World History Flashcards
Use this deck to ensure that you know who's who when it comes to world historical figures.
Who is:
Alexander the Great
- Ruler of Greece in the 4th century B.C.
- Conquered most of the ancient world, extending his empire to India
- Founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt
Who is:
Attila the Hun
- King of the Huns in the 5th century
- His armies, known for their cruelty, overran much of eastern and central Europe
Who is:
Augustus Caesar
- First emperor of Rome and the adopted son of Julius Caesar
- During his reign, Rome enjoyed a time of peace and a golden age for literature and the arts, resulting in the term “Augustan age”
- The month of August is named after him
- Jesus was born during his reign
Who is:
Julius Caesar
- Roman dictator and general in the first century B.C. who secured Roman rule over Gaul, present-day France, and later reported of a campaign in Asia, “I came, I saw, I conquered”
- Fearing his power, the Roman senate demanded that he disband his army, but he refused and returned to Rome with his army, declaring himself dictator
- Assassinated by his friend Brutus, an episode immortalized in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar
- Caesar endured as the family name of the next 11 rulers of Rome, while the word “caesar” later became adapted by emperors of Russia and Germany to “czar” and “kaiser”
Who is:
Francis Bacon (philosopher)
- English scientist, politician, and author of the 16th and 17th centuries
- A leader of the Renaissance in England and advocate of the scientific method
- Has been mentioned as a possible author of some of the plays attributed to Shakespeare
Who is:
Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Spanish explorer of the 16th century who discovered the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific ocean was later named by Ferdinand Magellan
Who is:
Hannibal
- General of the third and second centuries B.C. from the ancient northern African city of Carthage, which waged war against Rome in the Punic Wars
- He tried to capture Rome by moving an enormous army from Spain through the Alps, but after several victories he was eventually defeated
Who is:
Caligula
- Tyrannical and ruthless ruler of Rome in the first century A.D.
- One of the 12 Caesars
- Once appointed his horse to the senate to mock the Roman senate
Who is:
Charlemagne
Also known as “Charles the Great”, the king of France in the 8th and 9th centuries and crowned the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800
Who is:
Cleopatra
- Queen of Egypt in the first century B.C.
- Known for her beauty and luxurious lifestyle
- After living for some time in Rome with Julius Caesar, she returned to Egypt where she lived with Roman politician Mark Antony
- Antony’s affair with her, as well as their suicides, was dramatized in a Shakespearean play
Who is:
Christopher Columbus
- Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the New World in 1492
- Casting off initially from Spain under the patronage of the king and queen of Spain, he had hoped to find a westward route to India
Who is:
Constantine the Great
- Roman emperor of the 4th century who founded Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire and later capital of the Byzantine Empire
- Allowed Christians to practice their religion within the Roman Empire
Who is:
Hernando Cortés
Spanish conquistador of the 16th century who conquered Mexico for Spain after overthrowing the Aztecs
Who is:
Sir Thomas More
- 16th-century English statesman and adviser to Henry VIII, who had him executed when he did not support Henry’s becoming head of the Roman Catholic Church in England
- Famous for his book Utopia, which depicts an ideal, imaginary society void of misery
- Friend of Desiderius Erasmus
Who is:
Desiderius Erasmus
- 15th and 16th-century Dutch theologian and humanist, also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam
- Proponent of religious toleration who sought to reform the Catholic Church while maintaining his recognition of the pope
- Friend of Sir Thomas More
Who is:
Leif Ericson
Norse explorer who is often regarded as the first European, rather than Columbus, to discover North America, around the year 1000
Who is:
Genghis Khan
Mongolian emperor of the 12th and 13th centuries who conquered great areas of western Asia and northern China
Who is:
Henry VIII
- King of England from 1509 to 1547 who established himself the head of the Church in England when the pope refused to allow him to dissolve his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
- England has remained a Protestant nation ever since
- He had six wives in all
Who is:
Joan of Arc
- 15th-century French military heroine and Roman Catholic saint who led the French army to victories during the Hundred Years’ War, eventually leading to the coronation of Charles VII
- Her claims to have heard God speak to her led to a trial for heresy, after which she was burned at the stake at the age of 19
Who is:
Francisco Pizarro
Spanish conquistador of the 16th century who established Peru after overthrowing the Incas
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Ruler of Greece in the 4th century B.C.
- Conquered most of the ancient world, extending his empire to India
- Founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt
Alexander the Great
Name the world historical figure(s):
- King of the Huns in the 5th century
- His armies, known for their cruelty, overran much of eastern and central Europe
Attila the Hun
Name the world historical figure(s):
- First emperor of Rome and the adopted son of Julius Caesar
- During his reign, Rome enjoyed a time of peace and a golden age for literature and the arts, resulting in the term “Augustan age”
- The month of August is named after him
- Jesus was born during his reign
Augustus Caesar
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Roman dictator and general in the first century B.C. who secured Roman rule over Gaul, present-day France, and later reported of a campaign in Asia, “I came, I saw, I conquered”
- Fearing his power, the Roman senate demanded that he disband his army, but he refused and returned to Rome with his army, declaring himself dictator
- Assassinated by his friend Brutus, an episode immortalized in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar
- Caesar endured as the family name of the next 11 rulers of Rome, while the word “caesar” later became adapted by emperors of Russia and Germany to “czar” and “kaiser”
Julius Caesar
Name the world historical figure(s):
- English scientist, politician, and author of the 16th and 17th centuries
- A leader of the Renaissance in England and advocate of the scientific method
- Has been mentioned as a possible author of some of the plays attributed to Shakespeare
Francis Bacon (philosopher)
Name the world historical figure(s):
Spanish explorer of the 16th century who discovered the Pacific Ocean
Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Name the world historical figure(s):
- General of the third and second centuries B.C. from the ancient northern African city of Carthage, which waged war against Rome in the Punic Wars
- He tried to capture Rome by moving an enormous army from Spain through the Alps, but after several victories he was eventually defeated
Hannibal
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Tyrannical and ruthless ruler of Rome in the first century A.D.
- One of the 12 Caesars
- Once appointed his horse to the senate to mock the Roman senate
Caligula
Name the world historical figure(s):
Also known as “Charles the Great”, the king of France in the 8th and 9th centuries and crowned the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800
Charlemagne
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Queen of Egypt in the first century B.C.
- Known for her beauty and luxurious lifestyle
- After living for some time in Rome with Julius Caesar, she returned to Egypt where she lived with Roman politician Mark Antony
- Antony’s affair with her, as well as their suicides, was dramatized in a Shakespearean play
Cleopatra
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and discovered the New World in 1492
- Casting off initially from Spain under the patronage of the king and queen of Spain, he had hoped to find a westward route to India
Christopher Columbus
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Roman emperor of the 4th century who founded Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire and later capital of the Byzantine Empire
- Allowed Christians to practice their religion within the Roman Empire
Constantine the Great
Name the world historical figure(s):
Spanish conquistador of the 16th century who conquered Mexico for Spain after overthrowing the Aztecs
Hernando Cortés
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 16th-century English statesman and adviser to Henry VIII, who had him executed when he did not support Henry’s becoming head of the Roman Catholic Church in England
- Famous for his book Utopia, which depicts an ideal, imaginary society void of misery
- Friend of Desiderius Erasmus
Sir Thomas More
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 15th and 16th-century Dutch theologian and humanist, also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam
- Proponent of religious toleration who sought to reform the Catholic Church while maintaining his recognition of the pope
- Friend of Sir Thomas More
Desiderius Erasmus
Name the world historical figure(s):
Norse explorer who is often regarded as the first European, rather than Columbus, to discover North America, around the year 1000
Leif Ericson
Name the world historical figure(s):
Mongolian emperor of the 12th and 13th centuries who conquered great areas of western Asia and northern China
Genghis Khan
Name the world historical figure(s):
- King of England from 1509 to 1547 who established himself the head of the Church in England when the pope refused to allow him to dissolve his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
- England has remained a Protestant nation ever since
- He had six wives in all
Henry VIII
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 15th-century French military heroine and Roman Catholic saint who led the French army to victories during the Hundred Years’ War, eventually leading to the coronation of Charles VII
- Her claims to have heard God speak to her led to a trial for heresy, after which she was burned at the stake at the age of 19
Joan of Arc
Name the world historical figure(s):
Spanish conquistador of the 16th century who established Peru after overthrowing the Incas
Francisco Pizarro
Who is:
Montezuma II
Also known as Moctezuma II, an Aztec emperor and ruler of Tenochtitlan who was overthrown by the Spanish under Hernando Cortés
Who is:
Nero
- Roman emperor from the first century A.D. known for his tyranny and persecution of Christians
- Although during his short reign he oversaw a successful war and sought to enhance cultural, artistic, and athletic life in Rome, he was driven from the throne and became the first Roman emperor to commit suicide
- Many believed he had started the Great Fire of Rome himself
Who is:
William The Conqueror
Duke of Normandy who in 1066 launched the Norman conquest of England, eventually becoming the first Norman king of England
Who is:
Ferdinand Magellan
- Portuguese explorer whose final expedition was the first expedition to sail around the Earth (though he was killed before completion of the voyage)
- His expedition was also the first to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, which he named “Mar Pacifico” (the “Peaceful Sea”)
- The Strait of Magellan is named for him
Who is:
Marco Polo
- Italian merchant and explorer from the 13th and 14th centuries whose travels across Asia were recorded in the travelogue The Travels of Marco Polo and introduced Europeans to the cultures of Central Asia
- The book later inspired Christopher Columbus, and claims that Polo became a government official at the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler of China
Who is:
Juan Ponce de León
- Spanish conquistador from the 15th and 16th centuries who established and became the first governor of Puerto Rico
- He also named Florida, where he led an expedition in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth
Who is:
Pericles
- Greek statesman and general of Athens from the 5th century B.C.
