Historical Figures
An authoritative, deeply-linked database of history's most influential people. Browse 319+ figures by occupation, era, and civilization, or use search to find anyone instantly.
Woodrow Wilson
84Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States who led the country through World War I, proposed the League of Nations — the first international organization for collective security — and articulated the principle of national self-determination that reshaped the post-war world.
Wright Brothers
85The Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were American inventors who designed, built and flew the world's first successful powered aeroplane in 1903, launching the age of human flight.
Wu Zetian
86Wu Zetian was the only woman in Chinese history to rule as emperor in her own name, founding the Zhou dynasty, governing China at the height of Tang power, and expanding the civil examination system to build a meritocratic bureaucracy.
Xerxes I
80Xerxes I was the Achaemenid king of Persia who launched the massive second invasion of Greece, winning at Thermopylae but ultimately defeated at Salamis and Plataea, in one of the most famous conflicts of the ancient world.
Yi Sun-sin
86Yi Sun-sin was the Korean admiral who defended Korea against the Japanese invasions of 1592–98, winning 23 naval battles without a single defeat, developing the ironclad turtle ship, and dying in his final victory — one of the greatest naval commanders in history.
Zeno of Citium
86Zeno of Citium was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded Stoicism, teaching that virtue and reason are the path to a good life, in lectures given at the Painted Porch (Stoa) in Athens.
Zheng He
83Zheng He was a Chinese admiral and explorer of the Ming dynasty who commanded vast treasure fleets on seven voyages across the Indian Ocean, reaching as far as Arabia and East Africa.