01
Julius Caesar
Roman general and statesman
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The history collection
History makers
101 names that shaped history
Leaders, reformers, explorers, and thinkers whose lives changed the world around them. Influence takes many forms, and this collection spans centuries and continents.
02
Marie Curie
Pioneer of radioactivity
Image credits
Marie_Curie_c._1920s.jpg · Henri Manuel · Public domain03
Nelson Mandela
South African anti-apartheid leader
Image credits
Nelson_Mandela_1994.jpg · © copyright John Mathew Smith 2001 · CC BY-SA 2.004
Confucius
Chinese philosopher
Image credits
Confucius,_fresco_from_a_Western_Han_tomb_of_Dongping_County,_Shandong_province,_China.jpg · Anonymous Chinese painter of the Western Han period · Public domain05
Cleopatra
Ruler of ancient Egypt
Image credits
Kleopatra-VII.-Altes-Museum-Berlin1.jpg · Louis le Grand · Public domain06
Martin Luther King Jr.
American civil rights leader
Image credits
Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._and_Lyndon_Johnson_(cropped).jpg · Yoichi Okamoto · Public domain07
Isaac Newton
Physicist and mathematician
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Portrait_of_Sir_Isaac_Newton,_1689_(brightened).jpg · Godfrey Kneller · Public domain08
Mahatma Gandhi
Leader of Indian independence
Image credits
Mahatma-Gandhi,_studio,_1931.jpg · Elliott & Fry · Public domain09
Harriet Tubman
Abolitionist and freedom seeker
Image credits
Carte-de-visite_portrait_of_Harriet_Tubman_(cropped).jpg · Powelson, Benjamin F. 1823 - 1885 · Public domain10
William Shakespeare
Playwright and poet
Image credits
William_Shakespeare_by_John_Taylor,_edited.jpg · Attributed to John Taylor · Public domain11
Albert Einstein
Physicist who developed relativity
Image credits
Albert_Einstein_Head_cleaned.jpg · Oren Jack Turner · Public domain12
Murasaki Shikibu
Author of The Tale of Genji
Image credits
Murasaki-Shikibu-composing-Genji-Monogatari.png · Tosa Mitsuoki (1617 - 1691) · Public domain13
Abraham Lincoln
American president
Image credits
Abraham_Lincoln_O-77_matte_collodion_print.jpg · Alexander Gardner · Public domain14
Siddhartha Gautama
Religious teacher known as the Buddha
Image credits
Buddha_in_Sarnath_Museum_(Dhammajak_Mutra).jpg · พระมหาเทวประภาส วชิรญาณเมธี (ผู้ถ่าย-ปล่อยสัญญาอนุญาตภาพให้นำไปใช้ได้เพื่อการศึกษาโดยอยู่ภา่ยใต้ cc-by-sa-3.0) ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เทวประภาส มากคล้าย · CC BY-SA 3.015
Aristotle
Greek philosopher
Image credits
Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg · After Lysippos · Public domain16
Mary Wollstonecraft
Philosopher of women's rights
Image credits
Mary_Wollstonecraft_Portrait.jpg · John Opie · Public domain17
Leonardo da Vinci
Renaissance artist and thinker
Image credits
Francesco_Melzi_-_Portrait_of_Leonardo.png · Attributed to Francesco Melzi · Public domain18
Florence Nightingale
Nursing reformer and statistician
Image credits
Florence_Nightingale_(H_Hering_NPG_x82368).jpg · Henry Hering (1814-1893) · Public domain19
Johannes Gutenberg
Printing innovator
Image credits
Mainz_Gutenbergdenkmal_2016_(cropped).jpg · Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.020
Rosa Parks
American civil rights activist
Image credits
Rosa_Parks,_November_1956_(cropped).jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain21
Charles Darwin
Naturalist and evolutionary thinker
Image credits
Charles_Darwin_seated_crop.jpg · Charles_Darwin_seated.jpg : Henry Maull (1829–1914) and John Fox (1832–1907) (Maull & Fox) [ 3 ] derivative work: Bea o · Public domain22
Queen Victoria
British monarch
Image credits
Queen_Victoria_by_Bassano.jpg · Alexander Bassano · Public domain23
Ibn Sina
Physician and philosopher
Image credits
Avicenna_Bust,_left_profile_(cropped).jpg · National Library of Medicine · No restrictions24
