Philosophers

Thinkers who asked what it all means.

records written

Modern era

Roger Ver

February 27, 1944 – January 12, 2020

English conservative philosopher and writer (1944–2020)

Modern era

George Cadle Price

January 15, 1919 – September 19, 2011

Prime Minister of Belize (1919-2011)

Modern era

Zhelyu Zhelev

March 3, 1935 – January 30, 2015

President of Bulgaria (1935-2015)

Contemporary era

Giorgi Marghvilashvili

b. September 4, 1969

Georgian politician and philosopher, fourth President of Georgia (2013–2018)

Modern era

Fuad Masum

b. January 1, 1938

7th President of the Republic of Iraq

Modern era

Lee Kuan Yew

September 16, 1923 – March 23, 2015

1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore (1923–2015)

Ancient era

Gautama Buddha

563 BCE – 483 BCE

Founder of Buddhism whose teachings on suffering and liberation endure worldwide

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

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

Al-Ghazali

1058 – December 19, 1111

Persian Sunni Muslim scholar and mystic (c.1058–1111)

Ancient era

Augustine of Hippo

November 13, 354 CE – August 28, 430 CE

Christian theologian, philosopher, and saint (354–430)

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

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

Swami Vivekananda

January 12, 1863 – July 4, 1902

Indian Hindu monk and philosopher (1863–1902)

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

Aristotle

384 BCE – 322 BCE

Greek philosopher and polymath, tutor of Alexander, father of formal logic

Ancient era

Diogenes of Sinope

412 BCE – 323 BCE

4th-century BC Greek Cynic philosopher

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

Thales of Miletus

c. 650 BCE – 548 BCE

Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician

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

Hippocrates

460 BCE – 370 BCE

Greek physician called the father of medicine

Ancient era

Hypatia

360 CE – 415 CE

Alexandrian mathematician and philosopher, martyr of ancient learning

Ancient era

Cicero

106 BCE – 43 BCE

Roman statesman, lawyer, orator, and philosopher (106–43 BC)

Ancient era

Marcus Junius Brutus

85 BCE – 42 BCE

Assassin of Julius Caesar

Ancient era

Marcus Aurelius

April 26, 121 CE – March 17, 180 CE

16th Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 and Stoic philosopher

Ancient era

Sun Tzu

544 BCE – 496 BCE

6th century BCE Chinese general and military strategist

Ancient era

Mencius

372 BCE – 289 BCE

Chinese Confucian philosopher (372–289 BC)

Ancient era

Chanakya

375 BCE – 283 BCE

Ancient Indian teacher and strategist who authored the foundational manual on political economy

Ancient era

Seneca the Younger

c. 4 BCE – April 12, 1965 CE

Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist (c. 4 BCE–65 CE)

Ancient era

Epictetus

50 CE – 138 CE

Greek Stoic philosopher (c. 50–c. 138)

Early Modern era

John Adams

October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826

Founding Father, U.S. president from 1797 to 1801 (1735–1826)

Early Modern era

Alexander Hamilton

January 11, 1757 – July 12, 1804

American Founding Father and statesman (1755/1757–1804)

Early Modern era

James Madison

March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836

President of the United States from 1809 to 1817 (1751–1836)

Modern era

Leon Trotsky

October 26, 1879 – August 21, 1940

Russian Marxist revolutionary (1879–1940)

Modern era

Sun Yat-sen

November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925

Chinese politician, physician, and revolutionary (1866–1925)

Early Modern era

Galileo Galilei

February 15, 1564 – January 8, 1642

Astronomer and physicist, father of observational science

Early Modern era

Isaac Newton

December 25, 1642 – March 31, 1727

Physicist and mathematician who formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation

Modern era

Albert Einstein

March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955

Theoretical physicist who reshaped our understanding of space, time, and energy

Early Modern era

Blaise Pascal

June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662

French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and Christian philosopher (1623-1662)

Early Modern era

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

June 21, 1646 – November 14, 1716

Co-inventor of calculus and pioneer of computation

Medieval era

Al-Khwarizmi

c. 750 CE – 846 CE

Mathematician of Baghdad who gave the world algebra and algorithms

Medieval era

Ibn al-Haytham

965 CE – 1038

Arab physicist, mathematician and astronomer (c. 965 – c. 1040)

Medieval era

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

980 CE – June 18, 1037

Persian polymath whose Canon of Medicine taught Europe for 600 years

Medieval era

Al-Razi

866 CE – 925 CE

Persian polymath, physician, chemist and philosopher (854-925)

Medieval era

Al-Biruni

September 4, 973 CE – December 9, 1048

11th-century Persian scholar and polymath (973–1048)

Modern era

David Hilbert

January 23, 1862 – February 14, 1943

German mathematician (1862–1943)

Modern era

Heinrich Hertz

February 22, 1857 – January 1, 1894

German physicist (1857–1894)

Early Modern era

Robert Boyle

January 25, 1627 – December 31, 1691

Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor

Early Modern era

Andre-Marie Ampere

January 20, 1775 – June 10, 1836

French physicist and mathematician (1775–1836)

Modern era

Niels Bohr

October 7, 1885 – November 18, 1962

Danish physicist (1885–1962)

Modern era

Max Planck

April 23, 1858 – October 4, 1947

German theoretical physicist (1858–1947)

Modern era

Roger Penrose

b. August 8, 1931

English mathematical physicist, recreational mathematician and philosopher

Early Modern era

Joseph Priestley

March 13, 1733 – February 6, 1804

English chemist, theologian, educator, and political theorist (1733–1804)

Modern era

Sigmund Freud

May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939

Founder of psychoanalysis and cartographer of the unconscious