Eise Jeltes Eisinga was a Frisian amateur astronomer who built the Eise Eisinga Planetarium in his house in Franeker, Frisia Province in the Netherlands. The orrery still exists and is the oldest functioning planetarium in the world. Alt...

Jean-Baptiste de la Marck, often just known as "Lamarck", was a French soldier, naturalist, academic and an early proponent of the idea that evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws. In the modern era, Lamarck is re...

Samuel Hearne, explorer, fur trader. He joined the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1766 and was chosen to search for a western passage, by river or sea, across the Barren Lands. His first 2 attempts ended ingloriously, as he was bullied, robb...

Olaudah Equiano also known as Gustavus Vassa, was one of the most prominent Africans involved in the British movement of the abolition for the slave trade. His autobiography depicted the horrors of slavery and helped influence British lawma...

Andrianampoinimerina (Andriana-am-Poin-Imerina, "The-King-in-the-Heart-of-Imerina", born as Ramboasalama or Ramboasalamarazaka, nicknamed Nampoina, Imboasalama, or Ny Ombalahibemaso "The-Big-Eyed-Bull"; was a Merina (litt. "Highlander") mi...

Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, was a Russian prince and field marshal who commanded the Russian army during major engagements with Napoleon between 1805 and 1812, including the battles of Austerlitz and Borodino. A national hero in Russia f...

Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov was a Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as one of the finest military officers and diplomats of Russia under the reign of three Romanov Tsars: Catherine II, Paul I and Alexander I. His...

Ioannis Varvakis was a distinguished member of the Russian and Greek communities, national hero, member of the Filiki Eteria and benefactor of the places where he lived. Hero of the war for independence Varvakis was a Greek Orthodox C...

Count Alessandro Volta was born in Como, Italy, into a noble family, Count Volta was a physicist and pioneer in the study of electricity. "Volt," named after Count Volta, is a measurement of electricity. Count Volta also made discoveries in...

Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louise Ulrika (a sister of King Frederick the Great of Prussia), and a first cousin of Empress Cather...

Sir William Jones was an Anglo-Welsh philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages. He, along with Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Hal...

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was court painter to the Spanish Crown; throughout the Peninsular War he remain...

Julien Offray de La Mettrie 1709-1751) is the first modern materialist. His Man a Machine is a passionate, popular presentation of materialism and atheism, more provocative than any earlier work. One of the leading physicians of his time, L...

Leopold II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1790 to 1792, King of Hungary, archduke of Austria, and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa. Leopold was a moderate proponent...

Abraham-Louis Breguet or Bréguet, born in Neuchâtel in Switzerland, was a horologist who made many innovations in the course of a career in watchmaking in France. He is the founder of Swiss luxury watch brand Bréguet. Breguet became a membe...