Memorials & famous biographies

South African anti-apartheid activist, teacher, and politician who served as President-General of the African National Congress from 1952 until 1967

Ethiopian double Olympic marathon champion who famously won the 1960 Rome marathon barefoot and successfully defended his title in Tokyo 1964

Lithuanian-American archaeologist known for her pioneering research into Old Europe and the Kurgan hypothesis of Indo-European origins

Swiss-American naturalist and geologist recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history, with significant work in ichthyology and glaciology

Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright who systematized and theorized Noh theater, developing key concepts like yūgen and hana

German-American biophysicist and Nobel laureate who, with the Phage Group, unraveled the genetic structure and replication mechanism of viruses

French economist and politician who served as President of the European Commission and played a key role in the creation of the European single market and the euro

French artist, film director, screenwriter, and photographer known for her innovative contributions to cinema and visual arts

Italian actor, comedian, director, and singer known for his iconic portrayals in cinema and vast contributions to entertainment

Japanese association football player and manager who won an Olympic bronze medal and holds the record as Japan's all-time leading goalscorer, also served as a politician

English biochemist and crystallographer who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on haem-containing proteins

Leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I

Jewish-German-born British biochemist who shared the 1945 Nobel Prize for the discovery and development of penicillin

German-American physicist and Nobel laureate known for his work with neutrinos and co-discovery of the muon neutrino

French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher who translated Newton's Principia and authored important works on science and philosophy

German politician, lawyer, and writer who served as Foreign Minister and Vice-Chancellor of Germany, notable as the first openly gay person in these roles

Russian mathematician and physicist known for the Kolmogorov–Arnold–Moser theorem, and contributions to dynamical systems, topology, and differential equations

Hungarian statesman and revolutionist who led the Hungarian State during the 1848–1849 war of independence, advocating for national sovereignty

South African-American virologist and physician who developed the life-saving vaccine against yellow fever, earning him the Nobel Prize in 1951

Castillian Basque sailor and explorer who completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth with the Magellan Expedition

King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808

French academic painter known for realistic genre paintings, mythological themes, and modern interpretations of classical subjects, whose work enjoyed immense popularity then fell out of favor, only to be rediscovered in the late 20th century

Spanish explorer and conquistador known for leading the first European expeditions to Puerto Rico and Florida

Spanish Cubist painter, illustrator, and sculptor whose distinctive works are central to the Cubist movement