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Famous People

In this section, we shed light on some of the most famous and infamous people known throughout history, from powerful pharaohs, to emperors and empresses, acclaimed military leaders, or just regular civilians who’ve been thrown into the spotlight for great crimes or for heroic actions, leaving an indelible mark on the world.

Galen of Pergamon (Claudius Galenus, or in French, Claude Galien) (Paris: Lithograph by Gregoire et Deneux, ca. 1865).
3 March, 2016 - 03:48 dhwty

Galen: A Famous Medical Researcher of Classical Antiquity

Galen of Pergamum was one of the most renowned physicians that the Roman Empire had ever produced. In addition to being a celebrated physician, Galen is said to have also been a philosopher. Unlike...
Hypatia. Signed A. Seifert. Oil on panel, St Catherine of Alexandria
29 February, 2016 - 00:54 Natalia Klimczak

Is St Catherine of Alexandria a Fictional Person Based on Hypatia of Alexandria?

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as The Great Martyr Saint Catherine, is one of the most important saints of the Middle East. Tradition says that she was a virgin who was martyred at the...
Monument to Cuauhtémoc in Veracruz, Mexico.
28 February, 2016 - 21:53 dhwty

Cuauhtémoc, The Last Aztec Emperor to Fight Against the Spanish

Cuauhtémoc (meaning ‘Setting Sun’ or ‘Descending Eagle’) was the 11th Tlatoani (literally meaning ‘speaker’, but may also be translated as ‘king’) of Tenochtitlan, and the last ruler of the Aztec...
Deriv; Ordination of Jacques de Molay in 1265 as a Knight Templar, at the Beaune commandery and the Chinon Parchment.
28 February, 2016 - 14:51 MarkPinkham

The Guilt of the Gnostic Knights Templar: The Chinon Parchment

The recently discovered Chinon Parchment of the Vatican Library in 2001 has brought a level of redemption to the Knights Templar. It does not discount their “heretical” activities, which were...
A stone block shows Ay receiving the 'Gold of Honor' award in his Amarna tomb from Akhenaten.
27 February, 2016 - 00:53 Natalia Klimczak

The Sins and Glories of the Pharaoh Ay

Pharaoh Ay is known in popular books as the person who may have murdered Tutankhamun. Usually, he is described as a pharaoh-monster of the 18th dynasty. However, the real history is very different...
"Tomyris Plunges the Head of the Dead Cyrus Into a Vessel of Blood"
26 February, 2016 - 03:55 Natalia Klimczak

Tomyris, The Female Warrior and Ruler Who May Have Killed Cyrus the Great

Tomyris was an ancient ruler of the Massagetae, a Scythian pastoral-nomadic confederation in Central Asia. She became famous for her bravery and especially for the greatest battle she ever fought –...
Thucydides: General, Historian, and the Father of Scientific History
24 February, 2016 - 03:48 dhwty

Thucydides: General, Historian, and the Father of Scientific History

Thucydides was an Athenian general and historian, most notable for his work known as the History of the Peloponnesian War . Whilst Herodotus, a near-contemporary of his, is often hailed as the Father...
Musa depicted holding a gold coin from the 1375 Catalan Atlas.
21 February, 2016 - 21:49 dhwty

The Legend of How Mansa Abu Bakr II of Mali Gave up the Throne to Explore the Atlantic Ocean

Mansa (meaning king , emperor or sultan ) Abu Bakr II was a 14th century ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. This period of time, i.e. the 14th century, was a time when the Mali Empire had...
A modern religious painting shows the Founding-King in similar motifs.
17 February, 2016 - 03:55 dhwty

The Legendary Founder of Korea, Dangun Wanggeom

According to Korean tradition, Dangun Wanggeom (known also as Dangun or Tangun) was the legendary founder of Gojoseon (or ‘Old Joseon’), the first recorded state in Korean history. This state...
The Statue of Marcus Aurelius (detail) in the Musei Capitolini in Rome.
15 February, 2016 - 00:29 ancient-origins

Marcus Aurelius: Life of the Famous Roman Emperor and Philosopher

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, known more commonly as Marcus Aurelius, was the 16th emperor of Rome, who reigned from 161 AD to his death in 180 AD. Marcus Aurelius is remembered as the last of the Five...
An Illustration of Lao-Tzu.
8 February, 2016 - 03:40 dhwty

Lao Tzu: The Founder of One of the Three Pillars of Traditional Chinese Thought

Lao Tzu is traditionally regarded as the founder of Taoism, a school of thought that developed in ancient China. Taoism is seen as one of the three main pillars of traditional Chinese thought. The...
Main: Artistic representation of Piers Gerlofs Donia, ‘cca made by rudy faber.’ Inset: Picture of Grutte Pier’s Sword. (1953) Fries museum in Leeuwarden.
6 February, 2016 - 23:04 dhwty

