Humans of History

callings of the archive

Politician Biographies

Every archived life recorded as politician, ordered by their place in the ledger.

Henry V of England

Medieval era

Henry V of England

September 16, 1386 – August 31, 1422

King of England from 1413 to 1422

Mary I of England

Early Modern era

Mary I of England

February 18, 1516 – November 17, 1558

Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 to 1558 (1516-1558)

Mary, Queen of Scots

Early Modern era

Mary, Queen of Scots

December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587

Queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567 (1542–1587)

Louis XIV

Early Modern era

Louis XIV

September 5, 1638 – September 1, 1715

King of France and Navarre from 1643 to 1715 (1638-1715)

Louis XVI

Early Modern era

Louis XVI

August 23, 1754 – January 21, 1793

King of France and Navarre from 1774 to 1791, then King of the French from 1791 to 1792 (1754-1793)

Maria Theresa

Early Modern era

Maria Theresa

May 13, 1717 – November 29, 1780

Ruler of the Habsburg Dominions (1717-1780)

Ivan the Terrible

Early Modern era

Ivan the Terrible

August 25, 1530 – March 18, 1584

Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584

Catherine the Great

Early Modern era

Catherine the Great

April 21, 1729 – November 17, 1796

Empress who modernized and expanded the Russian Empire

Oliver Cromwell

Early Modern era

Oliver Cromwell

April 25, 1599 – September 3, 1658

English military and political leader (1599–1658)

Sejong the Great

Medieval era

Sejong the Great

April 10, 1397 – February 17, 1450

Fourth king of Joseon (Korea), creator of Hangul

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Early Modern era

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

February 2, 1536 – September 18, 1598

Japanese samurai and daimyo (1537–1598)

Montezuma II

Medieval era

Montezuma II

1466 – June 29, 1520

9th tlatoani of Tenochtitlan and ruler of the Aztec Triple Alliance (1466-1520)

Pachacuti

Medieval era

Pachacuti

1380 – 1460

11th Inca Emperor

George Washington

Modern era

George Washington

February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799

Commander of the American Revolution and first President of the United States

Benjamin Franklin

Early Modern era

Benjamin Franklin

January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790

American polymath and statesman (1706–1790)

John Adams

Early Modern era

John Adams

October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826

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

Alexander Hamilton

Early Modern era

Alexander Hamilton

January 11, 1757 – July 12, 1804

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

James Madison

Early Modern era

James Madison

March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836

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

Marquis de Lafayette

Early Modern era

Marquis de Lafayette

September 6, 1757 – May 20, 1834

French general and politician (1757–1834)

Napoleon Bonaparte

Modern era

Napoleon Bonaparte

August 15, 1769 – May 5, 1821

French emperor and general whose campaigns redrew the map of Europe

Duke of Wellington

Early Modern era

Duke of Wellington

May 1, 1769 – September 14, 1852

British Field Marshal, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1828–1830, 1834 (1769-1852)

Horatio Nelson

Early Modern era

Horatio Nelson

September 29, 1758 – October 21, 1805

British admiral (1758–1805)

Maximilien Robespierre

Early Modern era

Maximilien Robespierre

May 6, 1758 – July 28, 1794

French revolutionary lawyer and politician (1758–1794)

Toussaint Louverture

Early Modern era

Toussaint Louverture

May 20, 1743 – April 7, 1803

Haitian national hero (1743–1803)

Simon Bolivar

Early Modern era

Simon Bolivar

July 24, 1783 – December 17, 1830

Venezuelan statesman and military officer (1783–1830)

Jose de San Martin

Early Modern era

Jose de San Martin

February 25, 1778 – August 17, 1850

Argentine general and independence leader (1778–1850)

Benito Juarez

Modern era

Benito Juarez

March 21, 1806 – July 18, 1872

President of Mexico from 1858 to 1872

Miguel Hidalgo

Early Modern era

Miguel Hidalgo

May 8, 1753 – July 30, 1811

Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican War of Independence

Pancho Villa

Modern era

Pancho Villa

June 5, 1878 – July 20, 1923

Mexican revolutionary (1878-1923)