- Promoted Athenian democracy and championed the arts, overseeing the creation of many great structures like the Parthenon and much of the Acropolis
- His rule is sometimes known as the Age of Pericles or the Golden Age
Who is:
Kemal Ataturk
Turkish statesman who helped found modern-day Turkey in the 1920s after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, establishing a secular government
Who is:
Yasir Arafat
- Palestinian leader and head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and of the Fatah political party
- Opposed and fought against Israel for much of his life but later engaged in negotiations to end conflicts between Israel and the PLO
- For his participation in the Oslo Accords, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994
- After his death in 2004, he has remained a controversial figure, revered by many and reviled by many others
Who is:
David Ben-Gurion
20th-century Israeli leader who was important to the formation of Israel and was named the country’s first prime minister
Who is:
Salvador Allende
- 20th-century Chilean politician who became the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country when he won the Chilean presidency in 1970
- He was overthrown and committed suicide during a military coup supported by the CIA in 1973
- Following the coup, Chile became a military junta
Who is:
Osama bin Laden
- Islamic terrorist and founder of al-Qaeda, the jihadist network that bombed the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998 and attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon in the September 11 attacks of 2001
- After a decade of being the major target of the War on Terror, he was killed by American forces in Pakistan in May 2011
Who is:
Otto von Bismarck
- German statesman of the 19th century who was largely responsible for the unification of modern Germany
- After the Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871, he unified numerous German states as a single German Empire under Prussian leadership, with him as the first chancellor
- His leadership was marked by economic progress, conservatism, and a preserved peace in Europe in the later 19th century
Who is:
Simón Bolívar
- 18th and 19th-century Venezuelan military and political leader who successfully fought the Spanish Empire for the independence of countries in South America
- He helped lead Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (named in his honor) to independence
- One of the most important politicians in Latin American history, he helped lay the foundation for democracy in much of the region
Who is:
Fidel Castro
- 20th-century Cuban communist political leader who led the 1959 revolution that overthrew the United States-backed dictator of Cuba
- He then oversaw Cuba’s transformation into a communist state, serving first as prime minister then as president
- Due to his alliance with the Soviet Union, the United States implemented an economic blockade of Cuba and unsuccessfully invaded the island in 1961
- In 1962, he allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons on Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis, at the end of which the missiles were removed
- He remains a controversial world figure, regarded by some as an abusive dictator and by others as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism
Who is:
Catherine the Great
- Empress of Russia in the 18th century who reigned for over thirty years
- Under her rule Russia grew larger and stronger than ever and became one of the great powers of Europe
- She encouraged the cultural influences of Western Europe and presided over the Russian Enlightenment
- She is known for her many romantic affairs, many of them with members of her court and government
Who is:
Chiang Kai-shek
- Chinese nationalist military and political leader of the 20th century who was president of China until he was overthrown by Mao Zedong’s communist forces in 1949
- He then fled to Taiwan and established the Republic of China, which exists to this day
Who is:
Winston Churchill
- British author and statesman best known for serving twice as Prime Minister, most notably during World War II
- Formed an alliance with Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA) and Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union) against Hitler’s Germany and came to epitomize British resistance to conquest by the Nazis
- Regarded as a great orator, he also won a Nobel Prize in Literature
Who is:
Georges Clemenceau
- 19th and 20th-century French doctor, journalist, and statesman who twice served as Prime Minister of France and led the country to victory in World War I
- One of the principal architects of the Treaty of Versailles, he was less forgiving than American president Woodrow Wilson and wanted to punish Germany for having started the Great War
- As an editor and journalist, he is noted for having published Émile Zola’s famous article “J’accuse” on the front page of his newspaper L’Aurore, one of the major events of the Dreyfus Affair
Who is:
Captain James Cook
18th-century English explorer noted for establishing the first European colony in Australia and for exploring the western coast of North America, New Zealand, and Hawaii
Name the world historical figure(s):
Also known as Moctezuma II, an Aztec emperor and ruler of Tenochtitlan who was overthrown by the Spanish under Hernando Cortés
Montezuma II
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Roman emperor from the first century A.D. known for his tyranny and persecution of Christians
- Although during his short reign he oversaw a successful war and sought to enhance cultural, artistic, and athletic life in Rome, he was driven from the throne and became the first Roman emperor to commit suicide
- Many believed he had started the Great Fire of Rome himself
Nero
Name the world historical figure(s):
Duke of Normandy who in 1066 launched the Norman conquest of England, eventually becoming the first Norman king of England
William The Conqueror
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Portuguese explorer whose final expedition was the first expedition to sail around the Earth (though he was killed before completion of the voyage)
- His expedition was also the first to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, which he named “Mar Pacifico” (the “Peaceful Sea”)
- The Strait of Magellan is named for him
Ferdinand Magellan
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Italian merchant and explorer from the 13th and 14th centuries whose travels across Asia were recorded in the travelogue The Travels of Marco Polo and introduced Europeans to the cultures of Central Asia
- The book later inspired Christopher Columbus, and claims that Polo became a government official at the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler of China
Marco Polo
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Spanish conquistador from the 15th and 16th centuries who established and became the first governor of Puerto Rico
- He also named Florida, where he led an expedition in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth
Juan Ponce de León
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Greek statesman and general of Athens from the 5th century B.C.
- Promoted Athenian democracy and championed the arts, overseeing the creation of many great structures like the Parthenon and much of the Acropolis
- His rule is sometimes known as the Age of Pericles or the Golden Age
Pericles
Name the world historical figure(s):
Turkish statesman who helped found modern-day Turkey in the 1920s after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, establishing a secular government
Kemal Ataturk
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Palestinian leader and head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and of the Fatah political party
- Opposed and fought against Israel for much of his life but later engaged in negotiations to end conflicts between Israel and the PLO
- For his participation in the Oslo Accords, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994
- After his death in 2004, he has remained a controversial figure, revered by many and reviled by many others
Yasir Arafat
Name the world historical figure(s):
20th-century Israeli leader who was important to the formation of Israel and was named the country’s first prime minister
David Ben-Gurion
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 20th-century Chilean politician who became the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country when he won the Chilean presidency in 1970
- He was overthrown and committed suicide during a military coup supported by the CIA in 1973
- Following the coup, Chile became a military junta
Salvador Allende
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Islamic terrorist and founder of al-Qaeda, the jihadist network that bombed the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998 and attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon in the September 11 attacks of 2001
- After a decade of being the major target of the War on Terror, he was killed by American forces in Pakistan in May 2011
Osama bin Laden
Name the world historical figure(s):
- German statesman of the 19th century who was largely responsible for the unification of modern Germany
- After the Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871, he unified numerous German states as a single German Empire under Prussian leadership, with him as the first chancellor
- His leadership was marked by economic progress, conservatism, and a preserved peace in Europe in the later 19th century
Otto von Bismarck
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 18th and 19th-century Venezuelan military and political leader who successfully fought the Spanish Empire for the independence of countries in South America
- He helped lead Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (named in his honor) to independence
- One of the most important politicians in Latin American history, he helped lay the foundation for democracy in much of the region
Simón Bolívar
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 20th-century Cuban communist political leader who led the 1959 revolution that overthrew the United States-backed dictator of Cuba
- He then oversaw Cuba’s transformation into a communist state, serving first as prime minister then as president
- Due to his alliance with the Soviet Union, the United States implemented an economic blockade of Cuba and unsuccessfully invaded the island in 1961
- In 1962, he allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons on Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis, at the end of which the missiles were removed
- He remains a controversial world figure, regarded by some as an abusive dictator and by others as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism
Fidel Castro
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Empress of Russia in the 18th century who reigned for over thirty years
- Under her rule Russia grew larger and stronger than ever and became one of the great powers of Europe
- She encouraged the cultural influences of Western Europe and presided over the Russian Enlightenment
- She is known for her many romantic affairs, many of them with members of her court and government
Catherine the Great
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Chinese nationalist military and political leader of the 20th century who was president of China until he was overthrown by Mao Zedong’s communist forces in 1949
- He then fled to Taiwan and established the Republic of China, which exists to this day
Chiang Kai-shek
Name the world historical figure(s):
- British author and statesman best known for serving twice as Prime Minister, most notably during World War II
- Formed an alliance with Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA) and Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union) against Hitler’s Germany and came to epitomize British resistance to conquest by the Nazis
- Regarded as a great orator, he also won a Nobel Prize in Literature
Winston Churchill
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 19th and 20th-century French doctor, journalist, and statesman who twice served as Prime Minister of France and led the country to victory in World War I
- One of the principal architects of the Treaty of Versailles, he was less forgiving than American president Woodrow Wilson and wanted to punish Germany for having started the Great War
- As an editor and journalist, he is noted for having published Émile Zola’s famous article “J’accuse” on the front page of his newspaper L’Aurore, one of the major events of the Dreyfus Affair
Georges Clemenceau
Name the world historical figure(s):
18th-century English explorer noted for establishing the first European colony in Australia and for exploring the western coast of North America, New Zealand, and Hawaii
Captain James Cook
Who is:
Oliver Cromwell
- Puritan English political and military leader of the 17th century who led the Parliamentarians to victory in the English Civil War and became the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth
- Monarchy was restored shortly after his death
- He remains a controversial figure, particularly for his ruthless dictatorial style and harsh treatment of Catholics in Scotland and Ireland
Who is:
Charles De Gaulle
- French general and politician of the 20th century famous for heading the French Resistance to the Nazis in World War II
- Later, as president of France, he helped end the Algerian War by granting independence to Algeria
- Fiercely patriotic, he sought to strengthen France by developing its atomic weapons program and by championing a foreign policy independent of the influences of other world powers
Who is:
Elizabeth I
- Daughter of Henry VIII and queen of England in the 16th and 17th centuries
- Her reign, known as the Elizabethan Period, coincided with the Renaissance in England, including Shakespeare’s rise to fame
- The US state of Virginia is named for her; because she never married, she was called the Virgin Queen
Who is:
Karl Marx
- German economist, philosopher, and socialist of the 19th century who founded Marxism, the fundamental theory of communism that calls for a classless society where all means of production are commonly owned
- Working closely with his friend Friedrich Engels, Marx’s two most famous works are Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto
- Marxist ideology contributed to the creation of socialist states like the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China in the 20th century
Who is:
Vladimir Lenin
- Russian communist revolutionary leader, member of the Bolshevik party, and central figure in the 1917 Russian Revolution and establishment of the Soviet Union
- Oversaw Soviet industrialization, the implementation of state capitalism, the transfer of land to workers’ soviets, and the country’s exit from World War I
- Served as the chief of government until his death in 1924, whereby he was succeeded by Joseph Stalin
Who is:
Joseph Stalin
- Soviet leader of the 20th century who ruled the Soviet Union from Lenin’s death in 1924 to 1953
- His policies of collectivization and industrialization displaced millions and contributed to a famine, and they were followed by the Great Purge, a period of brutal repression against those seen as opponents of the government
- After leading the Soviet Union to victory in World War II, he figured prominently in the Potsdam and Yalta Conferences, then led the USSR in its development as a world power, contributing to the Cold War
Who is:
Nelson Mandela
- 20th-century South African politician and most prominent leader in the struggle against Apartheid
- As a member of the African National Congress, he was arrested and convicted of sabotage in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment by the white minority government
- Released in 1990, he helped in the establishment of democracy in 1994, and was then elected South Africa’s president in the country’s first fully representative, all-race democratic election
- He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993
Who is:
Mahatma Gandhi
- The leader of India’s drive for independence from Britain, noted for employing non-violent and passive resistance
- The honorific Mahatma means “Great Soul”
- Regarded as a hero and father of India, he was assassinated in 1948 shortly after India had secured its independence
Who is:
Mao Zedong
- Chinese communist revolutionary and the founder of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 following the flight of Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan
- In the two decades before the communist takeover, his Communist Party of China had clashed with Chiang’s Kuomintang party in the Chinese Civil War, with the two sides uniting temporarily to defeat invading Japanese forces
- He served as Chairman of the Communist Party of China until his death in 1976, overseeing the nationalization of the country’s industries and businesses, socialist reforms, the improvement of healthcare and education, and the modernization of China
- He is criticized for his Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a program to purge and weed out all capitalist culture, and for many perceived human rights abuses that occurred during his rule
Who is:
Elizabeth II
- The present queen of Britain, the longest-lived British monarch ever
- During her reign many former British territories have gained independence
- Her husband is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and her daughter-in-law was Diana, Princess of Wales
Who is:
Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Austrian prince whose assassination in 1914 led to the outbreak of World War I
Who is:
Francisco Franco
- Fascist Spanish military leader and dictator of the 20th century
- Led the Nationalists to victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and ruled Spain until his death in 1975
Who is:
Adolf Hitler
- Austrian-born German politician of the 20th century who was head of the Nazi Party, dictator of Nazi Germany, and led Germany in World War II
- Author of the memoir Mein Kampf (My Struggle), which outlined his program for Germany
- As chancellor of Germany he established the Third Reich, a single-party dictatorship, and began World War II in 1939 by invading Poland
- Wishing to create a master race of Aryans, he supervised the systematic murder of 11 million people, including 6 million Jews (the Holocaust)
- In 1945, with Germany’s defeat imminent, he and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide
Who is:
Mikhail Gorbachev
- The Soviet Union’s last president, who attempted to restructure the country’s economy by adopting certain capitalist elements
- Hard-line communists staged a coup against him in 1991, but it quickly collapsed and he returned to the presidency, but he was unable to prevent the eventual dissolution of the USSR
Who is:
Che Guevara
- Argentine Marxist revolutionary who figured prominently in the Cuban Revolution that saw Fidel Castro rise to power
- He later became a guerrilla leader in Latin America, eventually captured and killed in Bolivia in 1967
- His visage has since become a countercultural symbol of rebellion
Who is:
Hirohito
- Japanese emperor of the 20th century who reigned over Japan in World War II
- After the war, he was not prosecuted for war crimes and was forced to give up the claim to divine status
- He then became the symbol of Japan’s recovery, and he died in 1989, his nation’s economy the second largest in the world
Who is:
Ho Chi Minh
- Vietnamese revolutionary of the 20th century who helped found the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945
- His forces helped drive out Japanese forces in the 40s and defeat the French in 1954
- Although he died during the Vietnam War, he served as an inspiration for the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong fighting for a united, communist Vietnam
- Saigon was renamed in his honor
Who is:
Saddam Hussein
- Dictator of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, noted for the brutality of his dictatorship, namely his suppression of Shi’ite Muslims and Kurds
- He nationalized oil and sought to make Iraq the dominant force in the Persian Gulf, invading Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990, leading to the Persian Gulf War
- In 2003, British and American forces invaded Iraq to depose him and institute a transition to democracy
- Under the interim Iraqi government, he was tried and sentenced to death for the killing of Iraqi Shi’ites in 1982; he was executed in 2006
Who is:
Pol Pot
- 20th-century Cambodian revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge, the communist movement in Cambodia that came to power in 1975
- His three-year dictatorship saw the Cambodian population being forced to relocate to work in labor projects and collective farms, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1 to 3 million people
- When the Khmer Rouge fell in 1979, he fled to the jungles and died under house arrest in 1998
Who is:
Louis XIV
- Powerful French king who ruled in the 17th and 18th centuries
- Known as the Sun King, he reigned for more than 70 years and strongly believed in the divine right of kings
- During his reign France was the leading European power, and he helped create a centralized state by pacifying the aristocracy by inviting many nobles to live at his palace at Versailles
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Puritan English political and military leader of the 17th century who led the Parliamentarians to victory in the English Civil War and became the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth
- Monarchy was restored shortly after his death
- He remains a controversial figure, particularly for his ruthless dictatorial style and harsh treatment of Catholics in Scotland and Ireland
Oliver Cromwell
Name the world historical figure(s):
- French general and politician of the 20th century famous for heading the French Resistance to the Nazis in World War II
- Later, as president of France, he helped end the Algerian War by granting independence to Algeria
- Fiercely patriotic, he sought to strengthen France by developing its atomic weapons program and by championing a foreign policy independent of the influences of other world powers
Charles De Gaulle
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Daughter of Henry VIII and queen of England in the 16th and 17th centuries
- Her reign, known as the Elizabethan Period, coincided with the Renaissance in England, including Shakespeare’s rise to fame
- The US state of Virginia is named for her; because she never married, she was called the Virgin Queen
Elizabeth I
Name the world historical figure(s):
- German economist, philosopher, and socialist of the 19th century who founded Marxism, the fundamental theory of communism that calls for a classless society where all means of production are commonly owned
- Working closely with his friend Friedrich Engels, Marx’s two most famous works are Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto
- Marxist ideology contributed to the creation of socialist states like the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China in the 20th century
Karl Marx
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Russian communist revolutionary leader, member of the Bolshevik party, and central figure in the 1917 Russian Revolution and establishment of the Soviet Union
- Oversaw Soviet industrialization, the implementation of state capitalism, the transfer of land to workers’ soviets, and the country’s exit from World War I
- Served as the chief of government until his death in 1924, whereby he was succeeded by Joseph Stalin
Vladimir Lenin
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Soviet leader of the 20th century who ruled the Soviet Union from Lenin’s death in 1924 to 1953
- His policies of collectivization and industrialization displaced millions and contributed to a famine, and they were followed by the Great Purge, a period of brutal repression against those seen as opponents of the government
- After leading the Soviet Union to victory in World War II, he figured prominently in the Potsdam and Yalta Conferences, then led the USSR in its development as a world power, contributing to the Cold War
Joseph Stalin
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 20th-century South African politician and most prominent leader in the struggle against Apartheid
- As a member of the African National Congress, he was arrested and convicted of sabotage in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment by the white minority government
- Released in 1990, he helped in the establishment of democracy in 1994, and was then elected South Africa’s president in the country’s first fully representative, all-race democratic election
- He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993
Nelson Mandela
Name the world historical figure(s):
- The leader of India’s drive for independence from Britain, noted for employing non-violent and passive resistance
- The honorific Mahatma means “Great Soul”
- Regarded as a hero and father of India, he was assassinated in 1948 shortly after India had secured its independence
Mahatma Gandhi
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Chinese communist revolutionary and the founder of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 following the flight of Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan
- In the two decades before the communist takeover, his Communist Party of China had clashed with Chiang’s Kuomintang party in the Chinese Civil War, with the two sides uniting temporarily to defeat invading Japanese forces
- He served as Chairman of the Communist Party of China until his death in 1976, overseeing the nationalization of the country’s industries and businesses, socialist reforms, the improvement of healthcare and education, and the modernization of China
- He is criticized for his Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a program to purge and weed out all capitalist culture, and for many perceived human rights abuses that occurred during his rule
Mao Zedong
Name the world historical figure(s):
- The present queen of Britain, the longest-lived British monarch ever
- During her reign many former British territories have gained independence
- Her husband is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and her daughter-in-law was Diana, Princess of Wales
Elizabeth II
Name the world historical figure(s):
Austrian prince whose assassination in 1914 led to the outbreak of World War I
Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Fascist Spanish military leader and dictator of the 20th century
- Led the Nationalists to victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and ruled Spain until his death in 1975
Francisco Franco
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Austrian-born German politician of the 20th century who was head of the Nazi Party, dictator of Nazi Germany, and led Germany in World War II
- Author of the memoir Mein Kampf (My Struggle), which outlined his program for Germany
- As chancellor of Germany he established the Third Reich, a single-party dictatorship, and began World War II in 1939 by invading Poland
- Wishing to create a master race of Aryans, he supervised the systematic murder of 11 million people, including 6 million Jews (the Holocaust)
- In 1945, with Germany’s defeat imminent, he and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide
Adolf Hitler
Name the world historical figure(s):
- The Soviet Union’s last president, who attempted to restructure the country’s economy by adopting certain capitalist elements
- Hard-line communists staged a coup against him in 1991, but it quickly collapsed and he returned to the presidency, but he was unable to prevent the eventual dissolution of the USSR
Mikhail Gorbachev
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Argentine Marxist revolutionary who figured prominently in the Cuban Revolution that saw Fidel Castro rise to power
- He later became a guerrilla leader in Latin America, eventually captured and killed in Bolivia in 1967
- His visage has since become a countercultural symbol of rebellion
Che Guevara
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Japanese emperor of the 20th century who reigned over Japan in World War II
- After the war, he was not prosecuted for war crimes and was forced to give up the claim to divine status
- He then became the symbol of Japan’s recovery, and he died in 1989, his nation’s economy the second largest in the world
Hirohito
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Vietnamese revolutionary of the 20th century who helped found the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945
- His forces helped drive out Japanese forces in the 40s and defeat the French in 1954
- Although he died during the Vietnam War, he served as an inspiration for the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong fighting for a united, communist Vietnam
- Saigon was renamed in his honor
Ho Chi Minh
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Dictator of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, noted for the brutality of his dictatorship, namely his suppression of Shi’ite Muslims and Kurds
- He nationalized oil and sought to make Iraq the dominant force in the Persian Gulf, invading Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990, leading to the Persian Gulf War
- In 2003, British and American forces invaded Iraq to depose him and institute a transition to democracy
- Under the interim Iraqi government, he was tried and sentenced to death for the killing of Iraqi Shi’ites in 1982; he was executed in 2006
Saddam Hussein
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 20th-century Cambodian revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge, the communist movement in Cambodia that came to power in 1975
- His three-year dictatorship saw the Cambodian population being forced to relocate to work in labor projects and collective farms, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1 to 3 million people
- When the Khmer Rouge fell in 1979, he fled to the jungles and died under house arrest in 1998
Pol Pot
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Powerful French king who ruled in the 17th and 18th centuries
- Known as the Sun King, he reigned for more than 70 years and strongly believed in the divine right of kings
- During his reign France was the leading European power, and he helped create a centralized state by pacifying the aristocracy by inviting many nobles to live at his palace at Versailles
Louis XIV
Who is:
Louis XVI
- The last king of France before the French Revolution
- Although he first accepted a change from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy, he and his family, including his wife Marie Antoinette, tried to flee the country but were caught and returned to Paris as traitors and prisoners
- He and Marie Antoinette were beheaded in 1793
Who is:
Benito Mussolini
- Fascist Italian dictator of the 1930s and 40s who allied with Germany and Japan in World War II
- He was killed in April 1945, with Italian defeat looming
Who is:
Napoleon Bonaparte
- French general and emperor of the 18th and 19th centuries
- After climbing the ranks of army and government during and after the French Revolution, he declared himself emperor in 1804
- He and his armies conquered most of continental Europe, and he sought to promote the ideals of the French Revolution, most notably via the Napoleonic Code, a greatly influential legal code that allowed freedom of religion and forbade privileges based on birth
- After a catastrophic campaign in Russia, he was eventually defeated and exiled to Elba, but he briefly returned to power before losing at Waterloo in 1815
- He died in 1821 in confinement on the island of St. Helena
Who is:
Eva Perón
- Argentine political figure and wife of President Juan Perón
- From 1946 on, she became incredibly popular in Argentina, promoting labor rights, founding the charitable Eva Perón Foundation, and championing women’s suffrage
- She died of cancer in 1952 at the age of 33
- The musical Evita is based on her life
Who is:
Peter the Great
- Russian czar of the 17th and 18th centuries who expanded Russia into a large empire and transformed its medieval sociopolitical system into a more modern and Western science-based one
- He established the new capital, St. Petersburg (which was temporarily renamed Leningrad in the 20th century)
