Historical figures in Paris
The atlas holds 247 people and 788 moments here, from 508 to 2023. The most recorded lives are Édith Piaf, Joséphine de Beauharnais and Sarah Bernhardt. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Scientists, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Francis Bacon
in 1576
1 moment here
English philosopher, lawyer, statesman, Attorney General, and Lord Chancellor under James I.…
Francisco Goya
in 1824
1 moment here
Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born at Fuendetodos, Aragon, and died at Bordeaux, France.…
François Rabelais
from 1528 to 1553
2 moments here
French Renaissance writer, physician, humanist, and Catholic priest. His birth date is disputed, with scholarship placing it between 1483 and 1494;…
Franz Kafka
from 1910 to 1911
2 moments here
German-language Jewish Czech writer whose fiction transformed modern literature. Born and educated in Prague, Kafka trained as a lawyer and worked…
Frédéric Chopin
from 1831 to 1849
11 moments here
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period. Born in Żelazowa Wola, he grew up and trained in Warsaw, travelled through Central…
Frida Kahlo
in 1939
1 moment here
Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón) was born in Coyoacán and spent much of her life in Mexico City.…
Friedrich Engels
from 1844 to 1846
2 moments here
German philosopher, political theorist, revolutionary socialist, businessman, and Karl Marx’s lifelong collaborator.…
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
from 1862 to 1863
2 moments here
Russian novelist, journalist, essayist, and former military engineer whose life moved between Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Siberian imprisonment and…
Gabriela Mistral
from 1928 to 1937
3 moments here
Chilean poet, educator, journalist, and diplomat born Lucila Godoy Alcayaga. Mistral taught across Chile, worked on Mexican educational reform,…
Gabriel García Márquez
from 1955 to 1993
3 moments here
Colombian novelist, journalist, screenwriter, and Nobel laureate whose life moved between Colombia, Europe, Cuba, the United States, Mexico, and…
Geoffrey Chaucer
in 1377
1 moment here
English poet, courtier, diplomat, and civil servant, best known for The Canterbury Tales. His documented career included military service in France,…
George Orwell
from 1928 to 1945
4 moments here
George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, an English novelist, essayist, journalist, critic, and democratic socialist.…
George Sand
from 1804 to 1864
10 moments here
French novelist, memoirist, journalist, and political writer born Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin.…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
in 1827
1 moment here
German philosopher and a central figure of German idealism. His documented movements include formative study in Stuttgart and Tübingen; tutoring…
Giordano Bruno
from 1581 to 1586
3 moments here
Italian Renaissance philosopher, Dominican friar, writer, and cosmological theorist. Born at Nola, Bruno studied and lived in Italy, Switzerland,…
Giuseppe Verdi
from 1847 to 1875
6 moments here
Italian composer whose career transformed nineteenth-century opera. Born near Busseto, Verdi studied and worked in Busseto and Milan, then traveled…
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
from 1672 to 1676
3 moments here
German polymath, philosopher, mathematician, jurist, diplomat, court councillor, historian, and librarian.…
Gustave Flaubert
from 1867 to 1878
3 moments here
French novelist and major exponent of literary realism, best known for Madame Bovary, Salammbô, Sentimental Education, Three Tales, and his extensive…
Hans Christian Andersen
from 1833 to 1863
3 moments here
Danish writer renowned for literary fairy tales including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Snow Queen,” and “The Ugly…
Heinrich Heine
from 1831 to 1856
7 moments here
German poet, essayist, journalist, and literary critic. Born in Düsseldorf, Heine studied in Bonn, Göttingen, and Berlin, traveled widely in Germany…
Helen Keller
from 1931 to 1952
2 moments here
Helen Adams Keller was an American deafblind author, lecturer, disability-rights advocate, and political activist.…
Henri Matisse
from 1887 to 1940
6 moments here
French painter, sculptor, draughtsman, printmaker, and major figure of modern art. Born in Le Cateau-Cambresis, Matisse trained and worked…
Herbert Hoover
from 1919 to 1946
2 moments here
Herbert Clark Hoover was an American mining engineer, international relief administrator, U.S.…
H. G. Wells
in 1937
1 moment here
Herbert George Wells was an English novelist, journalist, historian, teacher, and social critic.…
Moments
- 1803 Louisiana Purchase negotiations James Monroe
- 1804 Takes an apartment in Paris Simón Bolívar
- 1804 Crowned at Notre-Dame Napoleon Bonaparte
- 1806 Returns to Paris Simón Bolívar
- 1810 Marries Marie Louise at the Louvre Napoleon Bonaparte
- 1813 Paris boarding school Honoré de Balzac
- 1813 Arrival in Paris with Davy Michael Faraday
- 1814 Family relocation to Paris Honoré de Balzac
- 1815 Lodging in Paris during the Hundred Days John Quincy Adams
- 1815 Re-enters Paris Napoleon Bonaparte
- 1815 Retires to Malmaison Napoleon Bonaparte
- 1816 Law faculty and legal clerkship Honoré de Balzac
- 1818 Notary-clerk employment Honoré de Balzac
- 1819 Garret in Rue Lesdiguières Honoré de Balzac
- 1821 Birth at rue Hautefeuille Charles Baudelaire
- 1821 Baptism at Saint-Sulpice Charles Baudelaire
- 1823 First visit to Paris Alexandre Dumas
- 1824 Paris visit Francisco Goya
- 1827 Hosts the Romantic Cénacle Victor Hugo
- 1827 Visits Paris Charles Darwin
- 1827 Trip to Paris Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- 1830 July Revolution fighting Alexandre Dumas
- 1830 Moves to rue Jean-Goujon Victor Hugo
- 1831 Move to Paris Heinrich Heine
- 1831 Arrival in Paris Frédéric Chopin
- 1832 Parisian debut at Salle Pleyel Frédéric Chopin
- 1832 Settles at Place Royale Victor Hugo
- 1833 Benefit concert with Liszt Frédéric Chopin
- 1833 Begins extended stay in Paris Hans Christian Andersen
- 1833 Arrival in Paris Ralph Waldo Emerson
- 1835 Stay at La Jonchère near Rueil Heinrich Heine
- 1836 Boarder at Lycée Louis-le-Grand Charles Baudelaire
- 1836 Return from Turin journey Honoré de Balzac
- 1838 Residence at Les Jardies Honoré de Balzac
- 1838 Boarding-school attempt in Paris Louis Pasteur
- 1839 Paris apartment on Rue Tronchet Frédéric Chopin
- 1839 Baccalaureate studies after expulsion Charles Baudelaire
- 1839 Paris residence in exile Richard Wagner
- 1840 Passy residence Honoré de Balzac
- 1840 Birth at rue Saint-Joseph Émile Zola
- 1840 Dress rehearsal of Berlioz's symphony Frédéric Chopin
- 1841 Marriage at Saint-Sulpice Heinrich Heine
- 1842 Return to Paris after the voyage Charles Baudelaire
- 1842 Residence at Square d'Orléans Frédéric Chopin
- 1843 École Normale Supérieure student Louis Pasteur
- 1843 Begins Paris literary season Hans Christian Andersen
- 1843 Residence at Hôtel Pimodan Charles Baudelaire
- 1843 Establishes a Paris household Karl Marx
- 1844 Birth at Quai Malaquais Anatole France
- 1844 Childhood home at Quai Malaquais Anatole France