wing of the archive
The Contemporary Era
Lives within living memory, from world wars to the digital age.
Contemporary era
Abdul Ali Mazari
1946 – March 13, 1995
Hazara politician (1946-1995)
Contemporary era
Elijah
b. c. 2000
Swiss singer (2000-)
Contemporary era
John Wesley
August 3, 1947 – September 7, 2019
American actor (1947-2019)
Contemporary era
Imhotep
b. May 19, 1960
French DJ, composer and record producer
Contemporary era
Hillary Clinton
b. October 26, 1947
American politician and diplomat (born 1947)
Contemporary era
George Patton
December 31, 1954 – December 7, 2022
Australian adolescent psychiatrist
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)
Contemporary era
Prince William
b. June 21, 1982
Heir apparent to the throne of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth Realms
Contemporary era
Prince Harry
b. September 15, 1984
Younger son of Charles III of the United Kingdom and Diana, Princess of Wales
Contemporary era
Kate Middleton
b. January 9, 1982
Member of the British Royal Family and princess of Wales since 2022
Contemporary era
Emmanuel Macron
b. December 21, 1977
President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017
Contemporary era
Volodymyr Zelensky
b. January 25, 1978
President of Ukraine since 2019
Contemporary era
Justin Trudeau
b. December 25, 1971
23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025
Contemporary era
Jacinda Ardern
b. July 26, 1980
Prime Minister of New Zealand (2017–2023)
Contemporary era
Hugo Chavez
July 28, 1954 – March 5, 2013
Venezuelan politician, 56th president of Venezuela (1954–2013)
Contemporary era
Lula da Silva
b. October 27, 1945
President of Brazil from 2003 to 2011 and since 2023
Contemporary era
Narendra Modi
b. September 17, 1950
Prime Minister of India since 2014
Contemporary era
Benazir Bhutto
June 21, 1953 – December 27, 2007
11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan (1953–2007)
Contemporary era
Andrew Wiles
b. April 11, 1953
English mathematician (1953–)
Contemporary era
Geoffrey Hinton
b. December 6, 1947
British-Canadian computer scientist and psychologist
Contemporary era
Andrea Ghez
b. June 16, 1965
American astronomer
Contemporary era
Michio Kaku
b. January 24, 1947
U.S.-American theoretical physicist, futurist and author (1947-)
Contemporary era
Shinya Yamanaka
b. September 4, 1962
Japanese doctor and medical scientist (born 1962)
Contemporary era
Craig Venter
October 14, 1946 – April 29, 2026
American biotechnologist and businessman (1946–2026)
Contemporary era
Temple Grandin
b. August 29, 1947
American doctor of animal science, author, and autism activist
Contemporary era
Salman Rushdie
b. June 19, 1947
Indian-born English and American novelist (born 1947)
Contemporary era
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
b. September 15, 1977
Nigerian writer (born 1977)
Contemporary era
Octavia Butler
June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006
American science fiction writer (1947-2006)
Contemporary era
Terry Pratchett
April 28, 1948 – March 12, 2015
English fantasy author (1948–2015)
Contemporary era
George R. R. Martin
b. September 20, 1948
American writer and television producer (born 1948)
Contemporary era
Neil Gaiman
b. November 10, 1960
English writer (born 1960)
Contemporary era
Jeff Koons
b. January 21, 1955
American sculptor and painter (born 1955)
Contemporary era
Damien Hirst
b. June 7, 1965
English sculptor and installation artist
Contemporary era
Marina Abramovic
b. November 30, 1946
Serbian performance artist (born 1946)
Contemporary era
Annie Leibovitz
b. October 2, 1949
American photographer (born 1949)
Contemporary era
Itzhak Perlman
b. August 31, 1945
Israeli-American violinist and conductor (born 1945)
Contemporary era
Yo-Yo Ma
b. October 7, 1955
American cellist (born 1955)
Contemporary era
Andrea Bocelli
b. September 22, 1958
Italian tenor and singer-songwriter (born 1958)
Contemporary era
Lang Lang
b. June 14, 1982
Chinese pianist
Contemporary era
Chris Hadfield
b. August 29, 1959
Canadian astronaut
Contemporary era
Kalpana Chawla
March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003
American astronaut
Contemporary era
Christa McAuliffe
September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986
American educator and astronaut
Contemporary era
Rakesh Sharma
b. January 13, 1949
First Indian astronaut
Contemporary era
Yang Liwei
b. June 21, 1965
Chinese astronaut
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)
Contemporary era
Alexei Navalny
June 4, 1976 – February 16, 2024
Russian jurist and opposition leader (1976-2024)
Contemporary era
Erin Brockovich
b. June 22, 1960
American environmental activist
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)
Contemporary era
Anthony Bourdain
June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018
American chef and television personality (1956-2018)
Contemporary era
Helen Mirren
b. July 26, 1945
British actress (born 1945)
Contemporary era
Alan Rickman
February 21, 1946 – January 14, 2016
British actor and director (1946–2016)
Contemporary era
Daniel Day-Lewis
b. April 29, 1957
British actor