Sojourner Truth
Abolitionist and women's rights advocate
Image credits
Sojourner_Truth,_1870_(cropped,_restored).jpg · Randall Studio · Public domain25
Alexander the Great
Macedonian king and conqueror
Image credits
Alexander_Mosaic_detail_of_Alexander_the_Great_(3x4_cropped).jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain26
Jane Austen
English novelist
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CassandraAusten-JaneAusten(c.1810)_hires.jpg · Cassandra Austen · Public domain27
Louis Pasteur
Microbiologist and vaccination pioneer
Image credits
Louis_Pasteur,_foto_av_Paul_Nadar,_Crisco_edit.jpg · Paul Nadar · Public domain28
Empress Wu Zetian
China's female emperor
Image credits
唐后行從圖_(局部)_-_武則天.png · Likely to be Zhang Xuan (张萱) · Public domain29
Frederick Douglass
Abolitionist, writer, and orator
Image credits
Frederick_Douglass_(circa_1879)_(cropped).jpg · George Kendall Warren · Public domain30
Galileo Galilei
Astronomer and physicist
Image credits
Galileo_Galilei_(1564-1642)_RMG_BHC2700.tiff · Justus Sustermans · Public domain31
Simón Bolívar
South American independence leader
Image credits
Simón_Bolívar._Toro_Moreno,_Luis._1922,_Legislative_Palace,_La_Paz.png · Luis Enrique Toro Moreno (1897-1933) · Public domain32
Ada Lovelace
Early computing visionary
Image credits
Ada_Lovelace_daguerreotype_by_Antoine_Claudet_1843_-_cropped.png · Antoine Claudet · Public domain33
Socrates
Greek philosopher
Image credits
Socrates_Louvre.jpg · Copy of Lysippos (?) · Public domain34
Elizabeth I
English queen
Image credits
Darnley_stage_3.jpg · Unidentified painter · Public domain35
George Washington
First president of the United States
Image credits
Gilbert_Stuart_Williamstown_Portrait_of_George_Washington.jpg · Gilbert Stuart · Public domain36
Wangari Maathai
Kenyan environmental organizer
Image credits
Wangari_Maathai_in_2001.jpg · Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA · CC BY-SA 2.037
Akbar
Mughal emperor
Image credits
Govardhan._Akbar_With_Lion_and_Calf_ca._1630,_Metmuseum_(cropped).jpg · Govardhan / Mir Ali Heravi · Public domain38
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Austrian composer
Image credits
The_Mozart_Family_-_Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart_headshot.jpg · Johann Nepomuk della Croce · Public domain39
Eleanor Roosevelt
Human rights advocate
Image credits
Eleanor_Roosevelt_at_the_United_Nations,_circa_1946-1947_(3x4_cropped).jpg · FDR Presidential Library & Museum · CC BY 2.040
Ibn Battuta
Moroccan traveler and writer
41
Genghis Khan
Founder of the Mongol Empire
Image credits
YuanEmperorAlbumGenghisPortrait.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain42
Rachel Carson
Writer who shaped environmentalism
Image credits
Rachel-Carson.jpg · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain43
Napoleon Bonaparte
French military and political leader
Image credits
Jacques-Louis_David_-_The_Emperor_Napoleon_in_His_Study_at_the_Tuileries_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg · Jacques-Louis David · Public domain44
Hammurabi
Babylonian king
Image credits
F0182_Louvre_Code_Hammourabi_Bas-relief_Sb8_rwk.jpg · Mbzt · CC BY 3.045
Toussaint Louverture
Leader of the Haitian Revolution
Image credits
Toussaint_Louverture_-_Girardin.jpg · Alexandre-François-Louis, comte de Girardin · Public domain46
Hatshepsut
Pharaoh of ancient Egypt
Image credits
Seated_Statue_of_Hatshepsut_MET_Hatshepsut2012.jpg · This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art . See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy · CC047
Alexander Fleming
Discoverer of penicillin
Image credits
Synthetic_Production_of_Penicillin_TR1468.jpg · Official photographer · Public domain48
Helen Keller
Writer and disability rights advocate
Image credits