Who is:
Jawaharlal Nehru
- Indian politician and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi who served as India’s first prime minister from 1947 until his death in 1964
- His daughter, Indira Gandhi, later served as Indian prime minister two times, but was killed in 1984
Who is:
Vladimir Putin
- President of Russia currently serving his third term
- He has also served as Russia’s Prime Minister
- A former officer in the KGB, he is credited with helping to return Russia to political and economic stability
- Accused at times of being a dictator, he is a generally popular figure, namely for his adventurous image
Who is:
Muammar Gaddafi
- Libyan politician who was ruler of Libya, holding various official titles, from 1969 to 2011
- An Arab nationalist, he pushed Libya toward socialism and championed anti-imperialism, but was also seen as a dictator who oversaw many humans rights abuses
- In 2011, an uprising (with NATO and EU support) broke out and he was captured and executed by rebel militia
Who is:
Grigori Rasputin
- Russian mystic and healer of the 19th and 20th centuries who was a close adviser to the czar of Russia, Nicholas II, and his wife Alexandra
- He appeared to be the only person capable of alleviating the symptoms of the czar’s only son Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia
- He was greatly influential in the later years of the czar’s reign, his political suggestions ultimately proving to be disastrous for the czar, who was overthrown in 1917
- He was killed in 1916 by jealous Russian noblemen
Who is:
Sir Walter Raleigh
English explorer of the 16th and 17th centuries who explored the Americas and is credited with introducing both the potato and tobacco into England
Who is:
Cardinal Richelieu
- French clergyman and statesman of the 17th century and King Louis XIII’s chief minister
- He helped to establish absolute monarchy in France, founded the Académie Française, and contributed to the retention of Quebec as a French colony
- He is a character in Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, depicted as the antagonist
Who is:
Maximilien Robespierre
- French political leader of the 18th century and one of the most radical leaders of the French Revolution
- Responsible in large part for the Reign of Terror, he was executed in 1794 after public opinion of him and his extreme policies shifted
Who is:
Margaret Thatcher
- British politician and Prime Minister of the UK from 1979-90, the only woman to have held the position
- Nicknamed the Iron Lady and a member of the Conservative Party, she emphasized deregulation and privatization
Who is:
Queen Victoria
- Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 until her death in 1901
- Her reign, the longest of any British monarch, is known as the Victorian Era, and characterized by the growth and power of the British Empire
- The Victorian Era was a period of great industrial and cultural development within the UK, and is also associated with a certain strict sense of morality
Who is:
Pancho Villa
- 19th and 20th-century Mexican revolutionary general who famously raided Columbus, New Mexico in 1916 and was pursued unsuccessfully by American General John Pershing
- He was assassinated in 1923 at the age of 45, and today his memory is honored by Mexicans
Who is:
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, a British general and statesman of the 19th century who commanded the allied army that defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo
Who is:
Marshal Tito
Yugoslav military leader and statesman of the 20th century who led the resistance movement in Yugoslavia during World War II and who later established communist rule in Yugoslavia
Who is:
Angela Merkel
- The current Chancellor of Germany and the first woman to have held the position
- Regarded as a leader of the EU and in managing the financial crisis, she is considered one of the most powerful women in the world
Who is:
Pope John Paul II
- Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005
- Regarded as one of most influential leaders of the 20th century, he sought to improve the Church’s standing with other world religions such as Islam and Judaism
Who is:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Former president of Iran (2005-13) and controversial international figure for his hard-line conservative views, perceived disregard for human rights, and support of Iran’s nuclear program
Name the world historical figure(s):
- The last king of France before the French Revolution
- Although he first accepted a change from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy, he and his family, including his wife Marie Antoinette, tried to flee the country but were caught and returned to Paris as traitors and prisoners
- He and Marie Antoinette were beheaded in 1793
Louis XVI
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Fascist Italian dictator of the 1930s and 40s who allied with Germany and Japan in World War II
- He was killed in April 1945, with Italian defeat looming
Benito Mussolini
Name the world historical figure(s):
- French general and emperor of the 18th and 19th centuries
- After climbing the ranks of army and government during and after the French Revolution, he declared himself emperor in 1804
- He and his armies conquered most of continental Europe, and he sought to promote the ideals of the French Revolution, most notably via the Napoleonic Code, a greatly influential legal code that allowed freedom of religion and forbade privileges based on birth
- After a catastrophic campaign in Russia, he was eventually defeated and exiled to Elba, but he briefly returned to power before losing at Waterloo in 1815
- He died in 1821 in confinement on the island of St. Helena
Napoleon Bonaparte
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Argentine political figure and wife of President Juan Perón
- From 1946 on, she became incredibly popular in Argentina, promoting labor rights, founding the charitable Eva Perón Foundation, and championing women’s suffrage
- She died of cancer in 1952 at the age of 33
- The musical Evita is based on her life
Eva Perón
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Russian czar of the 17th and 18th centuries who expanded Russia into a large empire and transformed its medieval sociopolitical system into a more modern and Western science-based one
- He established the new capital, St. Petersburg (which was temporarily renamed Leningrad in the 20th century)
Peter the Great
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Indian politician and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi who served as India’s first prime minister from 1947 until his death in 1964
- His daughter, Indira Gandhi, later served as Indian prime minister two times, but was killed in 1984
Jawaharlal Nehru
Name the world historical figure(s):
- President of Russia currently serving his third term
- He has also served as Russia’s Prime Minister
- A former officer in the KGB, he is credited with helping to return Russia to political and economic stability
- Accused at times of being a dictator, he is a generally popular figure, namely for his adventurous image
Vladimir Putin
Name the world historical figure(s):
- :Libyan politician who was ruler of Libya, holding various official titles, from 1969 to 2011
- An Arab nationalist, he pushed Libya toward socialism and championed anti-imperialism, but was also seen as a dictator who oversaw many humans rights abuses
- In 2011, an uprising (with NATO and EU support) broke out and he was captured and executed by rebel militia
Muammar Gaddafi
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Russian mystic and healer of the 19th and 20th centuries who was a close adviser to the czar of Russia, Nicholas II, and his wife Alexandra
- He appeared to be the only person capable of alleviating the symptoms of the czar’s only son Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia
- He was greatly influential in the later years of the czar’s reign, his political suggestions ultimately proving to be disastrous for the czar, who was overthrown in 1917
- He was killed in 1916 by jealous Russian noblemen
Grigori Rasputin
Name the world historical figure(s):
English explorer of the 16th and 17th centuries who explored the Americas and is credited with introducing both the potato and tobacco into England
Sir Walter Raleigh
Name the world historical figure(s):
- French clergyman and statesman of the 17th century and King Louis XIII’s chief minister
- He helped to establish absolute monarchy in France, founded the Académie Française, and contributed to the retention of Quebec as a French colony
- He is a character in Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, depicted as the antagonist
Cardinal Richelieu
Name the world historical figure(s):
- French political leader of the 18th century and one of the most radical leaders of the French Revolution
- Responsible in large part for the Reign of Terror, he was executed in 1794 after public opinion of him and his extreme policies shifted
Maximilien Robespierre
Name the world historical figure(s):
- British politician and Prime Minister of the UK from 1979-90, the only woman to have held the position
- Nicknamed the Iron Lady and a member of the Conservative Party, she emphasized deregulation and privatization
Margaret Thatcher
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 until her death in 1901
- Her reign, the longest of any British monarch, is known as the Victorian Era, and characterized by the growth and power of the British Empire
- The Victorian Era was a period of great industrial and cultural development within the UK, and is also associated with a certain strict sense of morality
Queen Victoria
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 19th and 20th-century Mexican revolutionary general who famously raided Columbus, New Mexico in 1916 and was pursued unsuccessfully by American General John Pershing
- He was assassinated in 1923 at the age of 45, and today his memory is honored by Mexicans
Pancho Villa
Name the world historical figure(s):
Arthur Wellesley, a British general and statesman of the 19th century who commanded the allied army that defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo
Duke of Wellington
Name the world historical figure(s):
Yugoslav military leader and statesman of the 20th century who led the resistance movement in Yugoslavia during World War II and who later established communist rule in Yugoslavia
Marshal Tito
Name the world historical figure(s):
- The current Chancellor of Germany and the first woman to have held the position
- Regarded as a leader of the EU and in managing the financial crisis, she is considered one of the most powerful women in the world
Angela Merkel
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005
- Regarded as one of most influential leaders of the 20th century, he sought to improve the Church’s standing with other world religions such as Islam and Judaism
Pope John Paul II
Name the world historical figure(s):
Former president of Iran (2005-13) and controversial international figure for his hard-line conservative views, perceived disregard for human rights, and support of Iran’s nuclear program
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Who is:
Kim Jong-il
- Leader of North Korea from 1994 until his death in 2011
- Known for having a cult of personality within North Korea and for a poor human rights record, whereby most aspects of sociopolitical and economic life were controlled by his government
Who is:
Hugo Chávez
- The president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013
- A divisive figure, he worked to implement socialist reforms in Venezuela as part of his Bolivarian Revolution
Who is:
Justinian The Great
Byzantine Emperor of the 6th century who sought and partly realized the recovery of the western territories of the lost Western Roman Empire
Who is:
Confucius
Chinese philosopher of the 6th century B.C. and founder of Confucianism, a code of ethics that still governs Chinese culture and stresses ancestor worship, family relationships, learning, and loyalty
Who is:
Princess Diana
- Princess of Wales, member of the British Royal Family, and first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II
- One of the most famous women in the world in the late 20th century, she was well known for her grace, beauty, and charity work
- She died in 1997 in a car accident in Paris
Who is:
Mother Teresa
Albanian-born Roman Catholic nun of the 20th century who won the Nobel Peace Price in 1979 for her humanitarian work, namely in Calcutta
Who is:
Socrates
