician, surgeon, and philosopher (c. 129–216 AD)
- Johannes KeplerGerman astronomer and mathematician (1571–1630)
- John von NeumannHungarian and American mathematician and physicist (1903–1957)
- Al-BiruniKhwarazmian-Persian polymath (973–1048)
- Alexander von HumboldtGerman polymath (1769–1859)
- PythagorasGreek philosopher (c. 570 – c. 495 BC)
- Lord KelvinBritish physicist, engineer and mathematician (1824–1907)
- Niels BohrDanish physicist (1885–1962)
Musicians and composers
See all →- Richard WagnerGerman composer (1813–1883)
- Bob DylanAmerican singer-songwriter (born 1941)
- Igor StravinskyRussian composer (1882–1971)
- George Frideric HandelGerman-British composer (1685–1759)
- The Rolling StonesEnglish rock band
- Franz LisztHungarian composer and pianist (1811–1886)
- Elvis PresleyAmerican singer and actor (1935–1977)
- Giuseppe VerdiItalian composer (1813–1901)
- Joseph HaydnAustrian composer (1732–1809)
- Richard StraussGerman composer and conductor (1864–1949)
- State funeralCeremony for nationally significant people
- Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyRussian composer (1840–1893)
Philosophers, historians, political and social scientists
See all →- HerodotusGreek historian and geographer (c. 484–c. 425 BC)
- Augustine of HippoChristian philosopher and theologian (354–430)
- PlutarchGreek philosopher and historian
- Thomas AquinasItalian Dominican friar and philosopher (1225–1274)
- Friedrich NietzscheGerman philosopher (1844–1900)
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelGerman philosopher (1770–1831)
- Bertrand RussellEnglish philosopher and logician (1872–1970)
- Jean-Jacques RousseauGenevan philosopher, writer, and composer (1712–1778)
- David HumeScottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist (1711–1776)
- Noam ChomskyAmerican linguist and activist (born 1928)
- Friedrich EngelsGerman philosopher and socialist (1820–1895)
- TacitusRoman historian and senator (56–120)
Visual artists
See all →- RaphaelItalian painter and architect (1483–1520)
- Peter Paul RubensFlemish artist and diplomat (1577–1640)
- Vitruvius1st-century BC Roman architect and engineer
- Stained glassColored glass and works that are made from it
- TitianItalian painter (c. 1477/88/90–1576)
- Albrecht DürerGerman artist and theorist (1471–1528)
- Andy WarholAmerican artist and filmmaker (1928–1987)
- WoodcutRelief printing technique
- Salvador DalíSpanish surrealist artist (1904–1989)
- Claude MonetFrench painter (1840–1926)
- Henri MatisseFrench artist (1869–1954)
- Le CorbusierSwiss-French architect (1887–1965)
Sports figures
See all →- 2012 Summer OlympicsMulti-sport event in London, England
- Arnold SchwarzeneggerAustrian and American bodybuilder, actor and politician (born 1947)
- 1988 Summer OlympicsMulti-sport event in Seoul, South Korea
- Governor of CaliforniaHead of government of the U.S. state of California
- Muhammad AliAmerican boxer and activist (1942–2016)
- First-class cricketCricket played at the highest domestic standard
- 1956 Summer OlympicsMulti-sport event in Melbourne, Australia
- 1960 Summer OlympicsMulti-sport event in Rome, Italy
- 1928 Summer OlympicsMulti-sport event in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Bruce LeeMartial artist and actor (1940–1973)
- Garry KasparovRussian chess grandmaster (born 1963)
- Michael JordanAmerican basketball player and businessman (born 1963)
Military leaders and theorists
See all →- PompeyRoman general and statesman (106–48 BC)
- Heinrich HimmlerGerman Nazi leader of the SS (1900–1945)
- Mark AntonyRoman politician and general (83–30 BC)
- Douglas MacArthurUnited States Army general (1880–1964)
- Ulysses S. GrantCivil War general, U.S. president from 1869 to 1877
- HannibalCarthaginian general and statesman (247–183/181 BC)
- Hermann GöringGerman Nazi politician and military leader (1893–1946)
- Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonBritish Army officer and statesman (1769–1852)
- SullaRoman general and dictator (138–78 BC)
- Hernán CortésSpanish conquistador and explorer (1485–1547)
- Giuseppe GaribaldiItalian patriot and general (1807–1882)
Rebels, revolutionaries and activists
See all →- Martin Luther King Jr.American minister and civil rights activist (1929–1968)
- Sun Yat-senChinese revolutionary and statesman (1866–1925)
- Osama bin LadenFounder of al-Qaeda (1957–2011)