Helen_Keller_(circa_1904).jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain49
Ashoka
Indian emperor
Image credits
Ashoka's_visit_to_the_Ramagrama_stupa_Sanchi_Stupa_1_Southern_gateway.jpg · Photo Dharma from Sadao, Thailand · CC BY 2.050
Ludwig van Beethoven
German composer
Image credits
Joseph_Karl_Stieler's_Beethoven_mit_dem_Manuskript_der_Missa_solemnis.jpg · Joseph Karl Stieler · Public domain51
Chinua Achebe
Nigerian novelist
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Chinua_Achebe,_1966.jpg · Carlo Bavagnoli · Public domain52
Zheng He
Chinese maritime explorer
Image credits
2016_Malakka,_Stadhuys_(09).jpg · Marcin Konsek · CC BY-SA 4.053
Indira Gandhi
Indian prime minister
Image credits
Indira_Gandhi_official_portrait.png · Prime Minister's Office · GODL-India54
Karl Marx
Political philosopher
Image credits
Karl_Marx_by_John_Jabez_Edwin_Mayall_1875_-_Restored.png · John Jabez Edwin Mayall · Public domain55
Susan B. Anthony
American suffrage campaigner
Image credits
SB_Anthony_from_RoRaWW.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain56
Saladin
Sultan and military leader
57
Benjamin Franklin
Scientist and statesman
Image credits
Joseph_Siffrein_Duplessis_-_Benjamin_Franklin_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg · Joseph-Siffred Duplessis · Public domain58
Elizabeth Blackwell
Pioneering woman physician
Image credits
Elizabeth_Blackwell.jpg · Unknown photographer · Public domain59
Johannes Kepler
Astronomer of planetary motion
Image credits
JKepler.jpg · August Köhler [1] · Public domain60
Haile Selassie
Ethiopian emperor
Image credits
Haile_Selassie_in_full_dress_(3x4_cropped).jpg · unknown; according to [1] and [2] an official portrait of which b/w copies were distributed by the Ethiopian government · Public domain61
Qin Shi Huang
First emperor of a unified China
Image credits
QinShiHuang19century.jpg · Unknown (18??–18??) · Public domain62
Simone de Beauvoir
French philosopher and writer
Image credits
Simone_De_Beauvoir_(cropped).jpg · Moshe Milner · CC BY-SA 3.063
Christopher Columbus
Atlantic navigator
Image credits
Portrait_of_a_Man,_Said_to_be_Christopher_Columbus.jpg · Sebastiano del Piombo · Public domain64
Frida Kahlo
Mexican painter
Image credits
Frida_Kahlo,_by_Guillermo_Kahlo.jpg · Guillermo Kahlo · Public domain65
Augustus
First Roman emperor
Image credits
Augustus_of_Prima_Porta.jpg · Justin Benttinen · CC BY-SA 4.066
Malcolm X
American civil rights activist
Image credits
Malcolm_X_1964_press_photo_(cropped)_(lighting_diff).jpg · Eddie Adams · Public domain67
Plato
Greek philosopher
Image credits
Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.png · Marie-Lan Nguyen · Public domain68
Samuel Morse
Telegraph innovator
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Samuel_Morse.jpg · Mathew Benjamin Brady · Public domain69
James Cook
Pacific navigator
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Captainjamescookportrait.jpg · Nathaniel Dance-Holland · Public domain70
Rigoberta Menchú
Indigenous rights advocate
Image credits
20240620_NP_PRESIDENTE_BERNARDO_AREVALO_Y_KARIN_HERRERA_PARTICIPAN_EN_DIALOGO_PREMIO_NOBEL_DE_LA_PAZ_054_(cropped).jpg · Gobierno de Guatemala · Public domain71
Martin Luther
Protestant reformer
Image credits
Lucas_Cranach_d.Ä._-_Martin_Luther,_1528_(Veste_Coburg).jpg · Lucas Cranach the Elder · Public domain72
Mansa Musa
Emperor of Mali
Image credits
Catalan_Atlas_BNF_Sheet_6_Mansa_Musa_(cropped).jpg · attributed to Abraham Cresques · Public domain73
Anne Frank
Diarist of the Holocaust
Image credits
Anne_Frank_passport_photo,_May_1942_(cropped).jpg · Unknown photographer · Public domain74
Thomas Edison
American inventor
Image credits
Thomas_Edison2.jpg · Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios , restored by Michel Vuijlsteke · Public domain75
Aung San Suu Kyi
