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.
Historical Figures Beginning with G
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20 results
Gaius Marius
-157–-86Classical WorldEuropeItaly
He saved Rome from invasion, won seven consulships — more than anyone before him — and in doing so proved that the republic's rules meant nothing when a general had a loyal army.
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Galileo Galilei
1564–1642Early Modern EraEuropeItaly
He pointed a telescope at the sky, saw things that couldn't be explained by the accepted model of the universe, and spent the rest of his life in trouble for saying so.
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Gavrilo Princip
1894–1918Industrial AgeOtherBIH
He was nineteen years old, standing in the street after a failed assassination attempt, when the archduke's car took a wrong turn and stopped directly in front of him.
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Genghis Khan
1162–1227Medieval PeriodOtherMongolia
Born with nothing but a name and a grudge, he built the largest contiguous empire in human history — and no one has ever fully explained how.
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George Canning
1770–1827Industrial AgeEuropeUnited Kingdom
He climbed from financial insecurity to the highest office in Britain, but his brief time as prime minister ended almost as soon as it began.
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George Grenville
1712–1770Early Modern EraEuropeUnited Kingdom
He tried to tighten Britain’s grip on its American colonies through taxation, and in doing so, helped spark resistance that would eventually lead to revolution.
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George H. W. Bush
1924–2018Modern HistoryAmericasUnited States
He oversaw the end of the Cold War, assembled a global coalition to win a war in the Gulf, and then lost his re-election campaign to a man from a small town in Arkansas.
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George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
1784–1860Industrial AgeEuropeUnited Kingdom
He preferred quiet diplomacy to loud politics, yet found himself leading Britain into the Crimean War, a conflict that tested his cautious instincts and ended his premiership.
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George Stephenson
1781–1848Industrial AgeEuropeUnited Kingdom
He grew up illiterate on the Northumberland coalfields and redesigned the way humans moved across the surface of the earth.
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George VI
1895–1952Industrial AgeEuropeUnited Kingdom
He never wanted to be king, had a stammer that made public speaking an ordeal, and became the defining symbol of his country's refusal to give in during its darkest years.
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George W. Bush
1946–?Modern HistoryAmericasUnited States
He came to office promising a humble foreign policy, then responded to the worst attack on American soil in history with two wars that are still unresolved decades later.
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George Washington
1732–1799Early Modern EraAmericasUnited States
He was asked to become king and said no — a decision so unusual in the history of military victors that people are still talking about it.
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Georges Clemenceau
1841–1929Industrial AgeEuropeFrance
He had been waiting his entire career for France to get its revenge on Germany — and when it finally came, he made sure the peace was as harsh as the victory.
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Gerald Ford
1913–2006Modern HistoryAmericasUnited States
He was never elected president or vice president, reached both offices through appointment, and spent his single term trying to rebuild a government the public had stopped trusting.
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Gil Eanes
1390–1460Medieval PeriodEuropePortugal
For years, European sailors had turned back at the same cape, convinced that beyond it lay boiling seas and monsters — until he sailed past it and found nothing but ocean.
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Gilgamesh
-2800–-2500Ancient CivilisationsOtherIraq
He was a king who set out to find the secret of eternal life, failed, and returned home — and the story became the oldest written epic humanity has ever found.
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Gordon Brown
1951–?Modern HistoryEuropeUnited Kingdom
He spent a decade controlling Britain’s economy as chancellor before inheriting the premiership mid-crisis, where global financial turmoil defined and ultimately limited his time in power.
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Grover Cleveland
1837–1908Industrial AgeAmericasUnited States
He won the presidency, lost it, and won it again four years later — the only president ever to serve two non-consecutive terms until the twenty-first century.
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Gustav Stresemann
1878–1929Industrial AgeEuropeGermany
Gustav Stresemann was a German statesman who stabilised the Weimar Republic and reshaped its foreign relations through pragmatic diplomacy after the First World War.
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Guthrum
830–890Medieval PeriodOtherDenmark
He invaded England at the head of a Viking army, was defeated, and accepted baptism as part of the peace terms — with his conqueror, Alfred, standing as his godfather.
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