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 Thomas More, Ferdinand Magellan and Zheng He. Among them Writers, Philosophers and Political Leaders.
Notable people
Thomas More
from 1478 to 1535
22 moments here
English lawyer, humanist author, royal councillor, Speaker of the House of Commons, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Lord Chancellor under…
Ferdinand Magellan
from 1505 to 1521
21 moments here
Portuguese navigator and naval officer who served Portugal in the Indian Ocean, Malacca, and Morocco before relocating to Spain in 1517.…
Zheng He
from 1415 to 1433
20 moments here
Zheng He (born Ma He) was a Ming Chinese admiral and diplomat who commanded seven state-sponsored voyages across the South China Sea and Indian…
John Calvin
from 1509 to 1564
17 moments here
French Protestant reformer, pastor, and author. Born in Noyon, he studied law in Bourges and spent formative periods in Paris and Basel before moving…
Johannes Kepler
from 1571 to 1630
16 moments here
German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher, and music theorist. Kepler’s documented life moved from Württemberg schooling…
William Shakespeare
from 1564 to 1616
15 moments here
English playwright, poet, actor, and theatrical shareholder. Surviving records place Shakespeare principally in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, with…
Nicolaus Copernicus
from 1473 to 1543
15 moments here
Renaissance astronomer, canon, physician, administrator, and economist whose heliocentric model placed the Sun rather than Earth at the center of the…
Rembrandt
from 1606 to 1639
14 moments here
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) was a Dutch painter, printmaker, and draughtsman.…
Raphael
from 1483 to 1520
14 moments here
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian High Renaissance painter and architect.…
Francis Bacon
from 1561 to 1626
13 moments here
English philosopher, lawyer, statesman, Attorney General, and Lord Chancellor under James I.…
Mimar Sinan
from 1490 to 1588
13 moments here
Mimar Sinan was the Ottoman Empire’s chief architect and a military engineer under Süleyman I, Selim II, and Murad III.…
François Rabelais
from 1520 to 1553
11 moments here
French Renaissance writer, physician, humanist, and Catholic priest. His birth date is disputed, with scholarship placing it between 1483 and 1494;…
Johannes Gutenberg
from 1434 to 1468
10 moments here
German inventor and craftsman associated with the development of European movable-type printing.…
Blaise Pascal
from 1623 to 1648
9 moments here
French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer. Pascal spent his life principally between Clermont-Ferrand, Paris,…
Molière
from 1622 to 1650
7 moments here
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known as Molière, was a French playwright, actor, and theatrical manager.…
Thomas Hobbes
from 1588 to 1647
7 moments here
English philosopher and political theorist, best known for Leviathan (1651). Hobbes’s documented movements include study at Oxford, European travel…
Jean de La Fontaine
from 1621 to 1647
6 moments here
French fabulist, poet, dramatist, and author whose Fables became foundational works of French literature.…
John Locke
from 1632 to 1647
3 moments here
English philosopher, physician, and political writer. Locke was born in Somerset, educated in London and Oxford, served Lord Shaftesbury in London,…
Shivaji
from 1630 to 1642
2 moments here
Shivaji Bhonsle (1630–1680), later Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founded the Maratha state in western India.…
Isaac Newton
in 1643
1 moment here
English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, alchemist, author, and public official.…
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
in 1646
1 moment here
German polymath, philosopher, mathematician, jurist, diplomat, court councillor, historian, and librarian.…
Matsuo Bashō
in 1644
1 moment here
Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) was a Japanese poet of the Edo period, renowned for haikai and for travel writing including Oku no Hosomichi.…
Louis XIV
in 1638
1 moment here
Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 1638–1715), king of France from 1643, was the Bourbon monarch known as the Sun King.…
Baruch Spinoza
in 1632
1 moment here
Dutch philosopher Baruch (Benedictus) de Spinoza lived entirely in the Dutch Republic. His securely documented locations trace a life centered on…
Moments
- 1460 Birth at Sines Vasco da Gama
- 1462 Expulsion from Mainz during the Diocesan Feud Johannes Gutenberg
- 1465 Residence at Algesheimer Hof Johannes Gutenberg
- 1466 Birth in Rotterdam Desiderius Erasmus
- 1468 Death at Algesheimer Hof Johannes Gutenberg
- 1468 Burial in the Franciscan church Johannes Gutenberg
- 1469 Moves to Florence Leonardo da Vinci
- 1469 Birth in Florence Niccolò Machiavelli
- 1470 Family relocates to Savona Christopher Columbus
- 1471 Birth in Nuremberg Albrecht Dürer
- 1473 Birth in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus
- 1475 Brought to Florence as an infant Michelangelo
- 1475 Born at Caprese Michelangelo
- 1476 Childhood move to Gouda Desiderius Erasmus
- 1476 Shipwrecked near Lagos Christopher Columbus
- 1477 Establishes himself in Lisbon Christopher Columbus
- 1477 Returns from Galway to Lisbon Christopher Columbus
- 1478 Purchases sugar in Madeira Christopher Columbus
- 1478 Latin-school education in Deventer Desiderius Erasmus
- 1478 Witnesses a contract in Vinci Leonardo da Vinci
- 1478 Birth in the City of London Thomas More
- 1481 Lives with a stonecutter at Settignano Michelangelo
- 1482 Trades at Elmina Christopher Columbus
- 1482 Moves to the Sforza court Leonardo da Vinci
- 1483 Birth in Urbino Raphael
- 1483 Born in Eisleben Martin Luther
- 1484 Hears western-island reports on La Gomera Christopher Columbus
- 1484 Returns to Porto Santo Christopher Columbus
- 1484 Seminary schooling in 's-Hertogenbosch Desiderius Erasmus
- 1484 Family relocates to Mansfeld Martin Luther
- 1485 Birth in Medellín Hernán Cortés
- 1486 Apprenticeship with Michael Wolgemut Albrecht Dürer
- 1487 Stays at Córdoba Christopher Columbus
- 1487 Novitiate at Stein Desiderius Erasmus
- 1488 Profession of vows at Stein Desiderius Erasmus
- 1490 Lives in the Medici household Michelangelo
- 1490 Birth at Ağırnas Mimar Sinan
- 1490 Consults at Pavia Cathedral Leonardo da Vinci
- 1491 Retreats to La Rábida Christopher Columbus
- 1491 Birth at Saint-Malo Jacques Cartier
- 1491 Studies at the University of Kraków Nicolaus Copernicus
- 1492 Stay in Basel Albrecht Dürer
- 1492 Wanderjahre visit to Colmar Albrecht Dürer
- 1492 Waits at the Granada campaign camp Christopher Columbus
- 1492 Studies at Oxford Thomas More
- 1492 Mission in the Algarve Vasco da Gama
- 1492 Mission to Setubal Vasco da Gama
- 1492 Signs the Santa Fe agreement Christopher Columbus
- 1492 Attends reading of the Palos order Christopher Columbus
- 1492 Departs Palos on the first voyage Christopher Columbus