Leading Figures in History

Discover the people who shaped our world — from rulers and scientists to artists and activists.

39103 persons found

Yasuo Fukuda

b. 1936

Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008

Yasuo Kuniyoshi

Japanese-American painter (1889–1953)

Yasushi Akimoto

b. 1958

Japanese producer and lyricist (born 1958)

Yavuz Çetin

Turkish musician

Yaya Touré

b. 1983

Ivorian footballer (born 1983)

Ye Gongchuo

Chinese politician and art collector

Ye Jianying

b. 1897

Chinese communist leader and politician (1897–1986)

Yeardley Smith

b. 1964

American actress (born 1964)

Yebin (singer)

b. 1993

South Korean singer (born 1997)

Yechezkel Kutscher

b. 1909

Israeli philologist and Hebrew linguist

Yefim Fomin

Soviet political commissar (1909–1941)

Yegor Ivanovich Zolotaryov

Russian mathematician (1847–1878)

Yegor Titov

b. 1976

Russian footballer

Yehuda Amichai

b. 1924

Israeli poet and author (1924–2000)

Yehuda Leib Maimon

Israeli politician (1875–1962)

Yehudi Menuhin

b. 1916

American-British violinist (1916–1999)

Yeji (singer)

b. 2000

South Korean singer and dancer (born 2000)

Yekaterina Budanova

Fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II

Yekaterina Podkopayeva

b. 1952

Yekaterina Samutsevich

b. 1982

Russian political activist and musician (born 1982)

Yelena Bonner

Human rights activist in the Soviet Union (1923–2011)

Yelena Davydova

b. 1961

Russian-Canadian gymnast and gymnastics coach

Yelena Gorchakova

b. 1933

Soviet javelin thrower

Yelena Isinbayeva

b. 1982

Russian Olympic pole-vaulter