Born and died in 1754

German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary who accompanied James Cook's second voyage and founded modern scientific travel literature

The last King of France before the French Revolution, reigning as King of France and Navarre, and later King of the French, during a period of immense political and social change

Bashkir national hero, poet, and rebel known for his leadership in Pugachev's Rebellion

French moralist and essayist known for his posthumously published aphoristic <i>Pensées</i>

French revolutionary, writer, and salonnière whose intelligence and political acumen influenced the Girondin faction, leaving a legacy through her insightful memoirs

French diplomat, politician, and statesman known for his crafty and cynical diplomacy, serving six different French regimes from Louis XVI to Louis Philippe I

French mathematician and statistician known for de Moivre's formula, probability theory, and the normal distribution

English novelist, dramatist, and judge known for pioneering the traditional English novel and founding London's first professional police force, the Bow Street Runners

Danish-Norwegian writer, philosopher, and historian regarded as the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature