British biologist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) laid the foundations of the theory of evolution and transformed the way we think about the natural…
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) has been widely regarded as one of the greatest British writers of the 19th century. His novels, including A Christmas…
Founder of the Mongol Empire and one of the most feared conquerors of all time, Genghis Khan (1162–1227) created the largest empire…
The author of what is widely considered to be “the Bible of capitalism,” Adam Smith (1723–1790) was a Scottish philosopher and economist…
A major force in the fields of empiricism and skepticism, David Hume (1711–1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist. He…
Believed to be the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s (1452–1519) “Mona Lisa,” Lisa Gherardini (1479–1542) was the wife of a Florentine silk merchant.…
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) remains to this day among the most famous and influential physicists, who developed the general theory of relativity, changing…
Serbian-American inventor, engineer, and scientist, Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) made a number of breakthroughs in the production, transmission, and application of electric power.…
Charles Sanders Peirce was an American philosopher best known as "the father of pragmatism"—America's only home-grown philosophy—who made important contributions in…
Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was a German composer known for his mostly complex and lengthy dramatic operas. Though a controversial figure due…