Abraham Lincoln

Modern era

Abraham Lincoln

February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865

US President who preserved the Union and ended slavery in America

Andrew Jackson

Early Modern era

Andrew Jackson

March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845

President of the United States from 1829 to 1837

Woodrow Wilson

Modern era

Woodrow Wilson

December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924

28th President of the United States (1913–1921)

Eleanor Roosevelt

Modern era

Eleanor Roosevelt

October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962

American diplomat and activist, First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (1884–1962)

Harry S. Truman

Modern era

Harry S. Truman

May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972

President of the United States from 1945 to 1953; politician (1884–1972)

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Modern era

Dwight D. Eisenhower

October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969

President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 (1890–1969)

John F. Kennedy

Modern era

John F. Kennedy

May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963

President of the United States from 1961 to 1963 (1917–1963)

Lyndon B. Johnson

Modern era

Lyndon B. Johnson

August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973

President of the United States from 1963 to 1969 (1908–1973)

Richard Nixon

Modern era

Richard Nixon

January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994

President of the United States from 1969 to 1974 (1913–1994)

Jimmy Carter

Modern era

Jimmy Carter

October 1, 1924 – December 29, 2024

President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 (1924–2024)

Ronald Reagan

Modern era

Ronald Reagan

February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004

President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and actor (1911–2004)

Bill Clinton

Contemporary era

Bill Clinton

b. August 19, 1946

42nd President of the United States (1993–2001)

George W. Bush

Contemporary era

George W. Bush

b. July 6, 1946

43rd President of the United States (2001–2009)

Barack Obama

Contemporary era

Barack Obama

b. August 4, 1961

44th President of the United States (2009–2017)

Donald Trump

Contemporary era

Donald Trump

b. June 14, 1946

45th & 47th President of the United States (2017–2021; 2025–)

Joe Biden

Modern era

Joe Biden

b. November 20, 1942

46th President of the United States (2021–2025)

Benjamin Disraeli

Modern era

Benjamin Disraeli

December 21, 1804 – April 19, 1881

British statesman (1804–1881)

William Gladstone

Modern era

William Gladstone

December 29, 1809 – May 19, 1898

British Liberal prime minister (1809–1898)

David Lloyd George

Modern era

David Lloyd George

January 17, 1863 – March 26, 1945

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922

Winston Churchill

Modern era

Winston Churchill

November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965

British Prime Minister who led the defiance of Nazi Germany

Clement Attlee

Modern era

Clement Attlee

January 3, 1883 – October 8, 1967

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 (1883–1967)

Margaret Thatcher

Modern era

Margaret Thatcher

October 13, 1925 – April 8, 2013

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990

Tony Blair

Contemporary era

Tony Blair

b. May 6, 1953

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007

Otto von Bismarck

Modern era

Otto von Bismarck

April 1, 1815 – July 30, 1898

German statesman and Chancellor (1815-1898)

Willy Brandt

Modern era

Willy Brandt

December 18, 1913 – October 8, 1992

German politician (SPD), chancellor of West Germany (1969–1974) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Angela Merkel

Contemporary era

Angela Merkel

b. July 17, 1954

Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021 (born 1954)

Francois Mitterrand

Modern era

Francois Mitterrand

October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996

21st President of the French Republic from 1981 to 1995 (1916–1996)

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Modern era

Giuseppe Garibaldi

July 4, 1807 – June 2, 1882

Italian general, patriot and republican (1807–1882)

Vladimir Lenin

Modern era

Vladimir Lenin

April 10, 1870 – January 21, 1924

Founding leader of the Soviet Union (1870–1924)

Leon Trotsky

Modern era

Leon Trotsky

October 26, 1879 – August 21, 1940

Russian Marxist revolutionary (1879–1940)

Nikita Khrushchev

Modern era

Nikita Khrushchev

April 3, 1894 – September 11, 1971

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964