Leaders & Statesmen
Rulers, presidents, and reformers who steered nations.
records written
Modern era
Hassan II
July 9, 1929 – July 23, 1999
King of Morocco from 1961 to 1999
Modern era
Mohammed V of Morocco
August 10, 1909 – February 26, 1961
King of Morocco (1909-1961)
Contemporary era
Saadeddine Othmani
b. January 16, 1956
Moroccan politician
Modern era
Lech Walesa
b. September 29, 1943
President of Poland from 1990 to 1995 (born 1943)
Modern era
Lee Kuan Yew
September 16, 1923 – March 23, 2015
1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore (1923–2015)
Modern era
Queen Salote Tupou III
March 13, 1900 – December 16, 1965
Monarch of Tonga (1918-1965)
Modern era
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
May 6, 1918 – November 2, 2004
Sheikh of Abu Dhabi from 1966 to 2003
Medieval era
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
c. 570 CE – 8 June 632 CE
Final Prophet of Islam whose message united Arabia and today guides two billion people
Ancient era
King David
1040 BCE – 969 BCE
King of Israel and Judah
Medieval era
Abu Bakr
October 27, 573 CE – August 23, 634 CE
1st Rashidun Caliph and father-in-law of Muhammad
Medieval era
Umar ibn al-Khattab
Second caliph of Islam, famed for justice and administration
Medieval era
Ali ibn Abi Talib
Fourth caliph, cousin of the Prophet (PBUH), revered for wisdom and courage
Early Modern era
Martin Luther
November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546
Reformer whose 95 Theses split Western Christianity
Early Modern era
John Calvin
July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564
French Protestant reformer (1509–1564)
Modern era
Joseph Smith
December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844
American religious leader and founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (1805–1844)
Modern era
Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)
b. July 6, 1935
14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibetans
Modern era
Thich Nhat Hanh
October 11, 1926 – January 22, 2022
Vietnamese Buddhist monk and activist (1926–2022)
Contemporary era
Imran Khan
b. November 25, 1952
Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022
Medieval era
Hasan ibn Ali
March 1, 625 CE – 669 CE
5th Rashidun Caliph (r. 661) and second Shia Imam
Medieval era
Muawiya I
603 CE – 680 CE
Founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate (r. 661–680)
Medieval era
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan
646 CE – October 9, 705 CE
Umayyad caliph from 685 to 705
Medieval era
Al-Walid I
668 CE – February 23, 715 CE
Umayyad caliph
Medieval era
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
November 2, 681 CE – February 5, 720 CE
Umayyad caliph from 717 to 720
Medieval era
Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah
722 CE – 754 CE
First Abbasid
Medieval era
Abu Jafar al-Mansur
714 CE – October 7, 775 CE
Second Abbasid Caliph (714-775)
Al-Ma'mun
d. July 19, 1128
12th-century Fatimid vizier
Medieval era
Al-Mu'tasim
796 CE – January 5, 842 CE
8th Abbasid Caliph. (r. 833–842)
Medieval era
Al-Mutawakkil
822 CE – December 11, 861 CE
10th Abbasid caliph (822–861, r. 847–861)
Medieval era
Al-Musta'sim
1213 – February 20, 1258
37th and last Abbasid Caliph (r. 1242–1258)
Medieval era
Selim I
October 10, 1470 – September 22, 1520
9th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520
Ancient era
Hammurabi
1810 BCE – 1750 BCE
Babylonian king whose code is among the oldest written laws
Ancient era
Nebuchadnezzar II
642 BCE – 561 BCE
King of Babylon
Ancient era
Thutmose III
1481 BCE – 1425 BCE
Sixth Egyptian Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty
Ancient era
Akhenaten
c. 1400 BCE – 1336 BCE
Egyptian pharaoh in 18th Dynasty
Ancient era
Tutankhamun
1343 BCE – 1324 BCE
14th century BCE (18th dynasty) Egyptian pharaoh
Ancient era
Ramesses II
1303 BCE – 1213 BCE
Egypt's greatest pharaoh, builder of Abu Simbel
Ancient era
Cyrus the Great
600 BCE – 530 BCE
Founder of the Achaemenid Empire (559–529 BC)
Ancient era
Darius I
550 BCE – 486 BCE
The fourth and greatest Achaemenid emperor (522–486 BC)
Leonidas I
d. 480 BCE
King of Sparta from c. 489 BC to 480 BC
Ancient era
Themistocles
524 BCE – 459 BCE
Athenian politician and general (c. 524–459 BC)
Ancient era
Pericles
494 BCE – 429 BCE
Athenian statesman, orator and general (c. 495 – 429 BC)
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
Pythagoras
c. 550 BCE – c. 490 BCE
Greek mathematician and mystic of number and harmony
Ancient era
Philip II of Macedon
c. 385 BCE – 336 BCE
King of Macedon from 359 to 336 BC
Ancient era
Alexander the Great
356 BCE – 323 BCE
Macedonian king who built an empire from Greece to India by age 30
Ancient era
Hannibal
247 BCE – 183 BCE
Carthaginian general (247–183/181 BC)
Ancient era
Scipio Africanus
235 BCE – 183 BCE
Roman general and politician (236/235–183 BC)
Ancient era
Gaius Marius
157 BCE – 86 BCE
Roman general, statesman and military reformer (157-86 BC)
Ancient era
Sulla
138 BCE – 78 BCE
Roman dictator and general
Ancient era
Julius Caesar
100 BCE – 44 BCE
Roman general and statesman whose rise ended the Republic
Ancient era
Pompey the Great
106 BCE – 48 BCE
Roman general and statesman (106–48 BC)
Ancient era
Marcus Junius Brutus
85 BCE – 42 BCE
Assassin of Julius Caesar
Ancient era
Mark Antony
83 BCE – 30 BCE
Roman politician and general (83 BC – 30 BC)
Ancient era
Cleopatra
69 BCE – 30 BCE
Last pharaoh of Egypt, diplomat and strategist of the ancient world
Ancient era
Augustus
63 BCE – August 19, 1914 CE
First emperor of the Roman Empire and founder of the Julio-Claudian dynasty
Ancient era
Cato the Younger
95 BCE – 46 BCE
Roman statesman, general and writer (95–46 BC)
Ancient era
Cincinnatus
519 BCE – c. 430 BCE
Two time Roman dictator
Ancient era
Nero
December 15, 1937 CE – June 9, 1968 CE
Fifth and last Roman Emperor of Julio-Claudian dynasty (54–68)
Ancient era
Caligula
August 31, 1912 CE – January 24, 1941 CE
Third Roman emperor (37–41)