wing of the archive
The Early Modern Era
Navigators, reformers, and the first scientists, from the Renaissance to the age of revolutions.
Early Modern era
Percy Bysshe Shelley
August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822
British Romantic poet (1792–1822)
Early Modern era
Mary Shelley
August 30, 1797 – February 1, 1851
English writer (1797–1851)
Early Modern era
John Keats
October 31, 1795 – February 23, 1821
English Romantic poet (1795–1821)
Early Modern era
Walter Scott
August 15, 1771 – September 21, 1832
Scottish novelist, poet and playwright (1771–1832)
Early Modern era
Jacob Grimm
January 4, 1785 – September 20, 1863
German philologist, linguist, jurist and mythologist (1785–1863)
Early Modern era
Wilhelm Grimm
February 24, 1786 – December 16, 1859
German author, philologist, collector of fairy tales and legends (1786–1859)
Early Modern era
Honore de Balzac
May 20, 1799 – August 18, 1850
French novelist and playwright (1799–1850)
Early Modern era
Alexander Pushkin
May 26, 1799 – January 29, 1837
Russian poet, playwright, and novelist (1799–1837)
Early Modern era
Michelangelo
March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564
Sculptor and painter of the Sistine Chapel and David
Early Modern era
Caravaggio
September 29, 1571 – July 18, 1610
Italian painter (1571–1610)
Early Modern era
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
December 7, 1598 – November 28, 1680
Italian sculptor and architect (1598–1680)
Early Modern era
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
1525 – September 9, 1569
Flemish painter (1526–1569)
Early Modern era
Rembrandt
July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669
Dutch painter and printmaker (1606–1669)
Early Modern era
Johannes Vermeer
1632 – December 15, 1675
Dutch painter (1632–1675)
Early Modern era
Peter Paul Rubens
June 28, 1577 – May 30, 1640
Flemish painter (1577–1640)
Early Modern era
El Greco
October 1, 1541 – April 7, 1614
Greek artist, painter, sculptor and architect (1541–1614)
Early Modern era
Diego Velazquez
June 6, 1599 – August 6, 1660
Spanish painter (1599–1660)
Early Modern era
Francisco Goya
March 30, 1746 – April 16, 1828
Spanish painter and printmaker (1746–1828)
Early Modern era
Eugene Delacroix
April 26, 1798 – August 13, 1863
French painter (1798–1863)
Early Modern era
J. M. W. Turner
April 23, 1775 – December 19, 1851
English painter and draftsman (c.1775–1851)
Early Modern era
Katsushika Hokusai
October 31, 1760 – May 10, 1849
Japanese artist (1760-1849)
Early Modern era
Christopher Wren
October 20, 1632 – March 8, 1723
English architect (1632–1723)
Early Modern era
Johann Sebastian Bach
March 21, 1685 – July 28, 1750
Baroque composer whose counterpoint remains music's foundation
Early Modern era
Antonio Vivaldi
March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741
Italian composer and violinist (1678–1741)
Early Modern era
George Frideric Handel
February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759
German-British Baroque composer (1685–1759)
Early Modern era
Joseph Haydn
March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809
Austrian composer (1732–1809)
Early Modern era
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791
Prodigy composer of over 600 works of enduring genius
Early Modern era
Franz Schubert
January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828
Austrian composer (1797–1828)
Early Modern era
Gioachino Rossini
February 29, 1792 – November 13, 1868
Italian opera composer (1792–1868)
Early Modern era
Niccolo Paganini
October 27, 1782 – May 27, 1840
Italian violinist and composer (1782–1840)
Early Modern era
Christopher Columbus
1450 – May 19, 1506
Genoese navigator whose Atlantic crossings joined two worlds
Early Modern era
Ferdinand Magellan
1480 – April 27, 1521
Portuguese explorer whose expedition first circled the globe
Early Modern era
Samuel de Champlain
August 13, 1567 – December 25, 1635
16/17th-century French explorer of North America
Early Modern era
Henry Hudson
b. 1565
English explorer b1565
Early Modern era
Francis Drake
July 13, 1540 – January 28, 1596
English sailor and privateer (c. 1540 – 1596)
Early Modern era
Walter Raleigh
January 22, 1552 – October 29, 1618
English statesman, soldier and writer (1552–1618)
Early Modern era
James Cook
October 27, 1728 – February 14, 1779
British explorer, cartographer and naval officer (1728–1779)
Early Modern era
Meriwether Lewis
August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809
American explorer (1774-1809)
Early Modern era
William Clark
August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838
American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor (1770-1838)
Early Modern era
Sacagawea
May 16, 1788 – December 12, 1812
Native American woman & companion to Lewis and Clark at age 16
Early Modern era
Daniel Boone
November 2, 1734 – September 26, 1820
American pioneer and frontiersman (1734–1820)
Early Modern era
Davy Crockett
August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836
American frontiersman and politician (1786–1836)
Early Modern era
Sojourner Truth
1797 – November 26, 1883
Abolitionist and African-American activist for women's rights (1797–1883)
Early Modern era
William Wilberforce
August 24, 1759 – July 29, 1833
English politician and abolitionist (1759–1833)
Early Modern era
Olaudah Equiano
1745 – March 31, 1797
Black British abolitionist and writer (c. 1745 – 1797)
Early Modern era
Cornelius Vanderbilt
May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877
American businessman and tycoon (1794–1877)
Early Modern era
Mian Mir
August 11, 1550 – August 11, 1635
Sufi saint (1550-1635)
Early Modern era
Bulleh Shah
1680 – August 22, 1757
Punjabi poet
Early Modern era
Shah Inayat Qadiri
1643 – 1728
Sufi saint
Early Modern era
Sultan Bahu
1630 – 1691
Punjabi Sufi mystic, poet and scholar (1630–1691)
Early Modern era
Waris Shah
January 23, 1722 – June 24, 1798
Punjabi poet (1722-1798)
Early Modern era
Sarmad Kashani
1590 – 1661
Persian mystic, poet and saint
Early Modern era
Ahmad Sirhindi
June 26, 1564 – 1624
Philosopher (1564-1624)
Early Modern era
Khwaja Baqi Billah
1564 – 1603
Naqshbandi Sufi saint
Early Modern era
Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
March 13, 1699 – January 6, 1781
Historical figure
Early Modern era
Shah Waliullah Dehlawi
February 21, 1703 – August 20, 1762
Indian muslim scholar
Early Modern era
Shah Ghulam Ali Dehlavi
1743 – October 16, 1824
Islamic scholar
Early Modern era
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
1690 – 1751
Sufi writer
Early Modern era
Sachal Sarmast
1739 – April 11, 1827
Sindhi poet
Early Modern era
Shah Inayat Shaheed
1655 – January 7, 1718
17th-century Sindhi revolutionary