- W. E. B. Du BoisAmerican sociologist and activist (1868–1963)
- Che GuevaraArgentine revolutionary (1928–1967)
- B. R. AmbedkarIndian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer (1891–1956)
- Subhas Chandra BoseIndian nationalist leader (1897–1945)
- Frederick DouglassAmerican abolitionist (1818–1895)
- Maximilien RobespierreFrench revolutionary, lawyer and politician (1758–1794)
- Malcolm XAmerican civil rights activist (1925–1965)
- Emma GoldmanRussian-born anarchist (1869–1940)
- Rosa LuxemburgPolish-German Marxist revolutionary (1871–1919)
Entertainers
See all →- Presidential Medal of FreedomJoint-highest civilian award of the US
- Oprah WinfreyAmerican actress and media mogul (born 1954)
- Laurence OlivierEnglish actor and director (1907–1989)
- Marilyn MonroeAmerican actress and model (1926–1962)
- Marlon BrandoAmerican actor (1924–2004)
- American Film InstituteNonprofit educational arts organization
- John WayneAmerican actor (1907–1979)
- DockworkerOccupation of loading and unloading ships
- Elizabeth TaylorBritish and American actress (1932–2011)
- Katharine HepburnAmerican actress (1907–2003)
- Marlene DietrichGerman and American actress (1901–1992)
- Academy Award for Best ActressAward presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Leaders and politicians
See all →- NapoleonEmperor of the French (1804–1814; 1815)
- Adolf HitlerDictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945
- Alexander the GreatKing of Macedon from 336 to 323 BC
- Joseph StalinLeader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953
- AugustusRoman emperor from 27 BC to AD 14
- Julius CaesarRoman general and dictator (100–44 BC)
- Mahatma GandhiIndian independence activist (1869–1948)
- Mao ZedongLeader of China from 1949 to 1976
- George WashingtonFounding Father, U.S. president from 1789 to 1797
- Abraham LincolnPresident of the United States from 1861 to 1865
- CharlemagneCarolingian emperor from 800 to 814
- Elizabeth IQueen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603
Explorers
See all →- Christopher ColumbusItalian navigator and explorer (1451–1506)
- XuanzangChinese Buddhist monk and scholar (602–664)
- James CookBritish explorer and naval officer (1728–1779)
- Marco PoloVenetian merchant, explorer, and writer (1254–1324)
- Ibn BattutaMaghrebi traveller and scholar (1304–1368/1369)
- Admiralty (United Kingdom)British Government ministry responsible for the Royal Navy until 1964
- Vasco da GamaPortuguese explorer (c. 1460s – 1524)
- Ferdinand MagellanPortuguese explorer (1480–1521)
- Zheng HeChinese admiral and diplomat (1371–1433/1435)
- Charles LindberghAmerican aviator and eugenicist (1902–1974)
- HotanCounty-level city in Xinjiang, China
- Hernando de SotoSpanish explorer and conquistador (c.1479–1542)
Directors, producers and screenwriters
See all →- Steven SpielbergAmerican filmmaker (born 1946)
- Alfred HitchcockEnglish filmmaker (1899–1980)
- Orson WellesAmerican actor and filmmaker (1915–1985)
- Academy Award for Best PictureAnnual award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- Stanley KubrickAmerican filmmaker and photographer (1928–1999)
- Martin ScorseseAmerican filmmaker (born 1942)
- Jean CocteauFrench writer and film director (1889–1963)
- Woody AllenAmerican filmmaker and actor (born 1935)
- George LucasAmerican filmmaker and entrepreneur (born 1944)
- Akira KurosawaJapanese filmmaker (1910–1998)
- Satyajit RayIndian filmmaker and writer (1921–1992)
- Lumière brothersFrench brothers, filmmakers and inventors
Businesspeople
See all →- Elon MuskBusinessman and entrepreneur (born 1971)
- Bill GatesAmerican businessman and philanthropist (born 1955)
- Henry FordAmerican business magnate (1863–1947)
- Gates FoundationPrivate foundation founded by Bill and Melinda Gates
- Steve JobsAmerican businessman and investor (1955–2011)
- Andrew CarnegieAmerican industrialist and philanthropist (1835–1919)
- George SorosHungarian and American investor and philanthropist (born 1930)
- Marcus Licinius CrassusRoman general and statesman (115–53 BC)
- John D. RockefellerAmerican business magnate (1839–1937)
- Pennsylvania RailroadAmerican Class I railroad (1846–1968)
- Rupert MurdochAmerican business magnate (born 1931)
- J. P. MorganAmerican financier, banker, and art collector (1837–1913)
Scientists and inventors
See all →- Charles DarwinEnglish naturalist and biologist (1809–1882)
