Historical figures of the Cold War
The atlas holds 395 people and 5,747 moments here, from 1947 to 1991. The most recorded lives are Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mikhail Gorbachev. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Performers.
Notable people
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
from 1956 to 1989
20 moments here
Algerian politician, diplomat, and president. Born in Oujda, he joined the National Liberation Army during the Algerian War, served as Algeria's…
Abdurrahman Wahid
from 1949 to 1984
13 moments here
Indonesian Islamic scholar, Nahdlatul Ulama leader, reform advocate, and fourth president of Indonesia (1999–2001), widely known as Gus Dur.…
Abdus Salam
from 1951 to 1991
19 moments here
Pakistani theoretical physicist and 1979 Nobel Prize laureate whose career connected education in Punjab and Cambridge with professorships in Lahore…
Abebe Bikila
from 1950 to 1973
27 moments here
Ethiopian marathon runner and Imperial Guard officer who won Olympic marathon gold in Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964, both in world-record time.…
Agostinho Neto
from 1947 to 1979
28 moments here
António Agostinho Neto was an Angolan physician, poet, anti-colonial leader, president of the MPLA, and the first president of independent Angola.…
Ahmed Sékou Touré
from 1958 to 1984
31 moments here
Guinean nationalist, trade-union leader, and Guinea’s first president, serving from independence in 1958 until his death in 1984.…
Akira Kurosawa
from 1952 to 1990
14 moments here
Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, editor, and painter. Kurosawa directed 30 feature films between 1943 and 1993, including Rashomon, Seven…
Albert Camus
from 1949 to 1960
17 moments here
French writer, philosopher, journalist, and political activist, born in French Algeria. Camus studied and worked in Algiers, moved between Algeria…
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
from 1950 to 1991
18 moments here
Soviet and Russian novelist, essayist, historian, dissident, and Nobel laureate whose writings on Soviet political repression and the Gulag made him…
Alexei Leonov
from 1948 to 1991
22 moments here
Soviet and Russian cosmonaut, aviator, artist, and writer. Leonov became the first person to conduct a spacewalk on 18 March 1965 and commanded Soyuz…
Alfredo Di Stéfano
from 1947 to 1967
17 moments here
Argentine-born footballer and manager who became a Spanish citizen and was the central player in Real Madrid's five consecutive European Cup…
Alice Munro
from 1950 to 1982
12 moments here
Canadian short-story writer and 2013 Nobel laureate. Born in Wingham, Ontario, Munro studied in London, Ontario; lived in British Columbia during her…
Ali Khamenei
from 1957 to 1989
18 moments here
Iranian Shia cleric and politician who was president of Iran from 1981 to 1989 and supreme leader from 1989 until his death in 2026.…
Andy Warhol
from 1949 to 1987
25 moments here
American artist and filmmaker whose work helped define Pop art. Born in Pittsburgh, Warhol studied there before moving to New York in 1949.…
Anthony Quinn
from 1947 to 1983
12 moments here
Mexican-American actor, painter, sculptor, writer, and civil-rights supporter Anthony Quinn (Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca) worked in film,…
Anwar Sadat
from 1962 to 1981
34 moments here
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat was an Egyptian army officer, Free Officer, politician, and president of Egypt from 1970 until his assassination in 1981.…
Aretha Franklin
from 1947 to 1987
15 moments here
American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil-rights activist known as the “Queen of Soul.” Her documented movements span childhood relocations…
Astrud Gilberto
from 1947 to 1989
20 moments here
Brazilian-American singer and songwriter best known for her English-language vocals on “The Girl from Ipanema.” Born in Salvador, she grew up in Rio…