Burmese political figure
Image credits
Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_at_the_Enthronement_of_Naruhito_(1).jpg · Cabinet Public Relations Office of the Cabinet Secretariat · CC BY 4.076
Rabindranath Tagore
Bengali poet and educator
Image credits
1926_Rabindrath_Tagore.jpg · Georges Chevalier · CC BY 4.077
Peter the Great
Russian tsar
Image credits
Inconnu_d'après_J.-M._Nattier,_Portrait_de_Pierre_Ier_(musée_de_l’Ermitage).jpg · Attributed to Jean-Marc Nattier · Public domain78
Catherine the Great
Russian empress
Image credits
Catherine_II_after_Roslin,_Rokotov_(1780s,_Kunsthistorisches_Museum).jpg · After Alexander Roslin · Public domain79
Ibn Khaldun
Historian and social thinker
Image credits
Bust_of_Ibn_Khaldun_(Casbah_of_Bejaia,_Algeria).jpg · Reda Kerbush · CC BY-SA 4.080
Katherine Johnson
NASA mathematician
Image credits
Katherine_Johnson_1983.jpg · NASA · Public domain81
Sun Tzu
Chinese military thinker
Image credits
吴司马孙武.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain82
Shaka
Zulu king
Image credits
KingShaka.jpg · James King · Public domain83
Susan La Flesche Picotte
Omaha physician and reformer
Image credits
Doctor.susan.la.flesche.picotte.jpg · This image was found at The National Library of Medicine. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_253.html · Public domain84
John Locke
English philosopher
Image credits
Godfrey_Kneller_-_Portrait_of_John_Locke_(Hermitage).jpg · Godfrey Kneller · Public domain85
Michelangelo
Italian sculptor and painter
Image credits
Michelangelo_Daniele_da_Volterra_(dettaglio).jpg · Attributed to Daniele da Volterra · Public domain86
Yu Gwan-sun
Korean independence activist
Image credits
Ryu_Gwan-sun.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain87
W. E. B. Du Bois
Scholar and civil rights leader
Image credits
W.E.B._Du_Bois_by_James_E._Purdy,_1907_(3x4).jpg · James E. Purdy / Adam Cuerden · Public domain88
Nefertiti
Queen of ancient Egypt
Image credits
Nofretete_Neues_Museum.jpg · Philip Pikart · CC BY-SA 3.089
Ferdinand Magellan
Navigator of a globe-spanning expedition
Image credits
Ferdinand_Magellan.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain90
Emmeline Pankhurst
British suffrage leader
Image credits
Emmeline_Pankhurst,_seated_(1913).jpg · Adam Cuerden · Public domain91
Sun Yat-sen
Chinese revolutionary leader
Image credits
孙中山肖像.jpg · 上海波尔照相馆 · Public domain92
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Founder of modern Turkey
Image credits
Ataturk1930s.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain93
Golda Meir
Israeli prime minister
Image credits
Golda_Meir_(1964)_cropped.jpg · Willem van de Poll · CC BY-SA 4.094
Sitting Bull
Lakota leader
Image credits
Sitting_Bull_by_D_F_Barry_ca_1883_Dakota_Territory.jpg · David F. Barry, Photographer, Bismarck, Dakota Territory · Public domain95
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Egyptian president
Image credits
Stevan_Kragujevic,_Gamal_Abdel_Naser_u_Beogradu,_1962.jpg · Stevan Kragujević · CC BY-SA 3.096
Kwame Nkrumah
Ghanaian independence leader
Image credits
Kwame_Nkrumah_Portrait,_The_National_Archives_UK.jpg · The National Archives UK - Flickr account · OGL v1.097
Jomo Kenyatta
Kenyan independence leader
Image credits
Jomo_Kenyatta_(cropped)_in_June_15th,_1966.jpg · Pridan Moshe · Public domain98
Frantz Fanon
Writer on colonialism and liberation
Image credits
Photograph_of_Frantz_Fanon_from_Black_Skin_White_Masks_(1967)_dust_jacket.webp · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain99
Tenzin Gyatso
The 14th Dalai Lama
Image credits
The_Dalai_Lama_in_2012.jpg · Christopher Michel · CC BY-SA 4.0100
Malala Yousafzai
Education activist
Image credits
Malala_Yousafzai_2023_portrait_2x3.jpg · flowcomm · CC BY 2.0101
Neil Armstrong
First person to walk on the Moon
