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
Mumtaz Mahal
from 1593 to 1631
6 moments here
Mumtaz Mahal, born Arjumand Banu Begum, was the chief consort of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and empress from 1628 until her death in childbirth in…
Niccolò Machiavelli
from 1469 to 1527
32 moments here
Florentine diplomat, civil servant, political theorist, playwright, and historian of the Italian Renaissance.…
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…
Oda Nobunaga
from 1534 to 1582
13 moments here
Japanese samurai and daimyō who rose from Owari Province to become one of the principal military and political unifiers of sixteenth-century Japan.…
Peter Paul Rubens
from 1577 to 1640
25 moments here
Flemish Baroque painter, designer, humanist, collector, and diplomat. Rubens was born at Siegen, spent formative years in Cologne and Antwerp, worked…
Pope Paul III
from 1468 to 1549
19 moments here
Alessandro Farnese, Pope Paul III, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1534 until 1549.…
Raphael
from 1483 to 1520
14 moments here
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian High Renaissance painter and architect.…
Rembrandt
from 1606 to 1639
14 moments here
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) was a Dutch painter, printmaker, and draughtsman.…
René Descartes
from 1596 to 1650
45 moments here
French philosopher, mathematician, and natural philosopher whose methodic doubt, mind-body distinction, analytic techniques, and mechanical account…
Rose of Lima
from 1586 to 1617
5 moments here
Rose of Lima, born Isabel Flores de Oliva, was a Dominican tertiary in colonial Peru whose life of prayer, penance, and care for impoverished people…
Sejong the Great
from 1418 to 1450
8 moments here
Yi Do, posthumously Sejong the Great, was the fourth monarch of Joseon. Born in Hanyang, he became king in 1418 and ruled until 1450.…
Shah Jahan
from 1592 to 1646
14 moments here
Shah Jahan (born Prince Khurram) was the fifth Mughal emperor, reigning from 1628 until his deposition in 1658.…
Shivaji
from 1630 to 1642
2 moments here
Shivaji Bhonsle (1630–1680), later Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founded the Maratha state in western India.…
Suleiman the Magnificent
from 1494 to 1566
29 moments here
Ottoman sultan from 1520 to 1566, known in Ottoman tradition as Kanuni, the Lawgiver. Born at Trabzon and educated for dynastic rule, Suleiman…
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…
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…
Tokugawa Ieyasu
from 1543 to 1616
29 moments here
Japanese samurai, daimyo, and founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Born Matsudaira Takechiyo at Okazaki Castle, he spent part of his childhood as a…
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
from 1537 to 1598
23 moments here
Japanese samurai, daimyō, imperial regent, and chancellor who rose from a humble background under Oda Nobunaga to unify most of Japan.…
Vasco da Gama
from 1460 to 1524
36 moments here
Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman whose voyages connected Portugal and India by sea around southern Africa.…
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…
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…
Moments
- 1487 Novitiate at Stein Desiderius Erasmus
- 1487 Marriage to Sulakhani Guru Nanak
- 1487 Arrival at Golfo da Conceição Bartolomeu Dias
- 1488 Profession of vows at Stein Desiderius Erasmus
- 1488 Landfall at Mossel Bay Bartolomeu Dias
- 1488 Furthest point at Kwaaihoek Bartolomeu Dias
- 1488 First encounter with the Cape of Good Hope Bartolomeu Dias
- 1488 Return from the African voyage Bartolomeu Dias
- 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
- 1491 Service in the Roman Curia Pope Paul III
- 1491 Birth at Loyola Ignatius of Loyola
- 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
- 1492 Sails from La Gomera Christopher Columbus
- 1492 Lands on Cuba Christopher Columbus
- 1492 Makes first American landfall Christopher Columbus
- 1492 Explores northwestern Hispaniola Christopher Columbus
- 1492 Meets Guacanagaríx at La Navidad Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Visit to Strasbourg Albrecht Dürer
- 1493 Reports to the monarchs in Barcelona Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Stops at the Bay of Rincón Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Departure from Stein for Brabant Desiderius Erasmus
- 1493 Hosted at Santo Spirito Michelangelo
- 1493 Anchors at Santa Maria Island Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Meets John II at Vale do Paraíso Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Reaches Lisbon in a storm Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Returns to Palos Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Departs Cádiz on the second voyage Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Family celebration after cardinalate Pope Paul III
- 1493 Explores Guadeloupe Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Lands on Dominica Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Lands on Marie-Galante Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Makes landfall at Añasco Bay Christopher Columbus
- 1493 Revisits the ruins of La Navidad Christopher Columbus
- 1494 First Italian journey: Venice Albrecht Dürer
- 1494 Accession at Akhsikath Babur
- 1494 Founds La Isabela Christopher Columbus
- 1494 Brief stay in Venice Michelangelo