Audrey Hepburn
from 1948 to 1991
30 moments here
British actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn (Audrey Kathleen Ruston) was born in Brussels, raised across Belgium, England and the Netherlands,…
Augusto Pinochet
from 1948 to 1990
13 moments here
Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was a Chilean army officer who led the 11 September 1973 coup and ruled Chile as head of the military junta and then…
Ayrton Senna
from 1960 to 1991
39 moments here
Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna da Silva was a three-time Formula One World Drivers’ Champion.…
Benazir Bhutto
from 1953 to 1989
21 moments here
Pakistani political leader who served twice as prime minister, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996.…
Bhumibol Adulyadej
from 1948 to 1984
19 moments here
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) was King of Thailand from 1946 to 2016. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he grew up partly in Thailand and Switzerland,…
Bob Hawke
from 1952 to 1988
15 moments here
Australian trade-union leader and Labor politician who served as Australia’s 23rd prime minister from 1983 to 1991.…
Moments
- 1947 Primary schooling at Permatang Bertam Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
- 1947 Medical studies at the University of Coimbra Agostinho Neto
- 1947 Cambridge sabbatical return Alan Turing
- 1947 Göttingen colloquium with Konrad Zuse Alan Turing
- 1947 Doctoral study at Cambridge Allan MacLeod Cormack
- 1947 Family relocation to Detroit Aretha Franklin
- 1947 Family relocation to Copacabana Astrud Gilberto
- 1947 Aung San–Attlee negotiations Aung San
- 1947 Delhi press conference en route to Britain Aung San
- 1947 Music studies at Havana's National Conservatory Celia Cruz
- 1947 Paints Dream of a Sunday Afternoon Diego Rivera
- 1947 National Conference on the German Problem Eleanor Roosevelt
- 1947 Recurring Los Alamos consultations Enrico Fermi
- 1947 Visit to Lisbon Eva Perón
- 1947 Visit to Paris Eva Perón
- 1947 Brief return to Aracataca Gabriel García Márquez
- 1947 Law studies in Bogotá Gabriel García Márquez
- 1947 Visit to Cyprus internment camps Golda Meir
- 1947 Hoover Commission work in Washington Herbert Hoover
- 1947 Infantry service at Gilgil Idi Amin
- 1947 Marriage during French embassy posting Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
- 1947 Graduation from Chiao Tung University Jiang Zemin
- 1947 Twelve public talks in Bombay Jiddu Krishnamurti
- 1947 Lived in Georgetown during House service John F. Kennedy
- 1947 First Soviet journey: Batumi John Steinbeck
- 1947 First Soviet journey: Kyiv John Steinbeck
- 1947 First Soviet journey: Moscow John Steinbeck
- 1947 First Soviet journey: Stalingrad John Steinbeck
- 1947 First Soviet journey: Tbilisi John Steinbeck
- 1947 Return to Zanaki country Julius Nyerere
- 1947 Teaching in Tabora Julius Nyerere
- 1947 CIAM VI participation Le Corbusier
- 1947 Matriculation at Fitzwilliam Lee Kuan Yew
- 1947 UNESCO conference delegation Léopold Sédar Senghor
- 1947 Irish writing retreat Ludwig Wittgenstein
- 1947 Migration to Haldwani after Partition Manmohan Singh
- 1947 Research chemist in Colchester Margaret Thatcher
- 1947 Mang'u High School admission Mwai Kibaki
- 1947 Pre-registration at Purdue University Neil Armstrong
- 1947 United Nations headquarters design work Oscar Niemeyer
- 1947 Migration to Bombay after Partition Pran
- 1947 In London during world tour Pridi Banomyong
- 1947 Relocation after Partition Ram Narayan
- 1947 Visits Horst at Oyster Bay Salvador Dalí
- 1947 Tree planting in Mehrauli Sarojini Naidu
- 1947 Sylhet referendum campaign Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
- 1947 Arrival for United States lecture tour Simone de Beauvoir
- 1947 Meeting Bhumibol in Paris Sirikit
- 1947 Illegal Tibetan-border crossing with Denman Tenzing Norgay
- 1947 Return to Darjeeling during Partition Tenzing Norgay