Lives on the map

88 people and 4,223 moments from 1281 BC to 2022, each one placed in time and on the map.

88 people · 4,223 moments · 136 places · 1281 BC to 2022

The most notable lives the atlas holds

  1. Jesus Christ

    0100-01-01 BC → 0100-12-31

    Jesus of Nazareth was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader in Roman Judaea. Most modern scholars agree that he existed historically; the surviving narrative…

    26 moments · 26 with a picture

  2. William Shakespeare

    1564-01-01 → 1616-04-23

    English playwright, poet, actor, and theatrical shareholder. Surviving records place Shakespeare principally in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, with notable appearances at the…

    15 moments · 5 with a picture

  3. Adolf Hitler

    1889-04-20 → 1945-04-30

    Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who led the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), became German chancellor in 1933, and ruled Nazi…

    75 moments · 34 with a picture

  4. Michael Jackson

    1958-08-29 → 2009-06-25

    American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist whose career began with the Jackson 5 and developed into global solo stardom.…

    17 moments · 17 with a picture

  5. Albert Einstein

    1879-03-14 → 1955-04-18

    German-born theoretical physicist who transformed modern physics through special and general relativity, foundational work on quantum theory, and mass–energy equivalence.…

    85 moments · 79 with a picture

  6. Aristotle

    0384-01-01 BC → 0322-01-01 BC

    Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath whose surviving biography is reconstructed from sparse and sometimes conflicting ancient traditions.…

    9 moments · 7 with a picture

  7. Confucius

    0551-01-01 BC → 0479-01-01 BC

    Confucius, born Kong Qiu, was a teacher, political thinker, and sometime official of the Chinese state of Lu. Early sources place his life in the late Spring and Autumn period,…

    23 moments · 3 with a picture

  8. Karl Marx

    1818-05-05 → 1883-03-14

    German philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Born in Trier, Marx studied in Bonn and Berlin, worked in Cologne, and entered political exile in Paris and…

    53 moments · 49 with a picture

  9. Leonardo da Vinci

    1452-04-15 → 1519-05-02

    Italian Renaissance painter, draftsman, engineer, architect, anatomist, and natural philosopher. Born near Vinci, Leonardo trained and worked in Florence before serving the Sforza…

    27 moments · 25 with a picture

  10. Ronald Reagan

    1911-02-06 → 2004-06-05

    American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States. This chronology traces documented residences, workplaces, campaign…

    120 moments · 111 with a picture

  11. Isaac Newton

    1643-01-04 → 1727-03-31

    English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, alchemist, author, and public official. Born at Woolsthorpe Manor, Newton studied and worked for decades at Trinity…

    16 moments · 15 with a picture

  12. Plato

    0428-01-01 BC → 0347-01-01 BC

    Ancient Greek philosopher of Classical Athens, student of Socrates, teacher of Aristotle, and founder of the Academy.…

    18 moments · 18 with a picture

  13. Abraham Lincoln

    1809-02-12 → 1865-04-15

    American lawyer, Illinois legislator, congressman, and sixteenth president of the United States. This chronology traces documented residences, journeys, military service, legal…

    68 moments · 51 with a picture

  14. Vladimir Lenin

    1870-04-22 → 1924-01-21

    Russian Marxist revolutionary, Bolshevik leader, political theorist, and founding head of government of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union.…

    85 moments · 85 with a picture

  15. Nelson Mandela

    1918-07-18 → 2013-12-05

    South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, lawyer and statesman. Mandela helped lead the African National Congress, co-founded its armed wing, endured more than 27 years of…

    99 moments · 34 with a picture

  16. Muhammad

    0570-01-01 → 0632-06-08

    Muhammad ibn Abdullah was an Arab religious, political, and military leader and the founder of Islam. Traditional Islamic biographies place his birth and early life in Mecca, his…

    32 moments · 25 with a picture

  17. Napoleon Bonaparte

    1769-08-15 → 1821-05-05

    French military commander and statesman who rose during the French Revolution, became First Consul in 1799, and ruled as Emperor of the French in 1804–1814 and briefly in 1815.…

    68 moments · 68 with a picture

  18. Mahatma Gandhi

    1869-10-02 → 1948-01-30

    Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist, and leader of mass nonviolent resistance.…

    69 moments · 46 with a picture

  19. Julius Caesar

    0100-01-01 BC → 0044-03-15 BC

    Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman politician, general, orator and author whose career spanned the late Roman Republic.…

    50 moments · 50 with a picture

  20. Leo Tolstoy

    1828-09-09 → 1910-11-20

    Russian novelist, essayist, educator, religious thinker, and social critic. Born at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy studied in Kazan, served in the Caucasus and Crimean War, traveled…

    21 moments · 21 with a picture

  21. Charles Darwin

    1809-02-12 → 1882-04-19

    English naturalist, geologist, and biologist whose observations during the global voyage of HMS Beagle and subsequent research led to his theory of evolution by natural selection.…

    110 moments · 0 with a picture

  22. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    1749-08-28 → 1832-03-22

    German poet, dramatist, novelist, scientist, theatre director, and statesman. Born in Frankfurt, Goethe studied in Leipzig and Strasbourg, practiced law in Wetzlar, and settled in…

    78 moments · 36 with a picture

  23. Joseph Stalin

    1878-12-18 → 1953-03-05

    Soviet revolutionary and political leader, born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili in Gori, Georgia. After underground Bolshevik activity, repeated imprisonment, and Siberian exile,…

    16 moments · 16 with a picture

  24. Socrates

    0469-01-01 BC → 0399-01-01 BC

    Classical Athenian philosopher known chiefly through Plato, Xenophon, Aristophanes, and later ancient testimony.…

