Artists & Writers
Painters, poets, and storytellers of the human soul.
records written
Modern era
Walter Gropius
May 18, 1883 – July 5, 1969
German-American architect (1883–1969)
Modern era
Oscar Niemeyer
December 15, 1907 – December 5, 2012
Brazilian architect (1907–2012)
Modern era
I. M. Pei
April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019
Chinese-American architect (1917–2019)
Modern era
Frank Gehry
February 28, 1929 – December 5, 2025
Canadian and American architect (1929–2025)
Modern era
Buckminster Fuller
July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983
American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist (1895–1983)
Modern era
Arnold Schoenberg
September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951
Austrian-Jewish American composer (1874-1951)
Modern era
John Cage
September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992
American avant-garde composer (1912-1992)
Modern era
Arthur Rubinstein
January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982
Polish-American classical pianist (1887-1982)
Modern era
Glenn Gould
September 25, 1932 – October 4, 1982
Canadian composer and pianist (1932–1982)
Contemporary era
Andrea Bocelli
b. September 22, 1958
Italian tenor and singer-songwriter (born 1958)
Early Modern era
Pocahontas
1596 – 1617
American native woman
Early Modern era
Abel Tasman
1603 – October 10, 1659
Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant (1603–1659)
Early Modern era
Mungo Park
September 11, 1771 – 1806
Scottish naturalist and explorer of the African continent
Modern era
Isabella Bird
October 15, 1831 – October 8, 1904
British traveler, writer, photographer and naturalist (1831–1904)
Modern era
Gertrude Bell
July 14, 1868 – July 12, 1926
British traveller, writer, mountaineer, politician, archaeologist and spy (1868–1926)
Modern era
Percy Fawcett
August 18, 1867 – 1925
British explorer, anthropologist and archaeologist (1867–1925)
Modern era
Heinrich Schliemann
January 6, 1822 – December 26, 1890
German businessman and archaeologist (1822–1890)
Modern era
Louis Leakey
August 7, 1903 – October 1, 1972
Kenyan-British archaeologist and naturalist
Modern era
Mary Leakey
February 6, 1913 – December 9, 1996
British paleoanthropologist (1913-1996)
Modern era
Reinhold Messner
b. September 17, 1944
Italian mountaineer, adventurer and explorer (born 1944)
Modern era
Beryl Markham
October 26, 1902 – August 3, 1986
British writer, aviator, adventurer, racehorse trainer (1902–1986)
Modern era
Alexandra David-Neel
October 24, 1868 – September 8, 1969
French explorer, spiritualist, Buddhist, Taoist, anarchist and writer
Modern era
Alexei Leonov
May 30, 1934 – October 11, 2019
Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, first human to conduct a spacewalk (1934-2019)
Contemporary era
Chris Hadfield
b. August 29, 1959
Canadian astronaut
Modern era
Lucy Stone
August 13, 1818 – October 19, 1893
American abolitionist and suffragist (1818-1893)
Modern era
Millicent Fawcett
June 11, 1847 – August 5, 1929
English politician, writer, and activist (1847–1929)
Modern era
Mary Seacole
1805 – May 14, 1881
British-Jamaican businesswoman and nurse
Modern era
Dorothea Dix
April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887
American author and social reformer (1802–1887)
Modern era
Betty Friedan
February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006
American feminist writer and activist (1921–2006)
Modern era
Gloria Steinem
March 25, 1934 – September 2, 2026
American feminist activist and journalist (1934–2026)
Modern era
Angela Davis
b. January 26, 1944
American political activist, scholar, and author (born 1944)
Modern era
Coretta Scott King
April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006
American author, activist, and civil rights leader; wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Modern era
Ken Saro-Wiwa
October 10, 1941 – November 10, 1995
Nigerian social rights activist (1941–1995)
Modern era
Janusz Korczak
July 21, 1878 – August 7, 1942
Polish-Jewish educator and physician (1878–1942)
Modern era
Edith Cavell
December 4, 1865 – October 12, 1915
British nurse (1865-1915)
Contemporary era
Liu Xiaobo
December 28, 1955 – July 13, 2017
Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist (1955–2017)
Contemporary era
Ai Weiwei
b. August 28, 1957
Chinese Conceptual artist (born 1957)
Modern era
Jose Rizal
June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896
Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath (1861–1896)
Modern era
Kartini
April 21, 1879 – September 17, 1904
Indonesian heroine, feminist (1879–1904)
Modern era
Sergei Eisenstein
January 10, 1898 – February 11, 1948
Soviet filmmaker (1898–1948)
Modern era
Fritz Lang
December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976
Austrian filmmaker (1890–1976)
Modern era
Billy Wilder
June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002
Austrian and American filmmaker (1906–2002)
Modern era
Frank Capra
May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991
Italian-born American film director (1897–1991)
Modern era
David Lean
March 25, 1908 – April 16, 1991
British filmmaker and editor (1908–1991)
Modern era
Sergio Leone
January 3, 1929 – April 30, 1989
Italian filmmaker (1929–1989)
Modern era
Jean-Luc Godard
December 3, 1930 – September 13, 2022
French and Swiss film director (1930–2022)
Modern era
Andrei Tarkovsky
April 4, 1932 – December 29, 1986
Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director (1932–1986)
Modern era
Mel Brooks
b. June 28, 1926
American comedian, filmmaker, and actor (born 1926)
Contemporary era
Peter Jackson
b. October 31, 1961
New Zealand film director, screenwriter, producer and actor (born 1961)
Contemporary era
Tim Burton
b. August 25, 1958
American filmmaker and artist (born 1958)
Contemporary era
Spike Lee
b. March 20, 1957
American filmmaker (born 1957)
Contemporary era
Kathryn Bigelow
b. November 27, 1951
American filmmaker (born 1951)
Contemporary era
Bong Joon-ho
b. September 14, 1969
South Korean filmmaker (born 1969)
Contemporary era
Zhang Yimou
b. April 2, 1950
Chinese filmmaker
Contemporary era
Guillermo del Toro
b. October 9, 1964
Mexican filmmaker and author (born 1964)
Modern era
Stan Lee
December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018
American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer (1922–2018)
Modern era
Johnny Carson
October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005
American talk show host and comedian (1925–2005)
Modern era
Stan Laurel
June 16, 1890 – February 23, 1965
English actor (1890–1965)
Modern era
Bob Hope
May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003
American entertainer (1903–2003)
Modern era
Doris Day
April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019
American actress and singer (1922–2019)