- Ancient Greek philosopher who was the teacher of Plato and is known for the Socratic method of teaching, which proceeds by question and answer instead of by lecture
- Seen as one of the founders of Western philosophy, particularly as it relates to ethics and logic
- He was condemned to death by the citizens of Athens, who found him guilty of denying the existence of the gods and of corrupting the minds of the Athenian youth
Who is:
Plato
- Ancient Greek philosopher and founder of the Academy in Athens, the Western world’s first institution of higher learning
- One of the most important figures in Western science and philosophy, he was a student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle
- He is known for his philosophical dialogues, which include the Republic and the Symposium
Who is:
Aristotle
- Ancient Greek philosopher who was a student of Plato and served as tutor to Alexander the Great
- One of the most important figures in Western philosophy, he wrote on many subjects and his writings and philosophy continue to be studied today
- His most important surviving treatises include Metaphysics, Politics, Poetics, and Physics
Who is:
Martin Luther
- 16th-century German religious leader and founder of Protestantism
- A priest of the Roman Catholic Church, he began the Reformation by attacking the Church for allowing the sale of indulgences
- Believing that the Church was also opposed to the Bible on the question of justification by grace through faith and the doctrine of transubstantiation, he called for the formation of a new body of Christians
Who is:
Thomas Aquinas
- Italian philosopher and priest of the 13th century and a saint of the Roman Catholic Church
- A proponent of natural theology, he reconciled reason and faith by arguing that philosophy could be compatible with Christianity
Who is:
Vasco da Gama
- Portuguese explorer of the 15th and 16th centuries and one of the most famous explorers of the Age of Discovery
- The first European to reach India by sea, he helped to establish Portugal’s colonial empire in Asia
Who is:
Suleiman the Magnificent
- Emperor of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century who oversaw his empire at its political, economic, and military height
- He restructured the Ottoman legal system and was a great patron of culture, his reign coinciding with the Ottoman Empire’s golden age of artistic development
Who is:
John Calvin
- French Protestant religious reformer from the 16th century and the founder of Calvinism
- His most famous doctrine was that of predestination
Who is:
Anne Frank
- German-born Jewish girl who has become remembered as one of the most prominent victims of the Holocaust
- Her diary, published after her death and the conclusion of World War II as The Diary of a Young Girl, documents her experiences hiding from Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands
- She and her family were discovered in 1944, and she died in 1945 after being sent to a concentration camp
Who is:
de Medici Family
- A family of politicians and patrons of the arts, based in Florence during the Renaissance
- One of them, Lorenzo, is best known as a patron of many of the great artists of the period
Who is:
Pablo Escobar
- Colombian drug lord of the 20th century who headed the Medellín drug cartel and gained considerable wealth, political power, and popularity in Colombia
- He was killed in 1993
Who is:
King John of England
- John Lackland, King of England in the 13th century most famous for having been pressured in 1215 into signing the Magna Carta, considered to have laid the groundwork for the constitution of the UK
- He is depicted in the Robin Hood legends as a villain
Who is:
Kublai Khan
- 13th-century Mongol emperor and founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China, who reigned over present-day Mongolia, Korea, and China
- Marco Polo claimed to have become a member of the emperor’s court during his travels to Asia
Who is:
Lech Walesa
- Polish statesman and activist who founded Solidarity, an influential independent trade union, and later became President of Poland in 1990
- A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, he oversaw Poland’s transition into a post-communist state
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Leader of North Korea from 1994 until his death in 2011
- Known for having a cult of personality within North Korea and for a poor human rights record, whereby most aspects of sociopolitical and economic life were controlled by his government
Kim Jong-il
Name the world historical figure(s):
- The president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013
- A divisive figure, he worked to implement socialist reforms in Venezuela as part of his Bolivarian Revolution
Hugo Chávez
Name the world historical figure(s):
Byzantine Emperor of the 6th century who sought and partly realized the recovery of the western territories of the lost Western Roman Empire
Justinian The Great
Name the world historical figure(s):
Chinese philosopher of the 6th century B.C. and founder of Confucianism, a code of ethics that still governs Chinese culture and stresses ancestor worship, family relationships, learning, and loyalty
Confucius
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Princess of Wales, member of the British Royal Family, and first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II
- One of the most famous women in the world in the late 20th century, she was well known for her grace, beauty, and charity work
- She died in 1997 in a car accident in Paris
Princess Diana
Name the world historical figure(s):
Albanian-born Roman Catholic nun of the 20th century who won the Nobel Peace Price in 1979 for her humanitarian work, namely in Calcutta
Mother Teresa
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Ancient Greek philosopher who was the teacher of Plato and is known for the Socratic method of teaching, which proceeds by question and answer instead of by lecture
- Seen as one of the founders of Western philosophy, particularly as it relates to ethics and logic
- He was condemned to death by the citizens of Athens, who found him guilty of denying the existence of the gods and of corrupting the minds of the Athenian youth
Socrates
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Ancient Greek philosopher and founder of the Academy in Athens, the Western world’s first institution of higher learning
- One of the most important figures in Western science and philosophy, he was a student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle
- He is known for his philosophical dialogues, which include the Republic and the Symposium
Plato
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Ancient Greek philosopher who was a student of Plato and served as tutor to Alexander the Great
- One of the most important figures in Western philosophy, he wrote on many subjects and his writings and philosophy continue to be studied today
- His most important surviving treatises include Metaphysics, Politics, Poetics, and Physics
Aristotle
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 16th-century German religious leader and founder of Protestantism
- A priest of the Roman Catholic Church, he began the Reformation by attacking the Church for allowing the sale of indulgences
- Believing that the Church was also opposed to the Bible on the question of justification by grace through faith and the doctrine of transubstantiation, he called for the formation of a new body of Christians
Martin Luther
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Italian philosopher and priest of the 13th century and a saint of the Roman Catholic Church
- A proponent of natural theology, he reconciled reason and faith by arguing that philosophy could be compatible with Christianity
Thomas Aquinas
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Portuguese explorer of the 15th and 16th centuries and one of the most famous explorers of the Age of Discovery
- The first European to reach India by sea, he helped to establish Portugal’s colonial empire in Asia
Vasco da Gama
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Emperor of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century who oversaw his empire at its political, economic, and military height
- He restructured the Ottoman legal system and was a great patron of culture, his reign coinciding with the Ottoman Empire’s golden age of artistic development
Suleiman the Magnificent
Name the world historical figure(s):
- French Protestant religious reformer from the 16th century and the founder of Calvinism
- His most famous doctrine was that of predestination
John Calvin
Name the world historical figure(s):
- :German-born Jewish girl who has become remembered as one of the most prominent victims of the Holocaust
- Her diary, published after her death and the conclusion of World War II as The Diary of a Young Girl, documents her experiences hiding from Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands
- She and her family were discovered in 1944, and she died in 1945 after being sent to a concentration camp
Anne Frank
Name the world historical figure(s):
- A family of politicians and patrons of the arts, based in Florence during the Renaissance
- One of them, Lorenzo, is best known as a patron of many of the great artists of the period
de Medici Family
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Colombian drug lord of the 20th century who headed the Medellín drug cartel and gained considerable wealth, political power, and popularity in Colombia
- He was killed in 1993
Pablo Escobar
Name the world historical figure(s):
- John Lackland, King of England in the 13th century most famous for having been pressured in 1215 into signing the Magna Carta, considered to have laid the groundwork for the constitution of the UK
- He is depicted in the Robin Hood legends as a villain
King John of England
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 13th-century Mongol emperor and founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China, who reigned over present-day Mongolia, Korea, and China
- Marco Polo claimed to have become a member of the emperor’s court during his travels to Asia
Kublai Khan
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Polish statesman and activist who founded Solidarity, an influential independent trade union, and later became President of Poland in 1990
- A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, he oversaw Poland’s transition into a post-communist state
Lech Walesa
Who is:
Christina, Queen of Sweden
- Queen of Sweden in the 17th century known for her unconventional artistic and intellectual tastes
- In 1654 she abdicated her throne and converted to Catholicism, and later moved to Rome, where she became a patron of the arts
Who is:
Charles XII of Sweden
- 17th and 18th-century king of Sweden who led the Swedish army in the Great Northern War
- Although he earned victories early on, he eventually lost his life in 1718, leading to the temporary end of absolute monarchy in Sweden, but more importantly, to the end of the Swedish Empire
Who is:
Gustavus Adolphus
King of Sweden in the early 17th century, responsible for leading Sweden during the Thirty Years War and for establishing it as a European power and empire
Who is:
José de San Martín
- 19th-century Argentine general who played a major role in the successful South American struggle for independence from Spain
- He was directly involved in the liberation of both Chile and Peru, and is seen along with Simón Bolívar as one of the liberators of Spanish South America
Who is:
Bernardo O’Higgins
- 19th-century Chilean independence leader of Spanish and Irish descent who is regarded as one of Chile’s founding fathers
- Along with José de San Martín, he helped free Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence
Who is:
The 14th Dalai Lama
- The current Dalai Lama, the head monk in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism
- Holding the position since he was 15 in 1950, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and is known as a charismatic speaker who advocates for Tibetans and who emphasizes the importance of compassion and its relationship to happiness
Who is:
Kim Il-sung
- 20th-century communist founder and leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea, from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994
- In 1950, he invaded South Korea, beginning the Korean War, which, after American and UN intervention, ended three years later
- His reign is often seen as having been an autocracy, and like his son and successor Kim Jong-il, he established in North Korea a great cult of personality
Who is:
