People & stories

Roman Empire · 76–138

Hadrian

Roman emperor

1 related places

Middle Ages · c. 1107–1205

Enrico Dandolo

Doge of Venice

1 related places

Renaissance · 1475–1564

Michelangelo

Sculptor, painter and architect

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Roman Empire · 9–79

Vespasian

Roman emperor, founder of the Flavian dynasty

1 related places

11th century · c. 1028–1087

William the Conqueror

Duke of Normandy and first Norman king of England

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Tudor period · c. 1501 or 1507–1536

Anne Boleyn

Queen of England, second wife of Henry VIII

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18th century · 1728–1779

James Cook

British navigator and explorer

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Dutch Golden Age · 1606–1669

Rembrandt

Painter and printmaker

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1853–1890

Vincent van Gogh

19th-century Dutch Post-Impressionist painter (1853–1890).

1 related places

Second World War · 1929–1945

Anne Frank

Diarist and Holocaust victim

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19th century · 1802–1885

Victor Hugo

French Romantic writer

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19th century · 1832–1923

Gustave Eiffel

French civil engineer

2 related places

19th century · 1834–1904

Auguste Bartholdi

French sculptor

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1863–1944

Edvard Munch

19th–20th-century Norwegian painter and printmaker, a pioneer of Expressionism (1863–1944).

19th–20th century · 1867–1917

Kristian Birkeland

Norwegian space physicist and pioneer in explaining the aurora

1 related places

20th century · 1872–1928

Roald Amundsen

Norwegian polar explorer and the first person to reach the South Pole

1 related places

1749–1832

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

18th–19th-century German poet, novelist, playwright, and scientist, the central figure of German literature (1749–1832).

19th century · 1786–1868

Ludwig I

King of Bavaria

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19th century · 1845–1886

Ludwig II

King of Bavaria, 'the Fairy-Tale King'

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Age of Discovery · 1460s–1524

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese navigator

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Age of Discovery · 1469–1521

Manuel I

King of Portugal, known as 'the Fortunate'

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1525–1580

Luís Vaz de Camões

16th-century Portuguese poet, Portugal's national poet (c. 1524/1525–1580; birthplace and birth year uncertain, the common account being Lisbon).

2 related places

1672–1725

Peter the Great, Russian: Пётр I, Pyotr Alexeyevich

1672–1725, Tsar of Russia (1682–1721) and first Emperor (1721–1725), a reformer.

1799–1837

Alexander Pushkin, Russian: Александр Сергеевич Пушкин

1799–1837, Russian poet, playwright, and novelist, hailed as the father of modern Russian literature.

1707–1778

Carl Linnaeus / Carl von Linné

18th-century Swedish botanist, founder of modern biological taxonomy (1707–1778).

1833–1896

Alfred Bernhard Nobel

19th-century Swedish chemist, engineer, and inventor, founder of the Nobel Prizes (1833–1896).

1865–1957

Jean Sibelius / Johan Julius Christian Sibelius

19th–20th-century Finnish composer, symbol of Finnish national music (1865–1957).

20th century · 1898–1976

Alvar Aalto

Finnish architect and designer

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1547–1616

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

16th–17th-century Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet, the greatest representative of Spanish literature (1547–1616).

19th–20th century · 1852–1926

Antoni Gaudí

Catalan architect

2 related places

1370–1415

Jan Hus

Late-medieval Bohemian religious reformer and scholar of the University of Prague (c. 1370–1415; birth year uncertain, another account says c. 1372).

1824–1884

Bedřich Smetana

19th-century Czech composer, hailed as the "father of Czech music" (1824–1884).

1811–1886

Franz Liszt / Liszt Ferenc

19th-century Hungarian composer and pianist (1811–1886).

1818–1865

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis / Semmelweis Ignác Fülöp

19th-century Hungarian physician and pioneer of antiseptic disinfection, hailed as the "saviour of mothers" (1818–1865).

1 related places

1805–1875

Hans Christian Andersen

19th-century Danish fairy-tale author (1805–1875).

1885–1962

Niels Henrik David Bohr

20th-century Danish physicist, one of the founders of quantum mechanics (1885–1962).

1450–1524

Marko Marulić

Renaissance-era Croatian humanist and poet, hailed as the "father of Croatian literature" (1450–1524).

1883–1962

Ivan Meštrović

20th-century Croatian sculptor and architect (1883–1962).

1707–1783

Leonhard Euler

18th-century Swiss mathematician and physicist (1707–1783).

1828–1910

Jean Henry Dunant

19th-century Swiss businessman and humanitarian, founder of the Red Cross movement (1828–1910).

18th century · 1717–1780

Maria Theresa

Habsburg monarch

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1756–1791

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

18th-century Austrian composer, representative of the Viennese Classical school (1756–1791).

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c. 470–399 BC (birth year uncertain)

Socrates / Σωκράτης

Ancient Greek philosopher, founder of Western ethics (c. 470–399 BC).

1 related places

Ancient Greece · c. 495–429 BC

Pericles

Athenian statesman and general

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1577–1640

Peter Paul Rubens

17th-century Flemish Baroque painter and diplomat (1577–1640).

1898–1967

René Magritte

20th-century Belgian Surrealist painter (1898–1967).

1443–1513

Pope Julius II / Giuliano della Rovere

Renaissance-era Pope and patron of the arts (1443–1513, reigned 1503–1513).

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c. 1 BC–AD 64–68 (uncertain)

Saint Peter / Sanctus Petrus

1st-century Christian apostle, in Catholic tradition the first Bishop of Rome (Pope).

2 related places