    8 moments · 8 with a picture

  25. George Washington

    1732-02-22 → 1799-12-14

    George Washington was a Virginia surveyor, planter, military commander, revolutionary leader, constitutional statesman, and the first president of the United States.…

    45 moments · 38 with a picture

  26. The Buddha

    0600-01-01 BC → 0401-12-31 BC

    Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and teacher who founded Buddhism in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain.…

    18 moments · 15 with a picture

  27. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    1756-01-27 → 1791-12-05

    Austrian composer and performer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart toured Europe as a child prodigy, made three formative journeys to Italy, served the Salzburg court,…

    121 moments · 0 with a picture

  28. Ludwig van Beethoven

    1770-12-16 → 1827-03-26

    German composer and pianist whose life was centered first in Bonn and, from 1792, in Vienna. This chronology traces documented residences, performances, concert tours, spa visits,…

    53 moments · 25 with a picture

  29. Dante Alighieri

    1265-05-01 → 1321-09-14

    Florentine poet, prose writer, philosopher, and statesman whose Divine Comedy became a foundational work of Italian and European literature.…

    26 moments · 22 with a picture

  30. Galileo Galilei

    1564-02-15 → 1642-01-08

    Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, mathematician, and natural philosopher. Born in Pisa, Galileo was educated in Tuscany, taught mathematics at Pisa and Padua, and developed…

    35 moments · 33 with a picture

  31. Victor Hugo

    1802-02-26 → 1885-05-22

    French Romantic poet, novelist, dramatist, artist, activist, and politician. This chronology traces documented physical presences from his mobile childhood through literary…

    39 moments · 29 with a picture

  32. Pablo Picasso

    1881-10-25 → 1973-04-08

    Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and co-founder of Cubism. Born in Málaga, Picasso trained in A Coruña, Barcelona, and Madrid before settling in France.…

    60 moments · 36 with a picture

  33. Vincent van Gogh

    1853-03-30 → 1890-07-29

    Dutch Post-Impressionist painter whose documented movements trace a path from a Brabant childhood through work and religious study in the Netherlands, England, France, and…

    37 moments · 30 with a picture

  34. Alexander the Great

    0356-01-01 BC → 0323-06-11 BC

    Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BCE), known as Alexander the Great, became king of Macedon in 336 BCE and campaigned from the Balkans through the Achaemenid Empire into Central…

    54 moments · 54 with a picture

  35. Charlie Chaplin

    1889-04-16 → 1977-12-25

    English actor, comedian, director, writer, producer and composer whose screen persona, the Tramp, became an international icon.…

    62 moments · 45 with a picture

  36. Winston Churchill

    1874-11-30 → 1965-01-24

    Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874–1965) was a British soldier, journalist, author and statesman whose career ranged from imperial campaigns in the 1890s through more than…

    68 moments · 21 with a picture

  37. Martin Luther

    1483-11-10 → 1546-02-18

    German Augustinian friar, priest, theologian, professor, translator, and leading figure of the Protestant Reformation.…

    29 moments · 27 with a picture

  38. Johann Sebastian Bach

    1685-03-31 → 1750-07-28

    German Baroque composer, organist, violinist, keyboard virtuoso, and musical director. Born in Eisenach, Bach was educated in Ohrdruf and Lüneburg before holding posts in…

    24 moments · 20 with a picture

  39. Michelangelo

    1475-03-06 → 1564-02-18

    Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. Born at Caprese and raised around Florence, he trained in the city’s workshops…

    29 moments · 25 with a picture

  40. Voltaire

    1694-11-21 → 1778-05-30

    François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, dramatist, and philosopher.…

    51 moments · 50 with a picture

  41. Friedrich Nietzsche

    1844-10-15 → 1900-08-25

    German philosopher, classical philologist, cultural critic, poet, and author. Born in Röcken, Nietzsche was educated at Schulpforta and Leipzig, became professor of classical…

    32 moments · 31 with a picture

  42. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

    1821-11-11 → 1881-02-09

    Russian novelist, journalist, essayist, and former military engineer whose life moved between Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Siberian imprisonment and exile, provincial Russian…

    86 moments · 75 with a picture

  43. Elizabeth II

    1926-04-21 → 2022-09-08

    Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death.…

    78 moments · 17 with a picture

  44. Immanuel Kant

    1724-04-22 → 1804-02-12

    German Enlightenment philosopher whose critical philosophy transformed epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, and political thought.…

    15 moments · 14 with a picture

  45. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

    1881-01-01 → 1938-11-10

    Ottoman officer, Turkish field marshal, revolutionary statesman, founder of the Republic of Turkey, and its first president.…

    99 moments · 43 with a picture

  46. Thomas Edison

    1847-02-11 → 1931-10-18

    American inventor and industrialist whose laboratories developed and commercialized technologies in telegraphy, recorded sound, electric lighting and power, motion pictures,…

    39 moments · 30 with a picture

  47. René Descartes

    1596-03-31 → 1650-02-11

    French philosopher, mathematician, and natural philosopher whose methodic doubt, mind-body distinction, analytic techniques, and mechanical account of nature helped reshape early…

    45 moments · 36 with a picture

  48. Mark Twain

    1835-11-30 → 1910-04-21

    Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, journalist, lecturer, riverboat pilot, and traveler.…

    108 moments · 105 with a picture

  49. Sigmund Freud

    1856-05-06 → 1939-09-23

    Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis. This chronology traces documented locations from his Moravian birthplace and Viennese education and practice through research…

    27 moments · 16 with a picture

  50. John F. Kennedy

    1917-05-29 → 1963-11-22

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…

    86 moments · 32 with a picture