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
- Iranian religious and revolutionary leader of the 20th century who imposed rule by Islamic law and became Iran’s dictator in 1979 following the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
- He wished to rid Iran of foreign influences, and supported the Iranian militants who took American hostages during the Iran hostage crisis from 1979-81
- He died in 1989
Who is:
T.E. Lawrence
- English soldier of the 20th century, known as Lawrence of Arabia
- Led a rebellion of Arabs against the Turks in World War I, later depicting the experience in his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom
- A film detailing his experiences in the war, Lawrence of Arabia, came out in 1962
Who is:
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
- 18th and 19th-century Ottoman military leader who became the head of Sudan and Egypt
- Considered the founder of modern Egypt, he made many economic and military reforms and established a dynasty that would last until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
Who is:
Anwar Sadat
- Egyptian revolutionary and statesman of the 20th century who contributed to the overthrow of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
- Succeeded Gamal Abdel Nasser as President of Egypt in 1970, and negotiated the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, which was unpopular to many Arabs and led ultimately to his assassination in 1981
Who is:
Enver Pasha
20th-century Ottoman military officer who fought in the Balkan Wars and World War I and was a leader of the Young Turk revolution
Who is:
Haile Selassie I
- Ethiopia’s leader (as regent and then emperor) from 1916 to 1974, and one of the most significant figures in African history
- He was revered as a messiah of the Rastafari movement, and he was a promoter of collective security at the international level
Who is:
Desmond Tutu
- South African Anglican bishop most famous for his human rights activism and opposition to apartheid
- A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, he has campaigned over the years to fight against illness, poverty, racism, and sexism
- He was the first black South African Archbishop of Cape Town
Who is:
Jan Smuts
- South African and British Commonwealth statesman and military leader who served twice as South Africa’s Prime Minister
- He is most known for playing an instrumental role in the establishment of the League of Nations, and later called for the creation of the UN
- He served in both World Wars, and was also the only person to sign the peace treaties ending both of the wars
Who is:
Guru Nanak
15th and 16th-century religious leader and Sikh Guru who founded the religion of Sikhism
Who is:
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
- 20th-century political figure who was the Shah of Persia and the last King of Iran
- The Shah was a secular Muslim who promoted modernization and recognized Israel, and he was overthrown in 1979 in the Iranian Revolution
- He died in 1980 while in exile in Egypt, having been granted asylum by President Anwar Sadat
Who is:
Gamal Abdel Nasser
- Egyptian colonel and statesman who overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan in the Revolution of 1952
- He was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970, and promoted socialist reform and modernization
- The Suez Crisis occurred during his administration, and its end, along with his strong emphasis of pan-Arab nationalism, made him a hero in the Arab world
Who is:
Joseph Goebbels
- German political leader of the 20th century most noted for being Adolf Hitler’s close confidant and Propaganda Minister of the Nazi government
- He committed suicide when Germany’s defeat became imminent
Who is:
Idi Amin
- Ugandan military leader and statesman who seized power from President Milton Obote in a 1971 coup
- He then served as Uganda’s president until 1979, when the Uganda-Tanzania War resulted in his eventual flight to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003
- His rule was marked by repression and human rights abuse, and his regime has been accused of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Queen of Sweden in the 17th century known for her unconventional artistic and intellectual tastes
- In 1654 she abdicated her throne and converted to Catholicism, and later moved to Rome, where she became a patron of the arts
Christina, Queen of Sweden
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 17th and 18th-century king of Sweden who led the Swedish army in the Great Northern War
- Although he earned victories early on, he eventually lost his life in 1718, leading to the temporary end of absolute monarchy in Sweden, but more importantly, to the end of the Swedish Empire
Charles XII of Sweden
Name the world historical figure(s):
King of Sweden in the early 17th century, responsible for leading Sweden during the Thirty Years War and for establishing it as a European power and empire
Gustavus Adolphus
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 19th-century Argentine general who played a major role in the successful South American struggle for independence from Spain
- He was directly involved in the liberation of both Chile and Peru, and is seen along with Simón Bolívar as one of the liberators of Spanish South America
José de San Martín
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 19th-century Chilean independence leader of Spanish and Irish descent who is regarded as one of Chile’s founding fathers
- Along with José de San Martín, he helped free Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence
Bernardo O’Higgins
Name the world historical figure(s):
- The current Dalai Lama, the head monk in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism
- Holding the position since he was 15 in 1950, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and is known as a charismatic speaker who advocates for Tibetans and who emphasizes the importance of compassion and its relationship to happiness
The 14th Dalai Lama
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 20th-century communist founder and leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea, from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994
- In 1950, he invaded South Korea, beginning the Korean War, which, after American and UN intervention, ended three years later
- His reign is often seen as having been an autocracy, and like his son and successor Kim Jong-il, he established in North Korea a great cult of personality
Kim Il-sung
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Iranian religious and revolutionary leader of the 20th century who imposed rule by Islamic law and became Iran’s dictator in 1979 following the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
- He wished to rid Iran of foreign influences, and supported the Iranian militants who took American hostages during the Iran hostage crisis from 1979-81
- He died in 1989
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
Name the world historical figure(s):
- English soldier of the 20th century, known as Lawrence of Arabia
- Led a rebellion of Arabs against the Turks in World War I, later depicting the experience in his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom
- A film detailing his experiences in the war, Lawrence of Arabia, came out in 1962
T.E. Lawrence
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 18th and 19th-century Ottoman military leader who became the head of Sudan and Egypt
- Considered the founder of modern Egypt, he made many economic and military reforms and established a dynasty that would last until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Egyptian revolutionary and statesman of the 20th century who contributed to the overthrow of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
- Succeeded Gamal Abdel Nasser as President of Egypt in 1970, and negotiated the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, which was unpopular to many Arabs and led ultimately to his assassination in 1981
Anwar Sadat
Name the world historical figure(s):
20th-century Ottoman military officer who fought in the Balkan Wars and World War I and was a leader of the Young Turk revolution
Enver Pasha
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Ethiopia’s leader (as regent and then emperor) from 1916 to 1974, and one of the most significant figures in African history
- He was revered as a messiah of the Rastafari movement, and he was a promoter of collective security at the international level
Haile Selassie I
Name the world historical figure(s):
- South African Anglican bishop most famous for his human rights activism and opposition to apartheid
- A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, he has campaigned over the years to fight against illness, poverty, racism, and sexism
- He was the first black South African Archbishop of Cape Town
Desmond Tutu
Name the world historical figure(s):
- South African and British Commonwealth statesman and military leader who served twice as South Africa’s Prime Minister
- He is most known for playing an instrumental role in the establishment of the League of Nations, and later called for the creation of the UN
- He served in both World Wars, and was also the only person to sign the peace treaties ending both of the wars
Jan Smuts
Name the world historical figure(s):
15th and 16th-century religious leader and Sikh Guru who founded the religion of Sikhism
Guru Nanak
Name the world historical figure(s):
- 20th-century political figure who was the Shah of Persia and the last King of Iran
- The Shah was a secular Muslim who promoted modernization and recognized Israel, and he was overthrown in 1979 in the Iranian Revolution
- He died in 1980 while in exile in Egypt, having been granted asylum by President Anwar Sadat
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Egyptian colonel and statesman who overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan in the Revolution of 1952
- He was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970, and promoted socialist reform and modernization
- The Suez Crisis occurred during his administration, and its end, along with his strong emphasis of pan-Arab nationalism, made him a hero in the Arab world
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Name the world historical figure(s):
- German political leader of the 20th century most noted for being Adolf Hitler’s close confidant and Propaganda Minister of the Nazi government
- He committed suicide when Germany’s defeat became imminent
Joseph Goebbels
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Ugandan military leader and statesman who seized power from President Milton Obote in a 1971 coup
- He then served as Uganda’s president until 1979, when the Uganda-Tanzania War resulted in his eventual flight to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003
- His rule was marked by repression and human rights abuse, and his regime has been accused of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people
Idi Amin
Who is:
Ban Ki-moon
South Korean diplomat and the current (and 8th) Secretary-General of the United Nations, having succeeded Kofi Annan in 2007
Who is:
Ashoka
- Indian emperor of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent
- After the destructive Kalinga War, he converted to Buddhism and contributed to the expansion of Buddhism as a world religion
Who is:
Ramesses the Great
Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th century B.C. who is often considered the most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire
Who is:
Buddha
- Siddhartha Gautama, a prince born in the 6th Century B.C.E. in what is now Nepal, and the founder of Buddhism
- He is said to have achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, still a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists today
Who is:
Jesus of Nazareth
- A prophet of the first century and the central figure of Christianity
- As a man he is said to have traveled throughout Palestine with the Twelve Apostles, healing the sick, performing miracles, and teaching the word of God
- Although he had many followers, he also made enemies for his claims of being the Messiah
- He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and crucified by Roman authorities
Who is:
Muhammad
- The founding prophet of Islam, born in Mecca (a town in modern-day Saudi Arabia) around the year 570
- It is believed that the Quran, the central text of Islam, was dictated to him by an angel sent from God
Who is:
Tutankhamun
- Believed to be the son of the pharaoh Akhenaten, an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled in the 14th century B.C.
