People
Historical Figures and Influential People in History
Explore rulers, generals, thinkers, scientists and reformers who shaped world history. Search for a specific person, or browse by era, region, country and A–Z.
Medieval Period Figures from Italy
Use the filters on the right to narrow the figure index while keeping the main results in view.
2 results
Christopher Columbus
1451–1506Europe
He sailed west to reach the east, miscalculated the size of the earth, and stumbled onto a continent — then spent the rest of his life denying it was there.
Open profile →
Marco Polo
1254–1324Europe
He spent seventeen years at the court of Kublai Khan, returned to Venice, and described a world so different from anything Europeans had seen that most people assumed he was lying.
Open profile →