Historical figures of the Age of Exploration
The atlas holds 48 people and 992 moments here, from 1415 to 1650. The most recorded lives are Christopher Columbus, René Descartes and Elizabeth I. Among them Writers, Philosophers and Political Leaders.
Notable people
Christopher Columbus
from 1451 to 1506
73 moments here
Genoese navigator who completed four Castilian-sponsored Atlantic expeditions between 1492 and 1504.…
René Descartes
from 1596 to 1650
45 moments here
French philosopher, mathematician, and natural philosopher whose methodic doubt, mind-body distinction, analytic techniques, and mechanical account…
Elizabeth I
from 1533 to 1603
36 moments here
Elizabeth I (1533–1603), daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death.…
Vasco da Gama
from 1460 to 1524
36 moments here
Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman whose voyages connected Portugal and India by sea around southern Africa.…
Galileo Galilei
from 1564 to 1642
35 moments here
Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, mathematician, and natural philosopher. Born in Pisa, Galileo was educated in Tuscany, taught mathematics at…
Albrecht Dürer
from 1471 to 1528
34 moments here
German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the Northern Renaissance. Born and died in Nuremberg, Dürer trained there before traveling through the…
Niccolò Machiavelli
from 1469 to 1527
32 moments here
Florentine diplomat, civil servant, political theorist, playwright, and historian of the Italian Renaissance.…
John Milton
from 1608 to 1649
31 moments here
English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. This chronology follows documented residences, education, continental travel, marriages, public service,…
Giordano Bruno
from 1548 to 1600
31 moments here
Italian Renaissance philosopher, Dominican friar, writer, and cosmological theorist. Born at Nola, Bruno studied and lived in Italy, Switzerland,…
Michel de Montaigne
from 1533 to 1592
31 moments here
French Renaissance writer, magistrate, diplomat, and two-term mayor of Bordeaux, best known for the Essais.…
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
from 1500 to 1558
31 moments here
Charles V (1500–1558), also Charles I of Spain, was Holy Roman Emperor, king of Spain, and ruler of the Habsburg Netherlands.…
Hernán Cortés
from 1485 to 1547
30 moments here
Spanish conquistador, commander, explorer, governor, and writer whose 1519–1521 campaign against the Aztec Empire helped establish Spanish rule in…
Martin Luther
from 1483 to 1546
29 moments here
German Augustinian friar, priest, theologian, professor, translator, and leading figure of the Protestant Reformation.…
Michelangelo
from 1475 to 1564
29 moments here
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.…
Suleiman the Magnificent
from 1494 to 1566
29 moments here
Ottoman sultan from 1520 to 1566, known in Ottoman tradition as Kanuni, the Lawgiver. Born at Trabzon and educated for dynastic rule, Suleiman…
Miguel de Cervantes
from 1547 to 1616
28 moments here
Spanish novelist, playwright, poet, soldier, purchasing agent and tax collector, best known for Don Quixote.…
Leonardo da Vinci
from 1452 to 1519
27 moments here
Italian Renaissance painter, draftsman, engineer, architect, anatomist, and natural philosopher.…
Desiderius Erasmus
from 1466 to 1536
27 moments here
Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, theologian, editor, and author. Erasmus was born in the Burgundian Netherlands, educated in the Low…
Peter Paul Rubens
from 1577 to 1640
25 moments here
Flemish Baroque painter, designer, humanist, collector, and diplomat. Rubens was born at Siegen, spent formative years in Cologne and Antwerp, worked…
Lope de Vega
from 1562 to 1635
24 moments here
Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist of the Spanish Golden Age. Born and died in Madrid, Lope de Vega studied in Madrid and Alcalá, served in naval…
Akbar
from 1542 to 1605
23 moments here
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (1542–1605), commonly known as Akbar, was the third Mughal emperor.…
Joan of Arc
from 1428 to 1431
22 moments here
French visionary and military figure of the Hundred Years' War. Born at Domrémy, Joan sought the support of Charles VII, helped relieve Orléans,…
Diego Velázquez
from 1599 to 1650
22 moments here
Spanish Baroque painter and court artist to Philip IV of Spain. Born in Seville, he trained there before establishing his long-term home and career…
Jacques Cartier
from 1491 to 1557
22 moments here
French navigator and explorer from Saint-Malo whose three Atlantic voyages of 1534, 1535–1536, and 1541–1542 surveyed the Gulf and River of Saint…
Moments
- 1415 Return from the fourth voyage Zheng He
- 1417 Ritual at Quanzhou before the fifth voyage Zheng He
- 1421 Personal mission to Ganbali Zheng He
- 1424 Diplomatic mission to Palembang Zheng He
- 1428 Takes refuge at Neufchâteau Joan of Arc
- 1429 Assembles forces at Bourges Joan of Arc
- 1429 Helps restore French control of Troyes Joan of Arc
- 1429 Departs Vaucouleurs for Chinon Joan of Arc
- 1429 Arrives at Château de Chinon Joan of Arc
- 1429 Enters besieged Orléans Joan of Arc
- 1429 Besieges Beaugency Joan of Arc
- 1429 Fights at Jargeau Joan of Arc
- 1429 Meets Charles at Fleury Abbey Joan of Arc
- 1429 Reaches the Patay battlefield Joan of Arc
- 1429 Rejoins the army bound for Jargeau Joan of Arc
- 1429 Takes the bridge at Meung-sur-Loire Joan of Arc
- 1429 Enters Reims with the royal army Joan of Arc
- 1429 Attacks Paris from La Chapelle Joan of Arc
- 1429 Besieges La Charité-sur-Loire Joan of Arc
- 1429 Captures Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier Joan of Arc
- 1430 Held at Beaurevoir Castle Joan of Arc
- 1430 Imprisoned in the Arras region Joan of Arc
- 1430 Sorties toward Margny and is captured Joan of Arc
- 1430 Imprisoned at Beaulieu-les-Fontaines Joan of Arc
- 1430 Imprisoned at Rouen Castle Joan of Arc
- 1431 Seventh-voyage embarkation Zheng He
- 1431 Arrival at Liujiagang on the seventh voyage Zheng He
- 1431 Arrival at Changle on the seventh voyage Zheng He
- 1431 Executed at Rouen's Old Marketplace Joan of Arc
- 1432 Arrival at Vijaya Zheng He
- 1432 Arrival at Surabaya Zheng He
- 1432 Arrival at Palembang on the seventh voyage Zheng He
- 1432 Arrival at Malacca on the seventh voyage Zheng He
- 1432 Arrival at Semudera on the seventh voyage Zheng He
- 1432 Arrival at Beruwala Zheng He
- 1432 Arrival at Calicut on the seventh voyage Zheng He
- 1433 Arrival at Hormuz Zheng He
- 1433 Return to Calicut from Hormuz Zheng He
- 1433 Return to Semudera Zheng He
- 1433 Return to Malacca Zheng He
- 1433 Return to Vijaya Zheng He
- 1433 Arrival at Taicang Zheng He
- 1434 Documented stay in Strasbourg begins Johannes Gutenberg
- 1437 Gemstone instruction at St. Arbogast Johannes Gutenberg
- 1438 Pilgrimage-mirror enterprise in Strasbourg Johannes Gutenberg
- 1444 Final documented Strasbourg presence Johannes Gutenberg
- 1448 Confirmed return to Mainz Johannes Gutenberg
- 1450 Printing workshop at Hof zum Humbrecht Johannes Gutenberg
- 1451 Born in Genoa Christopher Columbus
- 1452 Born near Vinci Leonardo da Vinci