Pier Gerlofs Donia: The Giant Frisian Rebel, Warrior, and Pirate

Pier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian warrior, pirate, and rebel who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries AD. He is more well-known perhaps by his nicknames – Grutte Pier in West Frisian, Grote Pier...
Johannes Hevelius, Prodromus Astronomia, volume III, Johannes Hevelius, by Daniel Schultz.
3 February, 2016 - 03:43 Natalia Klimczak

The Magnificent Observatory and Discoveries of Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius is one of the symbols of Gdansk, Poland. He is also one of the three great intellectuals, along with Fahrenheit and Schopenhauer, who were born in this city. During Hevelius’ life,...
The fall of Casto Méndez Núñez in May 2nd, 1866
1 February, 2016 - 03:36 Natalia Klimczak

Born for the Seas and Honor: Examining the Modest Life of the Spanish Navy Officer, Casto Mendez Nunez

The history of Spain is full of great stories about the brave sailors and won sea battles. One of the important players in these tales comes in the form of Casto Mendez Nunez. Casto Mendez Nunez was...
Hans Makart's painting of Charlotte Wolter in Adolf Wilbrandt's tragedy, Arria und Messalina.
1 February, 2016 - 00:57 Natalia Klimczak

Questioning the Dramatic Story of the Empress Messalina, Was She a Cruel Doxy or the Victim of a Smear Campaign?

In Ancient Rome, Valeria Messalina was a symbol of vanity and immorality. For centuries, people identified her as one of the most demoralized women in history, but how much of what we know about...
Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God, by Matejko. In background: Frombork Cathedral.
28 January, 2016 - 03:51 Natalia Klimczak

Trying to Align Forbidden Love, God, and Science: The Secret Relationship of Nicolaus Copernicus and Anna Schilling

Nicolaus Copernicus is one of the most famous astronomers in history. As a man of the Renaissance, his life and work were never focused on just one discipline. However, a secret relationship also led...
‘Leif Eriksson Discovers America’ by Christian Krohg (1893).
26 January, 2016 - 03:49 Natalia Klimczak

Years Before Columbus: Leif Erikson, His Life and His Voyage of Adventure to the New World

Many people still believe that the person who “discovered” America was Christopher Columbus, forgetting the fact that there were already indigenous people living there. An additional fact that is...
Mona Lisa Meets War Machines: Details on the Driven Life and Lesser-Known Talents of Leonardo da Vinci
26 January, 2016 - 00:47 dhwty

Mona Lisa Meets War Machines: Details on the Driven Life and Lesser-Known Talents of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, known more commonly as Leonardo da Vinci, is arguably one of the most well-known figures of the Italian Renaissance. Leonardo’s primary claim to fame is in the field...
Hernán Cortés Monroy, with his coat of arms on the upper left corner. Painting reproduced in the book America, (R. Cronau 19th century).
24 January, 2016 - 21:22 Natalia Klimczak

The Many Burials of Hernan Cortes: Locating the Gravesite of a Conquistador

Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who was instrumental in the fall of the Aztec Empire. After death, his body was buried in Seville, but later it was re-buried many times, in some cases to...
Carrying chair from the funerary furniture of Queen Hetepheres I. Thought to be a gift from her son, Khufu. Reconstruction of original on display in Cairo, this copy residing in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
24 January, 2016 - 14:51 Natalia Klimczak

Queen of Pyramids: The Powerful Hetepheres I and her Magnificent Tomb

Behind the success of the great builders of pyramids, including Snefru and Khufu, stands a woman. She was one the most important women of the Old Kingdom (c. 2686 BC– 2181 BC) and the owner of a...
A painting entitled ‘Capture of the Pirate, Blackbeard, 1718’.
22 January, 2016 - 14:40 dhwty

Exposing the Real Treasure of the Infamous Pirate Blackbeard

Edward Teach / Tache / Thatch, better known as Blackbeard, is arguably one of the world’s most notorious pirates. Like most other pirate tales, the story of Blackbeard also involves a treasure that...
The School of Athens, fresco by Raphael (1509–1510), of an idealized Academy.
15 January, 2016 - 00:45 Natalia Klimczak

Caves in Paradise: The Elite School of Aristotle

Thirty kilometers (18.6 miles) from Vergina, a place where the tomb of Philip II is located, there is a city called Naoussa. Naoussa was a place where nymphs were worshiped for centuries, and the...
The Alchymist, in Search of the Philosopher's Stone by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1771.
14 January, 2016 - 00:45 valdar

Alchemy and Immortality – The Tale of Nicolas Flamel and the Lapis Philosophorum

For mankind, immortality has always been a remarkably fascinating idea. Throughout time, the quest to eliminate death in order to achieve indefinite life in the physical body has taken various forms...
Pirate Bellamy sailing in search of treasure
11 January, 2016 - 00:43 Natalia Klimczak

Samuel Bellamy and the Treasure of Whydah

Samuel Bellamy was one of the most famous pirates of the Caribbean Sea. He was also lucky to finish his life on the sea on the ship which carried the greatest treasure discovered by the pirate...

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