Writers through history
The atlas holds 180 people and 5,946 moments here, from 620 BC to 2025. The most recorded lives are J. R. R. Tolkien, Richard Wagner and Euclid. Across the Cold War and the Interwar Period.
Notable people
J. R. R. Tolkien
from 1892 to 1973
38 moments here
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English philologist, university professor, and author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.…
Richard Wagner
from 1813 to 1883
20 moments here
German composer, conductor, theatre director, and essayist whose movements included early work in German theatre, exile in Switzerland, stays in…
Euclid
in 300 BC
1 moment here
Ancient Greek mathematician and geometer, conventionally known as Euclid of Alexandria. Biographical evidence is exceptionally sparse: his birthplace…
Cicero
from 106 BC to 43 BC
83 moments here
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC) was a Roman lawyer, orator, philosopher, consul, provincial governor, and defender of the late Republic.…
Jane Austen
from 1775 to 1817
48 moments here
English novelist Jane Austen spent her life in southern England, principally in Hampshire, Bath, Southampton, Chawton, and Winchester.…
Matsuo Bashō
from 1644 to 1694
40 moments here
Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) was a Japanese poet of the Edo period, renowned for haikai and for travel writing including Oku no Hosomichi.…
Ovid
from 43 BC to 17
9 moments here
Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) was a Roman poet born at Sulmo. Educated in Rome, he later travelled in Greece, Asia Minor, and Sicily, though the…
Benito Mussolini
from 1883 to 1945
45 moments here
Italian journalist, Fascist leader, and dictator of Italy from 1922 until his removal in 1943.…
Carl Friedrich Gauss
from 1777 to 1855
35 moments here
German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist. Gauss was born in Brunswick, studied there and at Göttingen, worked privately in…
Friedrich Engels
from 1820 to 1895
39 moments here
German philosopher, political theorist, revolutionary socialist, businessman, and Karl Marx’s lifelong collaborator.…
Henry Ford
from 1863 to 1947
26 moments here
American industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company. Ford grew up in rural Michigan, worked in Detroit engineering and machine shops, developed…
Jean-Paul Sartre
from 1905 to 1980
31 moments here
French philosopher, writer, and political activist associated with existentialism. His documented movements include education and teaching across…
Jimmy Carter
from 1924 to 2024
51 moments here
James Earl Carter Jr. was an American naval officer, Georgia state senator and governor, the 39th president of the United States, and a…
Stephen Hawking
from 1942 to 2018
23 moments here
English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author whose work on singularities, black-hole thermodynamics, and Hawking radiation reshaped modern…
Le Corbusier
from 1887 to 1965
38 moments here
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, known as Le Corbusier, was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, painter, writer, and urban planner.…
Mother Teresa
from 1910 to 1997
23 moments here
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, known as Mother Teresa or Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun.…
Harry S. Truman
from 1884 to 1972
38 moments here
Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953.…
Li Bai
from 701 to 762
27 moments here
Li Bai (701–762), also known as Li Bo or Li Po, was a major Tang-dynasty Chinese poet. His surviving biography documents a childhood relocation to…
Paul the Apostle
from 5 to 64
45 moments here
Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was a first-century Jewish Christian apostle and missionary. The chronology below follows the traditional reconstruction used…
Agatha Christie
from 1890 to 1976
30 moments here
English novelist, playwright, and memoirist, internationally known for detective fiction featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.…
Blaise Pascal
from 1623 to 1662
11 moments here
French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer. Pascal spent his life principally between Clermont-Ferrand, Paris,…
Avicenna
from 980 to 1037
17 moments here
Ibn Sina (Avicenna; c. 980–22 June 1037) was a Persian philosopher, physician, and court official.…
Jorge Luis Borges
from 1899 to 1986
58 moments here
Argentine writer, poet, essayist, translator, lecturer, librarian, and critic. Borges was born in Buenos Aires, lived in Switzerland and Spain during…
Sarah Bernhardt
from 1844 to 1923
47 moments here
French stage and early film actress, born Henriette-Rosine Bernard in Paris. Bernhardt became an international theatrical star through performances…