Historical figures of the Age of Exploration
The atlas holds 69 people and 1,279 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
Iskandar Muda
from 1583 to 1636
6 moments here
Iskandar Muda was Sultan of Aceh from 1607 until his death in 1636. His reign marked the greatest territorial extent of the Aceh Sultanate and…
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…
Jahangir
from 1569 to 1627
22 moments here
Nur ud-din Muhammad Salim, known by his regnal name Jahangir, was the fourth Mughal emperor.…
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.…
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,…
Johannes Gutenberg
from 1434 to 1468
10 moments here
German inventor and craftsman associated with the development of European movable-type printing.…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
Juana Inés de la Cruz
in 1648
1 moment here
Juana Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana, known as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, was a Novohispanic Hieronymite nun, poet, writer, philosopher,…
Kabir
in 1518
1 moment here
15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His chronology is disputed: Wikipedia notes competing 1398–1448 and 1440–1518 lifespans.…
Leonardo da Vinci
from 1452 to 1519
27 moments here
Italian Renaissance painter, draftsman, engineer, architect, anatomist, and natural philosopher.…
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…
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.…
Martin Luther
from 1483 to 1546
29 moments here
German Augustinian friar, priest, theologian, professor, translator, and leading figure of the Protestant Reformation.…
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.…
Michelangelo
from 1475 to 1564
29 moments here
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.…
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.…
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.…
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.…
Mirabai
from 1498 to 1546
4 moments here
Sixteenth-century Hindu mystic poet and Krishna devotee associated with the Bhakti movement.…
Miyamoto Musashi
from 1583 to 1645
18 moments here
Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer. His early biography and several event dates are disputed or preserved in later accounts; this…
Molière
from 1622 to 1650
7 moments here
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known as Molière, was a French playwright, actor, and theatrical manager.…
Moments
- 1438 Pilgrimage-mirror enterprise in Strasbourg Johannes Gutenberg
- 1443 Arrival at Onyang Hot Springs Sejong the Great
- 1444 Final documented Strasbourg presence Johannes Gutenberg
- 1448 Confirmed return to Mainz Johannes Gutenberg
- 1450 Printing workshop at Hof zum Humbrecht Johannes Gutenberg
- 1450 Death in the East Palace Sejong the Great
- 1451 Born in Genoa Christopher Columbus
- 1452 Born near Vinci Leonardo da Vinci
- 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
- 1468 Birth at Canino Pope Paul III
- 1469 Moves to Florence Leonardo da Vinci
- 1469 Birth at Rai Bhoi di Talwandi Guru Nanak
- 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 Construction expedition to São Jorge da Mina Bartolomeu Dias
- 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 present-day Iraq Fuzuli
- 1483 Birth in Urbino Raphael
- 1483 Birth at Andijan Babur
- 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
- 1486 Imprisonment at Castel Sant'Angelo Pope Paul III
- 1487 Departure on African exploration voyage Bartolomeu Dias
- 1487 Sailing to the Congo Bartolomeu Dias
- 1487 Supply-ship stop at Porto Alexandre Bartolomeu Dias
- 1487 Stays at Córdoba Christopher Columbus