- Although his reign was brief and unimportant, the 1922 discovery of his intact tomb is one of the greatest archaeological finds in history
- Known commonly as King Tut, his burial mask is a popular symbol of Ancient Egypt
Who is:
Moses
- Religious leader who is considered an important prophet in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and various other religious faiths
- An Israelite (Hebrew), he is said to have been born in Egypt
- After fleeing from Egypt as a man, he was spoken to by God, who ordered him to return to Egypt and liberate the Hebrews
- Following the Plagues of Egypt and the release of the Israelites, he led his people on the Exodus across the Red Sea
- After receiving the Ten Commandments from God, he and his followers wandered the desert for 40 years before he died upon seeing the Promised Land
Who are:
The Patriarchs
The founding fathers of the Israelites in the Old Testament, consisting of Isaac, Abraham, Jacob, and the sons of Jacob
Who is:
Zoroaster
Prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion founded some time before the 6th century B.C. and formerly one of the world’s largest religions
Who is:
Maimonides
- Medieval Jewish philosopher of the 12th and 13th centuries
- Born in modern-day Spain, he served as a rabbi and physician in Egypt and Morocco, and is considered one of the preeminent scholars of the Torah
Who is:
Hatshepsut
Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 16th and 15th centuries B.C. who is arguably the most famous and successful of the female rulers of Egypt
Who is:
Thutmose III
- Successor to his stepmother, Hatshepsut, as pharaoh of Egypt in the 15th century B.C.
- Under him the Egyptian Empire grew larger than it had ever been
Who is:
Khufu
Egyptian pharaoh of the 26th century B.C., most famous for having allegedly built the Great Pyramid of Giza
Who is:
Nefertiti
- Chief consort and wife to the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten in the 14th century B.C.
- Her bust is one of the most famous surviving artifacts of Ancient Egypt
Who is:
Akhenaten
- Pharaoh of Egypt in the 14th century B.C., believed to be the father of King Tut
- He is most famous for abandoning traditional Egyptian religion and worshipping one god only, Aten, a solar deity or sun disc
- Traditional polytheism was restored, however, in the years following his death
Who is:
Cyrus the Great
Emperor of the 6th century B.C. who founded the Achaemenid Persian Empire, an Iranian empire in Western Asia that would at one point be the largest empire the world had ever seen
Who is:
Thales
- Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and mathematician of the 7th and 6th centuries B.C.
- He is noted for having attempted to explain natural phenomena without referring to mythology
- For this rejection of mythological explanations, as well as for his use of deductive reasoning, geometry, and hypotheses, he is credited with having laid the groundwork for the scientific revolution
Who is:
Qin Shi Huang
- Chinese ruler of the 3rd century B.C. who was the king of the State of Qin and later the first emperor of a unified China
- He instituted many economic and social reforms, and is known for building large portions of the Great Wall of China, as well as his own enormous mausoleum, guarded by thousands of terracotta sculptures of soldiers
Name the world historical figure(s):
South Korean diplomat and the current (and 8th) Secretary-General of the United Nations, having succeeded Kofi Annan in 2007
Ban Ki-moon
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Indian emperor of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent
- After the destructive Kalinga War, he converted to Buddhism and contributed to the expansion of Buddhism as a world religion
Ashoka
Name the world historical figure(s):
Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th century B.C. who is often considered the most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire
Ramesses the Great
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Siddhartha Gautama, a prince born in the 6th Century B.C.E. in what is now Nepal, and the founder of Buddhism
- He is said to have achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, still a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists today
Buddha
Name the world historical figure(s):
- A prophet of the first century and the central figure of Christianity
- As a man he is said to have traveled throughout Palestine with the Twelve Apostles, healing the sick, performing miracles, and teaching the word of God
- Although he had many followers, he also made enemies for his claims of being the Messiah
- He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and crucified by Roman authorities
Jesus of Nazareth
Name the world historical figure(s):
- The founding prophet of Islam, born in Mecca (a town in modern-day Saudi Arabia) around the year 570
- It is believed that the Quran, the central text of Islam, was dictated to him by an angel sent from God
Muhammad
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Believed to be the son of the pharaoh Akhenaten, an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled in the 14th century B.C.
- Although his reign was brief and unimportant, the 1922 discovery of his intact tomb is one of the greatest archaeological finds in history
- Known commonly as King Tut, his burial mask is a popular symbol of Ancient Egypt
Tutankhamun
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Religious leader who is considered an important prophet in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and various other religious faiths
- An Israelite (Hebrew), he is said to have been born in Egypt
- After fleeing from Egypt as a man, he was spoken to by God, who ordered him to return to Egypt and liberate the Hebrews
- Following the Plagues of Egypt and the release of the Israelites, he led his people on the Exodus across the Red Sea
- After receiving the Ten Commandments from God, he and his followers wandered the desert for 40 years before he died upon seeing the Promised Land
Moses
Name the world historical figure(s):
The founding fathers of the Israelites in the Old Testament, consisting of Isaac, Abraham, Jacob, and the sons of Jacob
The Patriarchs
Name the world historical figure(s):
Prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion founded some time before the 6th century B.C. and formerly one of the world’s largest religions
Zoroaster
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Medieval Jewish philosopher of the 12th and 13th centuries
- Born in modern-day Spain, he served as a rabbi and physician in Egypt and Morocco, and is considered one of the preeminent scholars of the Torah
Maimonides
Name the world historical figure(s):
Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 16th and 15th centuries B.C. who is arguably the most famous and successful of the female rulers of Egypt
Hatshepsut
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Successor to his stepmother, Hatshepsut, as pharaoh of Egypt in the 15th century B.C.
- Under him the Egyptian Empire grew larger than it had ever been
Thutmose III
Name the world historical figure(s):
Egyptian pharaoh of the 26th century B.C., most famous for having allegedly built the Great Pyramid of Giza
Khufu
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Chief consort and wife to the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten in the 14th century B.C.
- Her bust is one of the most famous surviving artifacts of Ancient Egypt
Nefertiti
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Pharaoh of Egypt in the 14th century B.C., believed to be the father of King Tut
- He is most famous for abandoning traditional Egyptian religion and worshipping one god only, Aten, a solar deity or sun disc
- Traditional polytheism was restored, however, in the years following his death
Akhenaten
Name the world historical figure(s):
Emperor of the 6th century B.C. who founded the Achaemenid Persian Empire, an Iranian empire in Western Asia that would at one point be the largest empire the world had ever seen
Cyrus the Great
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and mathematician of the 7th and 6th centuries B.C.
- He is noted for having attempted to explain natural phenomena without referring to mythology
- For this rejection of mythological explanations, as well as for his use of deductive reasoning, geometry, and hypotheses, he is credited with having laid the groundwork for the scientific revolution
Thales
Name the world historical figure(s):
- Chinese ruler of the 3rd century B.C. who was the king of the State of Qin and later the first emperor of a unified China
- He instituted many economic and social reforms, and is known for building large portions of the Great Wall of China, as well as his own enormous mausoleum, guarded by thousands of terracotta sculptures of soldiers
Qin Shi Huang