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
Louis XIV
from 1638 to 1674
3 moments here
Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 1638–1715), king of France from 1643, was the Bourbon monarch known as the Sun King.…
Mahatma Gandhi
in 1931
1 moment here
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist, and leader of mass nonviolent resistance.…
Marcel Proust
from 1871 to 1922
6 moments here
French novelist, essayist, and critic, best known for À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time).…
Marguerite Duras
from 1931 to 1996
10 moments here
French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker, born Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu.…
Marie Curie
from 1891 to 1921
10 moments here
Polish-born, naturalized-French physicist and chemist who pioneered research on radioactivity. With Pierre Curie she discovered polonium and radium.…
Mario Vargas Llosa
from 1960 to 2023
2 moments here
Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist, and political figure. Vargas Llosa lived and worked across Peru, Bolivia, Spain, France, the United Kingdom,…
Mark Twain
from 1867 to 1894
2 moments here
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, journalist, lecturer, riverboat pilot, and traveler.…
Marlene Dietrich
from 1959 to 1992
4 moments here
German-American actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (Marie Magdalene Dietrich) was born in Berlin and achieved international fame through stage,…
Martin Luther King Jr.
in 1959
1 moment here
American Baptist minister and civil-rights leader who advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest.…
Mathieu Kérékou
from 1981 to 2014
3 moments here
Beninese military officer and politician who led Dahomey/Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006.…
Michael Faraday
in 1813
1 moment here
English chemist and physicist whose experimental work transformed the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.…
Miguel Ángel Asturias
from 1923 to 1966
4 moments here
Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright, journalist, and 1967 Nobel laureate. Asturias’s documented life moved between Guatemala, Europe,…
Mikhail Gorbachev
from 1976 to 1985
3 moments here
Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…
Millard Fillmore
in 1855
1 moment here
Millard Fillmore was an American lawyer and politician from western New York who served in the New York Assembly, the U.S.…
Molière
from 1622 to 1673
10 moments here
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known as Molière, was a French playwright, actor, and theatrical manager.…
Montesquieu
from 1709 to 1755
8 moments here
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, was a French jurist, historian, and political philosopher.…
Muammar Gaddafi
from 1973 to 2007
2 moments here
Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician, and political theorist who ruled Libya from the 1969 coup until his overthrow and killing during…
Muhammadu Buhari
in 2015
2 moments here
Nigerian army officer, military head of state from 1983 to 1985, and elected president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023.…
Napoleon Bonaparte
from 1799 to 1815
5 moments here
French military commander and statesman who rose during the French Revolution, became First Consul in 1799, and ruled as Emperor of the French in…
Nikola Tesla
from 1882 to 1889
2 moments here
Serbian-American engineer and inventor best known for foundational work on alternating-current power systems, the induction motor, high-frequency…
Norodom Sihanouk
from 1949 to 1991
3 moments here
Cambodian monarch, politician, and cultural figure who was king (1941–1955; 1993–2004), prime minister, chief of state, and leader in exile.…
Octave Mirbeau
from 1866 to 1917
4 moments here
French novelist, playwright, journalist, pamphleteer, and art critic. Mirbeau’s documented life moved between Normandy, Paris, Brittany, the French…
Octavio Paz
from 1937 to 1968
4 moments here
Mexican poet, essayist, editor, and diplomat whose international postings and teaching appointments connected Mexico City, the United States, Europe,…
Olivia de Havilland
from 1956 to 2020
3 moments here
Olivia de Havilland was a British-American-French actress whose career ranged from California community theatre and Warner Bros.…
Moments
- 1885 Buried in the Panthéon Victor Hugo
- 1885 Rabies treatment at ENS laboratory Louis Pasteur
- 1886 Mathematical visit to Paris David Hilbert
- 1886 Lives with Theo in Paris Vincent van Gogh
- 1887 Law studies in Paris Henri Matisse
- 1887 La Tosca opening at Porte Saint-Martin Sarah Bernhardt
- 1888 Pasteur Institute inauguration Louis Pasteur
- 1889 Residence at rue de Bruxelles Émile Zola
- 1889 Exposition Universelle visit Nikola Tesla
- 1889 Tours Europe and Paris Exposition Thomas Edison
- 1891 Eye-disease observation in Paris Arthur Conan Doyle
- 1891 Art study in Paris Henri Matisse
- 1891 Studies at the Sorbonne Marie Curie
- 1891 Return to Paris and literary salons Oscar Wilde
- 1891 Sets out for Paris Marie Curie
- 1892 Seventieth-birthday jubilee Louis Pasteur
- 1893 Artistic direction at the Théâtre de la Renaissance Sarah Bernhardt
- 1894 Residence at Villa Saïd Anatole France
- 1894 Spends winter and spring in Paris Mark Twain
- 1895 Researched the Paris Commune Vladimir Lenin
- 1895 Final move to Villeneuve-l'Étang Louis Pasteur
- 1895 Marries Pierre Curie in Sceaux Marie Curie
- 1895 Death at Villeneuve-l'Étang Louis Pasteur
- 1895 Signing of the final will Alfred Nobel
- 1896 Works in the Paris laboratory Marie Curie
- 1896 Admission to the Académie française Anatole France
- 1898 Writing J'accuse… at rue de Bruxelles Émile Zola
- 1898 Moves research into the radium shed Marie Curie
- 1898 Settlement in Paris Oscar Wilde
- 1899 Lease of the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt
- 1899 Opening of the Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt
- 1899 Return to Paris Henri Matisse
- 1899 Hamlet premiere Sarah Bernhardt
- 1899 Return to Paris from exile Émile Zola
- 1900 First International Congress of Philosophy Bertrand Russell
- 1900 Active participation in Paris Exposition Dmitri Mendeleev
- 1900 Photographing the Exposition Universelle Émile Zola
- 1900 Final residence at Hôtel d'Alsace Oscar Wilde
- 1900 Presentation of the Hilbert problems David Hilbert
- 1900 First journey to Paris Pablo Picasso
- 1900 Death at Hôtel d'Alsace Oscar Wilde
- 1901 Settles in Montmartre Pablo Picasso
- 1901 Move to avenue du Bois Octave Mirbeau
- 1902 Medical-study sojourn in Paris James Joyce
- 1902 Death at rue de Bruxelles Émile Zola
- 1904 Establishes the Bateau-Lavoir studio Pablo Picasso
- 1904 Stop in Paris during exile journey James Joyce
- 1904 Socialist demonstration at the Trocadéro Anatole France
- 1904 Resumes teaching at Sèvres Marie Curie
- 1905 Education in Paris Agatha Christie