Artists & Writers
Painters, poets, and storytellers of the human soul.
records written
Contemporary era
Matteo Renzi
b. January 11, 1975
Italian politician (born 1975)
Contemporary era
Enrico Letta
b. August 20, 1966
Italian politician
Contemporary era
Laurent Gbagbo
b. May 31, 1945
4th President of Ivory Coast
Contemporary era
Hamed Bakayoko
March 8, 1965 – March 10, 2021
Prime Minister of Ivory Coast (2020-2021)
Modern era
Kenneth O. Hall
b. April 24, 1941
Governor-General of Jamaica
Contemporary era
Serik Akhmetov
b. June 25, 1958
Politician, former Prime-Minister of Kazakhstan
Modern era
Margrethe II of Denmark
b. April 16, 1940
Queen of Denmark from 1972 to 2024 (born 1940)
Modern era
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
August 31, 1880 – November 28, 1962
Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948 (1880-1962)
Contemporary era
Mark Rutte
b. February 14, 1967
Secretary General of NATO since 2024 and former Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2010–2024)
Contemporary era
Jakup Krasniqi
b. January 1, 1951
Chairman of the Assembly of Kosovo
Contemporary era
Fayez al-Sarraj
b. February 20, 1960
Architect and former Prime Minister of Libya
Modern era
Mahathir Mohamad
b. July 10, 1925
Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and 2018 to 2020
Contemporary era
Mohamed Nasheed
b. May 17, 1967
Maldivian politician, 4th president of the second republic of Maldives
Contemporary era
Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga
June 8, 1954 – March 21, 2022
Malian politician (1954–2022)
Contemporary era
Joseph Muscat
b. January 22, 1974
Former Prime Minister of Malta
Contemporary era
Alfred Sant
b. February 28, 1948
Maltese writer, editor, politician
Modern era
Monique Ohsan Bellepeau
b. January 8, 1942
Former vice president of Mauritius
Contemporary era
Paul Bérenger
b. March 26, 1945
Prime Minister of Mauritius from 2003 to 2005
Modern era
José López Portillo
June 16, 1920 – February 17, 2004
58th President of Mexico
Contemporary era
Khaltmaagiin Battulga
b. March 3, 1963
Mongolian President, member of Democratic party
Contemporary era
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
b. March 30, 1963
Mongolian politician
Contemporary era
Nambaryn Enkhbayar
b. June 1, 1958
Mongolian politician, Leader of Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party
Contemporary era
Rifat Rastoder
July 11, 1950 – May 4, 2023
Montenegrin Bosniak politician
Contemporary era
Igor Lukšić
b. June 14, 1976
Politician from Montenegro
Modern era
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
May 6, 1918 – November 2, 2004
Sheikh of Abu Dhabi from 1966 to 2003
Ancient era
King David
1040 BCE – 969 BCE
King of Israel and Judah
Ancient era
Paul the Apostle
5 CE – 66 CE
Early Christian apostle and missionary (c. AD 5 – c. 64/65)
Ancient era
Confucius
552 BCE – 479 BCE
Chinese philosopher whose ethics shaped East Asian civilization for 2,500 years
Ancient era
Laozi
604 BCE – c. 500 BCE
6th-century BC semi-legendary Chinese philosopher, founder of Taoism
Ancient era
Zoroaster
628 BCE – 551 BCE
Founder of Zoroastrianism
Medieval era
Guru Nanak
April 15, 1469 – September 22, 1539
First Sikh Guru and founder of Sikhism
Medieval era
Adi Shankara
788 CE – 820 CE
An Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta and revitalized Sanskrit scholasticism.
Medieval era
Abu Bakr
October 27, 573 CE – August 23, 634 CE
1st Rashidun Caliph and father-in-law of Muhammad
Medieval era
Al-Ghazali
1058 – December 19, 1111
Persian Sunni Muslim scholar and mystic (c.1058–1111)
Medieval era
Rumi
September 30, 1207 – December 17, 1273
Persian poet and Sufi mystic, among the best-selling poets in the world today
Medieval era
Thomas Aquinas
January 25, 1225 – March 7, 1274
Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church (1225–1274)
Medieval era
Francis of Assisi
June 24, 1182 – October 3, 1226
Italian Catholic saint, friar, deacon and preacher and founder of the Franciscan Order (1181/2–1226)
Medieval era
Hildegard of Bingen
1098 – September 17, 1179
German Benedictine abbess, polymath, mystic and Doctor of Church (1098–1179)
Early Modern era
Teresa of Avila
March 28, 1515 – October 15, 1582
Roman Catholic saint (1515-1582)
Modern era
Bahaullah
November 12, 1817 – May 29, 1892
Founder of the Bahá'í Faith (1817–1892)
Modern era
Swami Vivekananda
January 12, 1863 – July 4, 1902
Indian Hindu monk and philosopher (1863–1902)
Modern era
Pope Francis
December 17, 1936 – April 21, 2025
266th pope of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025 (1936–2025)
Modern era
Desmond Tutu
October 7, 1931 – December 26, 2021
South African churchman, politician, archbishop, Nobel Prize winner (1931–2021)
Modern era
Thich Nhat Hanh
October 11, 1926 – January 22, 2022
Vietnamese Buddhist monk and activist (1926–2022)
Modern era
Isaac Asimov
January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992
American writer and biochemist (1920–1992)
Medieval era
Muawiya I
603 CE – 680 CE
Founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate (r. 661–680)
Medieval era
Abu Jafar al-Mansur
714 CE – October 7, 775 CE
Second Abbasid Caliph (714-775)
Medieval era
Selim I
October 10, 1470 – September 22, 1520
9th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520
Modern era
Abdulmecid II
May 29, 1868 – August 23, 1944
Last caliph of the Ottoman Dynasty (1868–1944)
Ancient era
Demosthenes
384 BCE – 322 BCE
Classical Athenian statesman and orator (384–322 BC)
Ancient era
Herodotus
484 BCE – 425 BCE
Greek historian and geographer (c.484–c.425 BC)
Ancient era
Thucydides
c. 460 BCE – 395 BCE
5th-century BC Athenian historian and general
Ancient era
Socrates
470 BCE – 399 BCE
Athenian philosopher whose questioning method founded Western ethics
Ancient era
Plato
427 BCE – 347 BCE
Athenian philosopher, founder of the Academy and author of the Republic
Ancient era
Epicurus
342 BCE – 270 BCE
Ancient Greek philosopher
Ancient era
Zeno of Citium
334 BCE – 263 BCE
Greek philosopher, founder of Stoicism
Ancient era
Pythagoras
c. 550 BCE – c. 490 BCE
Greek mathematician and mystic of number and harmony
Ancient era
Heraclitus
535 BCE – c. 470 BCE
Greek philosopher (late 6th/early 5th-century BC)
Ancient era
Democritus
c. 460 BCE – c. 360 BCE
Greek philosopher (c. 460–c. 370 BC)
Ancient era
Euclid
b. c. 333 BCE
Ancient Greek mathematician (fl. 300 BC)