Historical figures in Paris
The atlas holds 106 people and 375 moments here, from 800 to 2015. The most recorded lives are Oscar Wilde, Alexandre Dumas and Vladimir Lenin. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Scientists, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Oscar Wilde
from 1883 to 1900
5 moments here
Irish author, poet, playwright, critic, and leading figure in late nineteenth-century aestheticism.…
Alexandre Dumas
from 1823 to 1864
5 moments here
French novelist, playwright, journalist, and travel writer, also known as Alexandre Dumas père.…
Vladimir Lenin
from 1895 to 1911
4 moments here
Russian Marxist revolutionary, Bolshevik leader, political theorist, and founding head of government of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union.…
George Orwell
from 1928 to 1945
4 moments here
George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, an English novelist, essayist, journalist, critic, and democratic socialist.…
Thomas Aquinas
from 1245 to 1269
4 moments here
Italian Dominican friar, priest, theologian, and philosopher. His documented movements connected family residences in southern Italy, Dominican and…
John Locke
from 1675 to 1678
4 moments here
English philosopher, physician, and political writer. Locke was born in Somerset, educated in London and Oxford, served Lord Shaftesbury in London,…
James Joyce
from 1902 to 1931
4 moments here
Irish novelist, poet, and critic whose life moved between Dublin, continental Europe, and Switzerland.…
Marlene Dietrich
from 1959 to 1992
4 moments here
German-American actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (Marie Magdalene Dietrich) was born in Berlin and achieved international fame through stage,…
Jules Verne
from 1847 to 1864
4 moments here
French novelist, playwright, and poet whose documented life included residences and work in Nantes, Paris, Amiens, Auteuil, and Le Crotoy, together…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
from 1763 to 1778
3 moments here
Austrian composer and performer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart toured Europe as a child prodigy, made three formative journeys to…
Vincent van Gogh
from 1873 to 1886
3 moments here
Dutch Post-Impressionist painter whose documented movements trace a path from a Brabant childhood through work and religious study in the…
Winston Churchill
from 1883 to 1958
3 moments here
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874–1965) was a British soldier, journalist, author and statesman whose career ranged from imperial campaigns in…
Hans Christian Andersen
from 1833 to 1863
3 moments here
Danish writer renowned for literary fairy tales including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Snow Queen,” and “The Ugly…
Gabriel García Márquez
from 1955 to 1993
3 moments here
Colombian novelist, journalist, screenwriter, and Nobel laureate whose life moved between Colombia, Europe, Cuba, the United States, Mexico, and…
Albert Camus
from 1940 to 1945
3 moments here
French writer, philosopher, journalist, and political activist, born in French Algeria. Camus studied and worked in Algiers, moved between Algeria…
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
from 1672 to 1676
3 moments here
German polymath, philosopher, mathematician, jurist, diplomat, court councillor, historian, and librarian.…
Richard Wagner
from 1839 to 1859
3 moments here
German composer, conductor, theatre director, and essayist whose movements included early work in German theatre, exile in Switzerland, stays in…
Mikhail Gorbachev
from 1976 to 1985
3 moments here
Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…
Alfred Nobel
from 1850 to 1895
3 moments here
Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, and industrialist Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833–1896) developed dynamite and other explosives, built businesses…
Louis XIV
from 1638 to 1674
3 moments here
Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 1638–1715), king of France from 1643, was the Bourbon monarch known as the Sun King.…
Simón Bolívar
from 1802 to 1806
3 moments here
Venezuelan military and political leader known as El Libertador. Bolívar led revolutionary campaigns that helped secure the independence of…
Thomas Hobbes
from 1629 to 1647
3 moments here
English philosopher and political theorist, best known for Leviathan (1651). Hobbes’s documented movements include study at Oxford, European travel…
Ho Chi Minh
from 1919 to 1946
3 moments here
Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, born Nguyễn Sinh Cung, who led the Việt Minh, proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, and…
Giordano Bruno
from 1581 to 1586
3 moments here
Italian Renaissance philosopher, Dominican friar, writer, and cosmological theorist. Born at Nola, Bruno studied and lived in Italy, Switzerland,…
Moments
- 1671 Psyché at the Palais-Royal Molière
- 1672 Move to rue de Richelieu Molière
- 1672 Departs for Paris Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1673 Residence with Madame de La Sablière Jean de La Fontaine
- 1673 Death in Paris Molière
- 1673 Final performance of Le Malade imaginaire Molière
- 1673 Returns to Paris from London Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1674 Retreat to Saint-Germain-en-Laye Louis XIV
- 1675 Arrival in Paris on French journey John Locke
- 1676 Leaves Paris for Hanover service Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1677 Arrival in Paris as tutor John Locke
- 1678 Departure from Paris toward Rome John Locke
- 1678 Return to Paris after abandoned Rome journey John Locke
- 1684 Reception into the Académie française Jean de La Fontaine
- 1693 Moved in with the d'Hervart family Jean de La Fontaine
- 1694 Born in Paris Voltaire
- 1695 Death at the Hôtel d'Hervart Jean de La Fontaine
- 1704 Studies at Louis-le-Grand Voltaire
- 1709 Scholarly residence in Paris Montesquieu
- 1717 Diplomatic and scholarly visits in Paris Peter the Great
- 1717 First Bastille imprisonment Voltaire
- 1726 Second Bastille imprisonment Voltaire
- 1726 Move to Paris after sale of office Montesquieu
- 1727 Letter from Paris Montesquieu
- 1728 Departure for Vienna Montesquieu
- 1734 Residence in Paris while preparing later work Montesquieu
- 1738 Botanical visit in Paris Carl Linnaeus
- 1739 Letter from Paris to Niccolini Montesquieu
- 1742 Presentation to the Académie des Sciences Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1744 Visits Paris and begins relationship with Denis Voltaire
- 1745 Return to Paris and relationship with Thérèse Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1749 Visits to Diderot at Vincennes Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1749 Returns briefly to Paris after du Châtelet’s death Voltaire
- 1754 Final visit to Paris Montesquieu
- 1755 Death in Paris Montesquieu
- 1759 Residence at Château de Montmorency Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1763 Arrives in Paris Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 First arrival in Paris Adam Smith
- 1765 Paris stay with the Prince of Conti Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1766 Second Paris residence and intellectual meetings Adam Smith
- 1766 Returns to Paris Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1767 Visit to Paris Benjamin Franklin
- 1770 Final Paris residence on Rue Platrière Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1776 Carriage accident in Paris Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1776 American commissioner in Passy Benjamin Franklin
- 1778 Lives at Chaussée-d'Antin in Paris Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1778 Treaties with France Benjamin Franklin
- 1778 Returns to Paris after twenty-five years Voltaire
- 1778 Attends a performance of Irène Voltaire
- 1778 Initiated at Les Neuf Sœurs Voltaire