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
Samuel Johnson
September 18, 1709 – December 13, 1784
English writer and lexicographer (1709–1784)
Early Modern era
Stendhal
January 23, 1783 – March 23, 1842
French writer (1783–1842)
Early Modern era
Luis de Camoes
1524 – June 10, 1580
16th-century Portuguese poet
Early Modern era
Cao Xueqin
July 12, 1724 – 1763
Chinese novelist and poet (1710–1765)
Early Modern era
Mirza Ghalib
December 27, 1797 – February 15, 1869
Indian poet (1797-1869)
Early Modern era
Tintoretto
1560 – May 17, 1635
Italian painter (1560–1635)
Early Modern era
Artemisia Gentileschi
July 8, 1593 – 1653
Italian Baroque painter (1593-1651)
Early Modern era
Frans Hals
1591 – August 26, 1666
Dutch painter (1580–1666)
Early Modern era
Anthony van Dyck
March 22, 1599 – December 9, 1641
Flemish Baroque artist (1599–1641)
Early Modern era
Canaletto
October 7, 1697 – April 19, 1758
Italian painter of landscapes (1697–1768)
Early Modern era
William Hogarth
November 10, 1697 – October 26, 1764
English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist (1697-1764)
Early Modern era
Thomas Gainsborough
May 14, 1727 – August 2, 1788
English portrait and landscape painter (1727-1788)
Early Modern era
Joshua Reynolds
July 16, 1723 – February 23, 1792
English painter (1723–1792)
Early Modern era
Jacques-Louis David
August 30, 1748 – December 29, 1825
French painter (1748–1825)
Early Modern era
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
August 29, 1780 – January 14, 1867
French painter (1780–1867)
Early Modern era
Caspar David Friedrich
September 5, 1774 – May 7, 1840
German Romantic landscape painter (1774–1840)
Early Modern era
John Constable
June 11, 1776 – March 31, 1837
English painter (1776-1837)
Early Modern era
Utagawa Hiroshige
1797 – October 12, 1858
Japanese ukiyo-e artist (1797–1858)
Early Modern era
Antonio Canova
November 1, 1757 – October 13, 1822
Italian Neoclassical sculptor (1757–1822)
Early Modern era
Andrea Palladio
1508 – August 19, 1580
Italian architect (1508–1580)
Early Modern era
Claudio Monteverdi
May 15, 1567 – November 29, 1643
Italian composer, string player, choirmaster, and priest (1567–1643)
Early Modern era
Henry Purcell
September 10, 1659 – November 21, 1695
English composer (1659–1695)
Early Modern era
Arcangelo Corelli
February 17, 1653 – January 8, 1713
Italian violinist and composer (1653–1713)
Early Modern era
Johann Pachelbel
September 1, 1653 – March 3, 1706
German composer, organist and teacher
Early Modern era
Domenico Scarlatti
October 26, 1685 – July 23, 1757
Italian composer, son of Alessandro Scarlatti
Early Modern era
Antonio Salieri
August 18, 1750 – May 7, 1825
Italian composer and teacher (1750–1825)
Early Modern era
Hernando de Soto
c. 1500 – May 21, 1542
Spanish explorer and conquistador
Early Modern era
Francisco de Coronado
1510 – September 22, 1554
Spanish explorer of the American southwest
Early Modern era
John Smith
1798 – 1888
English botanist, first curator of Kew gardens (1798–1888)
Early Modern era
Pocahontas
1596 – 1617
American native woman
Early Modern era
Squanto
1585 – November 30, 1622
Native American contact of the Pilgrims
Early Modern era
Abel Tasman
1603 – October 10, 1659
Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant (1603–1659)
Early Modern era
Vitus Bering
August 5, 1681 – December 8, 1741
Danish-born Russian explorer (1681-1741)
Early Modern era
Mungo Park
September 11, 1771 – 1806
Scottish naturalist and explorer of the African continent
Early Modern era
John Franklin
April 16, 1786 – June 11, 1847
British naval officer and explorer (1786–1847)
Early Modern era
Hiram Bingham
October 30, 1789 – November 11, 1869
American missionary to the Kingdom of Hawai'i
Early Modern era
Lucretia Mott
January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880
American quaker missionary
Early Modern era
Elizabeth Fry
May 21, 1780 – October 12, 1845
Social reformer from England (1780-1845)
Early Modern era
Dred Scott
1799 – September 17, 1858
African-American plaintiff in freedom suit (c.1799–1858)