Artists & Writers
Painters, poets, and storytellers of the human soul.
records written
Ancient era
Julian the Apostate
November 17, 331 CE – June 26, 363 CE
Last Pagan Roman emperor, reigned 361 to 363
Early Modern era
Panini
June 17, 1691 – October 21, 1765
Italian painter and architect (1691–1765)
Patanjali
Ancient Indian scholar(s) of grammar and linguistics, of yoga, of medical treatises
Ancient era
Charaka
b. c. 50 CE
Indian physician and academic
Ancient era
Qu Yuan
343 BCE – 278 BCE
Chinese poet and politician (c.340–278 BC)
Ancient era
Zhang Heng
78 CE – 139 CE
Chinese scientist and statesman (78–139)
Ancient era
Ban Zhao
45 CE – 116 CE
Late 1st/early 2nd century Chinese historian, philosopher and scholar
Ancient era
Pindar
522 BCE – c. 450 BCE
5th-century BC Greek lyric poet
Ancient era
Hesiod
776 BCE – c. 700 BCE
Ancient Greek poet of the archaic period
Ancient era
Polybius
200 BCE – 120 BCE
Ancient Greek historian
Medieval era
Anna Komnene
December 1, 1083 – 1153
Byzantine princess and historian
Medieval era
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
December 26, 1194 – December 13, 1250
King of Sicily, Holy Roman Emperor (1194–1250, 1220–1250)
Medieval era
Pope Urban II
1035 – July 29, 1099
11th century pope and initiator of the Crusades
Medieval era
Godfrey of Bouillon
1060 – July 18, 1100
Medieval Frankish knight
Medieval era
Cnut the Great
994 CE – November 12, 1035
11th-century King of Denmark, Norway, and England
Early Modern era
James I of England
June 19, 1566 – March 27, 1625
King of Scotland from 1566 to 1625, King of England and Ireland from 1603 to 1625
Medieval era
Lorenzo de Medici
January 1, 1449 – April 8, 1492
Italian politician, literary man and humanist
Medieval era
Girolamo Savonarola
September 21, 1452 – May 23, 1498
Italian Dominican friar and preacher (1452-1498)
Medieval era
Francis I of France
September 12, 1494 – March 31, 1547
King of France from 1515 to 1547 (1494-1547)
Early Modern era
Cardinal Richelieu
September 9, 1585 – December 4, 1642
French clergyman, cardinal, noble and statesman (1585-1642)
Early Modern era
Christina of Sweden
December 18, 1626 – April 19, 1689
Queen of Sweden, ruled from 1632 until abdication in 1654 (1626–1689)
Early Modern era
Roxelana
1505 – April 15, 1558
Wife of Suleiman the Magnificent
Medieval era
Krishnadevaraya
January 17, 1471 – 1529
Vijayanagara emperor from 1509 to 1529
Early Modern era
Tipu Sultan
November 20, 1751 – May 4, 1799
Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782 to 1799
Medieval era
Wu Zetian
February 17, 624 CE – December 16, 705 CE
Founding empress of Zhou dynasty (r. 690–705); de facto ruler of Tang dynasty from 665 to 690
Medieval era
Emperor Taizong of Tang
January 28, 598 CE – July 10, 649 CE
Chinese emperor of the Tang Dynasty (598-649) (r. 626-649)
Modern era
Empress Dowager Cixi
November 29, 1835 – November 15, 1908
Chinese empress (1835–1908)
Early Modern era
Miyamoto Musashi
1584 – June 5, 1645
Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer, artist, and rōnin (1584–1645)
Modern era
Herbert Hoover
August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964
President of the United States from 1929 to 1933 (1874–1964)
Modern era
Robert F. Kennedy
November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968
American politician and lawyer (1925–1968)
Modern era
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994
First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963
Modern era
Henry Kissinger
May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023
American diplomat and geopolitical advisor, served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977 (1923–2023)
Early Modern era
Patrick Henry
May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799
American Founding Father, orator and politician (1736 – 1799)
Modern era
William Tecumseh Sherman
February 8, 1820 – February 14, 1891
United States Army general (1820–1891)
Modern era
Bernard Montgomery
November 17, 1887 – March 24, 1976
British Army officer (1887–1976)
Modern era
T. E. Lawrence
August 16, 1888 – May 19, 1935
British archaeologist, army officer and diplomat (1888–1935)
Contemporary era
Boris Johnson
b. June 19, 1964
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022
Contemporary era
King Charles III
b. November 14, 1948
King of the United Kingdom since 2022 (born 1948)
Modern era
Napoleon III
April 20, 1808 – January 9, 1873
President of the Second French Republic, Emperor of the Second French Empire and last monarch of France (1808–1873)
Modern era
Georges Clemenceau
September 28, 1841 – November 24, 1929
Prime Minister of France, 1906–1909 and 1917–1920 (1841–1929)
Early Modern era
Talleyrand
February 2, 1754 – May 17, 1839
French diplomat (1754-1838)
Early Modern era
Jean-Paul Marat
May 24, 1743 – July 13, 1793
Politician and journalist during the French Revolution (1743-1793)
Modern era
Kaiser Wilhelm II
January 27, 1859 – June 4, 1941
As King of Prussia last German Emperor from 1888 to 1918 (1859–1941)
Modern era
Helmut Kohl
April 3, 1930 – June 16, 2017
Chancellor of West Germany and reunified Germany (1982–1998)
Modern era
Giuseppe Mazzini
June 22, 1805 – March 10, 1872
Italian nationalist activist, politician, journalist and philosopher
Modern era
Vaclav Havel
October 5, 1936 – December 18, 2011
Czech statesman, playwright, and former dissident, the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic (1936–2011)
Modern era
Simone Veil
July 13, 1927 – June 30, 2017
French politician (1927–2017)
Modern era
Dag Hammarskjold
July 29, 1905 – September 18, 1961
Swedish diplomat, economist, and author (1905–1961)
Modern era
Pierre Trudeau
October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000
Prime Minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and 1980 to 1984 (1919–2000)
Early Modern era
Bernardo O'Higgins
August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842
Chilean independence leader (1778–1842)
Modern era
Jose Marti
January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895
Cuban poet, philosopher and nationalist (1853-1895)
Modern era
Shimon Peres
August 2, 1923 – September 28, 2016
Israeli politician (1923–2016) –Former President of Israel (2007–2014) and Prime Minister of Israel (1977, 1984–1986, 1995–1996)
Modern era
Leopold Sedar Senghor
October 9, 1906 – December 20, 2001
First president of Senegal, poet, and cultural theorist (1906–2001)
Modern era
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
b. October 29, 1938
24th president of Liberia
Modern era
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
October 15, 1931 – July 27, 2015
Indian scientist, president and statesman (1931–2015)
Contemporary era
Narendra Modi
b. September 17, 1950
Prime Minister of India since 2014
Modern era
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
March 17, 1920 – August 15, 1975
President of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh and the 2nd Prime Minister and first President of Bangladesh
Modern era
Benigno Aquino Jr.
November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983
Filipino senator and governor of Tarlac (1932–1983)
Early Modern era
Joseph Fourier
March 21, 1768 – May 16, 1830
French mathematician and physicist (1768 – 1830)
Early Modern era
John Nash
January 18, 1752 – May 13, 1835
British architect (1752–1835)