- Albert EinsteinGerman-born theoretical physicist (1879–1955)
- Isaac NewtonEnglish polymath (1642–1727)
- Galileo GalileiItalian physicist and astronomer (1564–1642)
- AvicennaPersian polymath, physician and philosopher (c. 980–1037)
- HippocratesAncient Greek physician (c. 460 – c. 370 BCE)
- James Clerk MaxwellScottish physicist and mathematician (1831–1879)
- Thomas EdisonAmerican inventor and businessman (1847–1931)
- Nicolaus CopernicusMathematician and astronomer (1473–1543)
- Michael FaradayEnglish chemist and physicist (1791–1867)
- Louis PasteurFrench chemist, pharmacist and microbiologist (1822–1895)
- Marie CuriePolish-French physicist and chemist (1867–1934)
Mathematicians
See all →- Leonhard EulerSwiss mathematician (1707–1783)
- Carl Friedrich GaussGerman polymath and scholar (1777–1855)
- ArchimedesGreek mathematician and physicist (c. 287 – 212 BC)
- EuclidAncient Greek mathematician (fl. 300 BC)
- Alan TuringEnglish computer scientist (1912–1954)
- Kurt GödelMathematician and philosopher (1906–1978)
- Al-KhwarizmiIslamic mathematician (c. 780 – c. 850)
- Method of exhaustionPrimitive way of calculating area
- INinth letter of the Latin alphabet
- Pi (letter)Greek letter
- Euler–Bernoulli beam theoryMethod for load calculation in construction
- Isidore of Miletus5th-century Byzantine Greek architect and mathematician
Journalists
See all →- William Randolph HearstAmerican newspaper publisher (1863–1951)
- David AttenboroughEnglish broadcaster and natural historian (born 1926)
- Horace GreeleyAmerican politician and publisher (1811–1872)
- Hunter S. ThompsonAmerican journalist and author (1937–2005)
- Walter CronkiteAmerican broadcast journalist (1916–2009)
- Walter LippmannAmerican journalist (1889–1974)
- Edward R. MurrowAmerican broadcast journalist (1908–1965)
- Joseph PulitzerHungarian-American newspaper publisher (1847–1911)
- Nellie BlyAmerican investigative journalist (1864–1922)
- Svetlana AlexievichBelarusian author and Nobel Prize winner (b. 1948)
- Michael SchudsonMichael S. Schudson (born November 3, 1946) is professor of journalism in the graduate sch
- Amherst, New HampshireAmherst is a town in Hillsborough County in the state of New Hampshire, United States. The
Artists
See all →- Leonardo da VinciItalian polymath (1452–1519)
- Pablo PicassoSpanish painter and sculptor (1881–1973)
- MichelangeloItalian artist and architect (1475–1564)
- Vincent van GoghDutch painter (1853–1890)
- RembrandtDutch painter and printmaker (1606–1669)
- HokusaiJapanese artist (1760–1849)
- Ludovico SforzaDuke of Milan (1452–1508)
- Laurentian LibraryLibrary in Florence, Italy
- Moses (Michelangelo)Sculpture by Michelangelo
- Tomb of Pope Julius IIThe Tomb of Pope Julius II is a sculptural and architectural ensemble by Michelangelo and
- BentvueghelsThe Bentvueghels (Dutch for "Birds of a Feather") were a society of mostly Dutch and Flemi
- Paul GachetPaul-Ferdinand Gachet (30 July 1828 – 9 January 1909) was a French physician most famous f
Musicians
- The BeatlesEnglish rock band (1960–1970)
- Wolfgang Amadeus MozartComposer and musician (1756–1791)
- Ludwig van BeethovenGerman composer (1770–1827)
- Johann Sebastian BachGerman composer (1685–1750)
- Michael JacksonAmerican singer and songwriter (1958–2009)
- Louis ArmstrongAmerican jazz trumpeter and singer (1901–1971)
- Piano sonataForm of music for solo piano
- Passions (Bach)As Thomaskantor, Johann Sebastian Bach provided Passion music for Good Friday services in
- Collegium MusicumThe Collegium Musicum was one of several types of musical societies that arose in German a
- Diabelli VariationsThe 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120, commonly known as the Diabelli Va
- Robot (dance)The robot, also called mannequin or dancing machine, is a street dance style—often confuse
- Biographies of Johann Sebastian BachThe first major biographies of Johann Sebastian Bach, including those by Johann Nikolaus F
Criminals
- RansomIllegal method for gain from release of prisoners
- Al CaponeAmerican gangster and businessman (1899–1947)
- Jack the RipperUnidentified serial killer in London in 1888
- BlackbeardEnglish pirate (c. 1680–1718)
- Pablo EscobarColombian drug lord (1949–1993)
- Ocracoke InletOcracoke Inlet () is an estuary located in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United State