wing of the archive
The Modern Era
The industrial and imperial centuries: inventors, statesmen, artists, and the makers of the modern world.
Modern era
Rana Bhagwandas
December 20, 1942 – February 23, 2015
Pakistani judge
Modern era
Salimuzzaman Siddiqui
October 19, 1897 – April 14, 1994
Natural products chemist, scientist, painter, poet (1897–1994)
Modern era
Munir Ahmad Khan
May 20, 1926 – April 22, 1999
Pakistani physicist
Modern era
Samar Mubarakmand
b. September 17, 1942
Pakistani physicist
Modern era
Adamjee Haji Dawood
June 30, 1880 – January 27, 1948
Renowned businessman and philanthropist of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (1880–1948)
Modern era
Agha Hasan Abedi
May 14, 1922 – August 5, 1995
Pakistani banker (1922–1995)
Modern era
Dina Wadia
August 15, 1919 – November 2, 2017
Daughter of the founding father of Pakistan (1919-2017)
Modern era
Munir Dar
March 28, 1935 – June 1, 2011
Pakistani field hockey player (1935–2011)
Modern era
Manzoor Hussain Atif
November 4, 1928 – December 8, 2008
Field hockey player (1928–2008)
Modern era
Roshan Khan
November 26, 1929 – January 6, 2006
Pakistani squash player (1929–2006)
Modern era
Mushtaq Mohammad
b. November 22, 1943
Pakistani cricketer
Modern era
Abdul Qadir (cricketer)
March 15, 1872 – February 9, 1950
Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam Leader
Modern era
Gama Pehlwan
May 22, 1878 – May 23, 1960
Indian and Pakistani professional wrestler
Modern era
Ziaur Rahman
January 19, 1936 – May 30, 1981
Chief of Army Staff and President of Bangladesh (1936-1981)
Modern era
Tajuddin Ahmad
July 23, 1925 – November 3, 1975
Bangladeshi politician and first Prime Minister of Bangladesh (1925-1975)
Modern era
M. A. G. Osmani
September 1, 1918 – February 16, 1984
Commander in Chief of Bangladesh Army (1918–1984)
Modern era
Jahanara Imam
May 3, 1929 – June 26, 1994
Bangladeshi writer (1929–1994)
Modern era
Zainul Abedin
December 29, 1914 – May 28, 1976
Bengali painter (1914–1976)
Modern era
Hason Raja
December 21, 1854 – December 6, 1922
Bengali poet (1854–1922)
Modern era
Begum Rokeya
December 9, 1880 – December 9, 1932
Bengali feminist writer and social reformer (1880-1932)
Modern era
Fazle Hasan Abed
April 27, 1936 – December 20, 2019
Bangladeshi social worker and the founder of BRAC
Modern era
D. S. Senanayake
October 20, 1884 – March 22, 1952
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (1884-1952)
Modern era
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
January 8, 1899 – September 26, 1959
4th Prime Minister of the Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1956-59
Modern era
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
April 17, 1916 – October 10, 2000
Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) from 1960–65, 1970–77, 1994–2000
Modern era
Anagarika Dharmapala
September 17, 1864 – April 29, 1933
Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and writer (1864-1933)
Modern era
Bhanubhakta Acharya
July 13, 1814 – April 23, 1868
The First-ever poet of Nepali Language
Modern era
Malalai of Maiwand
1861 – July 27, 1880
National folk hero of Afghanistan who rallied local Pashtun fighters against the British troops (1861–1880)
Modern era
Nancy Dupree
October 3, 1927 – September 10, 2017
American archaeologist (1927–2017)
Modern era
Bao Zheng
December 1, 1927 – October 21, 2020
Chinese engineer
Modern era
Sakamoto Ryoma
January 3, 1836 – December 10, 1867
Japanese samurai and politician (1836–1867)
Modern era
Saigo Takamori
January 23, 1828 – September 24, 1877
Samurai of the Satsuma domain, supreme commander of Japanese army, one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration (1828-1877)
Modern era
Fukuzawa Yukichi
January 10, 1835 – February 3, 1901
Modern Enlightenment thinker, educator, philosopher, scholar, author, writer, journalist, translator, entrepreneur, and founder of Keio University in Japan's Meiji era (1835-1901)
Modern era
Ito Hirobumi
October 16, 1841 – October 26, 1909
1st, 5th, 7th and 10th Prime Minister of Japan (1841–1909)
Modern era
Ahn Jung-geun
September 2, 1879 – March 26, 1910
Korean independence activist (1879–1910)
Modern era
Yu Gwan-sun
December 17, 1902 – September 28, 1920
Korean independence activist (1902-1920)
Modern era
Kim Gu
August 29, 1876 – June 26, 1949
Korean politician (1876–1949)
Modern era
Damdin Sukhbaatar
February 2, 1893 – February 20, 1923
Mongolian military leader (1893-1923)
Modern era
Phan Boi Chau
December 26, 1867 – October 29, 1940
19/20th-century Vietnamese nationalist and revolutionary
Modern era
Vo Nguyen Giap
August 25, 1911 – October 4, 2013
Vietnamese general and communist politician (1911–2013)
Modern era
Mongkut
October 18, 1804 – October 1, 1868
King of Siam from 1851 to 1868
Modern era
Chulalongkorn
September 20, 1853 – October 23, 1910
King of Siam (1853-1910)
Modern era
U Thant
January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974
UN Secretary-General from 1961 to 1971
Modern era
Norodom Sihanouk
October 31, 1922 – October 15, 2012
Cambodian monarch and politician (1922–2012)
Modern era
Cut Nyak Dhien
1850 – November 6, 1908
Indonesian guerrilla leader against the Dutch (1850–1908)
Modern era
Mohammad Hatta
August 12, 1902 – March 14, 1980
1st vice president of Indonesia from 1945 to 1956 (1902–1980)
Modern era
Ki Hajar Dewantara
May 2, 1889 – April 28, 1959
Indonesian educator, activist (1889-1959)
Modern era
Raden Saleh
1811 – April 23, 1880
Painter from Indonesia (1811-1880)
Modern era
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
February 6, 1925 – April 30, 2006
Indonesian writer (1925–2006)
Modern era
Melchora Aquino
January 6, 1812 – March 2, 1919
Filipina revolutionary (1812-1919)
Modern era
Emilio Aguinaldo
March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964
President of the Philippines from 1899 to 1902
Modern era
Apolinario Mabini
July 22, 1864 – May 13, 1903
Prime Minister of the Philippines in 1899
Modern era
Antonio Luna
October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899
Philippine researcher, reformist, military general and statesman (1866–1899)
Modern era
Gregorio del Pilar
November 14, 1875 – December 2, 1899
Filipino general and politician (1875-99)
Modern era
Manuel Quezon
August 19, 1878 – August 1, 1944
President of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944
Modern era
Ramon Magsaysay
August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957
President of the Philippines from 1953 to 1957
Modern era
Fernando Amorsolo
May 30, 1892 – April 24, 1972
Filipino painter (1892-1972)
Modern era
Tunku Abdul Rahman
February 8, 1903 – December 6, 1990
First Prime Minister of Malaysia (1903-1990)
Modern era
P. Ramlee
March 22, 1929 – May 29, 1973
Malaysian singer, actor and film director (1929–1973)
Modern era
Abai Qunanbaiuly
July 29, 1845 – June 23, 1904
Kazakh poet, philosopher and composer (1845-1904)
Modern era
Ilia Chavchavadze
October 27, 1837 – August 30, 1907
Georgian public figure and writer; a saint of Georgian Orthodox Church (1837-1907)