Historical figures in Geneva
The atlas holds 55 people and 93 moments here, from 58 BC to 2007. The most recorded lives are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Calvin and Voltaire. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Scientists, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
John Calvin
from 1536 to 1564
6 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 Milton
in 1639
1 moment here
English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. This chronology follows documented residences, education, continental travel, marriages, public service,…
Jomo Kenyatta
in 1931
1 moment here
Jomo Kenyatta (c. 1897–1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who became Kenya’s first prime minister in 1963 and first president…
Jorge Luis Borges
from 1914 to 1986
5 moments here
Argentine writer, poet, essayist, translator, lecturer, librarian, and critic. Borges was born in Buenos Aires, lived in Switzerland and Spain during…
Joséphine de Beauharnais
from 1810 to 1812
3 moments here
Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, known as Joséphine, was Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife and Empress of the French from 1804 until the…
Julius Caesar
in 58 BC
1 moment here
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman politician, general, orator and author whose career spanned the late Roman Republic.…
Kim Dae-jung
in 2004
1 moment here
South Korean politician, democracy activist, and eighth president of South Korea (1998–2003).…
Kofi Annan
from 1961 to 2007
4 moments here
Ghanaian diplomat and statesman who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006.…
Lord Byron
in 1816
2 moments here
George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788–1824), was a British poet, peer, and political speaker.…
Louis Pasteur
in 1882
1 moment here
French chemist and microbiologist whose work on molecular asymmetry, fermentation, germ theory, pasteurization, and vaccines transformed modern…
Manmohan Singh
from 1971 to 1987
2 moments here
Indian economist, academic, civil servant, finance minister and prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014.…
Michael Faraday
in 1814
1 moment here
English chemist and physicist whose experimental work transformed the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.…
Mikhail Gorbachev
in 1985
1 moment here
Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…
Mikhail Vrubel
in 1896
1 moment here
Russian painter, draughtsman, sculptor, ceramic artist, and theatrical designer associated with Symbolism and Russian Art Nouveau.…
Nelson Mandela
in 1990
1 moment here
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, lawyer and statesman. Mandela helped lead the African National Congress, co-founded its armed wing,…
Osho
in 1986
1 moment here
Indian guru and founder of the Rajneesh movement, born Chandra Mohan Jain. His documented life moved between central and western India, the United…
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
in 1889
1 moment here
Russian Romantic composer whose career ranged from civil-service work and conservatory teaching in Saint Petersburg and Moscow to international…
Raisa Gorbacheva
in 1985
2 moments here
Soviet and Russian activist, philanthropist, lecturer, and public figure; wife of Mikhail Gorbachev.…
Rajiv Gandhi
in 1985
1 moment here
Rajiv Gandhi was an Indian aircraft pilot and politician who served as prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989.…
Richard Feynman
in 1958
2 moments here
American theoretical physicist known for foundational work in quantum electrodynamics, the path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics, and…
Ronald Reagan
in 1985
1 moment here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Satyendra Nath Bose
in 1953
1 moment here
Indian theoretical physicist and mathematician whose 1924 work founded Bose-Einstein statistics.…
Stephen Hawking
in 1985
1 moment here
English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author whose work on singularities, black-hole thermodynamics, and Hawking radiation reshaped modern…
Sydney Brenner
in 1980
1 moment here
South African-born molecular biologist whose career moved from Johannesburg and Oxford to Cambridge, California, Singapore and other scientific…
Moments
- 1955 Foreign-correspondent assignment in Geneva Gabriel García Márquez
- 1957 Summer reunion in Geneva Yang Chen-Ning
- 1958 Scientific secretary at Geneva conference Abdus Salam
- 1958 Second Geneva Atoms for Peace conference Hideki Yukawa
- 1958 Atoms for Peace Conference Richard Feynman
- 1958 Meeting Gweneth Howarth at Lake Geneva Richard Feynman
- 1960 Family reunion in Geneva Yang Chen-Ning
- 1961 International-relations study in Geneva Kofi Annan
- 1962 Budget officer at WHO Kofi Annan
- 1962 Third Geneva reunion Yang Chen-Ning
- 1970 Press conference in Geneva U Thant
- 1971 UNCTAD Trade and Development Board meeting Manmohan Singh
- 1973 Presence in Geneva Agostinho Neto
- 1976 Report to the Secretary-General in Geneva Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
- 1977 Meeting with Vorster in Geneva Félix Houphouët-Boigny
- 1977 Geneva official visit Jimmy Carter
- 1977 Cologny residence meeting with Pik Botha Félix Houphouët-Boigny
- 1980 UNHCR personnel chief in Geneva Kofi Annan
- 1980 Jean Weigle Lecture Sydney Brenner
- 1981 World Health Assembly attendance Indira Gandhi
- 1982 Conference in Geneva Claude Simon
- 1983 Press conference in Geneva Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
- 1984 Released to Geneva Benazir Bhutto
- 1984 Press conference at Palais des Nations Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
- 1985 Medical emergency during CERN trip Stephen Hawking
- 1985 International Labour Conference visit Rajiv Gandhi
- 1985 Final departure for Geneva Jorge Luis Borges
- 1985 Geneva Summit Mikhail Gorbachev
- 1985 Geneva Summit tea Raisa Gorbacheva
- 1985 International Red Cross event Raisa Gorbacheva
- 1985 Meets Gorbachev in Geneva Ronald Reagan
- 1986 Flight to Geneva Osho
- 1986 Marriage through Paraguayan consulate in Geneva Jorge Luis Borges
- 1986 Death in Geneva Jorge Luis Borges
- 1986 Colloquium in Geneva Claude Simon
- 1987 South Commission secretary-general in Geneva Manmohan Singh
- 1987 UNCTAD VII inaugural address Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
- 1990 Visits Geneva Nelson Mandela
- 1992 Return flight to Geneva Audrey Hepburn
- 2003 UN Human Rights Committee appearance Akhmad Kadyrov
- 2004 Post-presidential visit to Geneva Kim Dae-jung
- 2005 Speech at Global Digital Solidarity Fund inauguration Abdelaziz Bouteflika
- 2007 Residence in Geneva after UN service Kofi Annan