Leading Figures in History

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

62247 persons found

Maria Filotti

b. 1883

Romanian actress (1883–1956)

Maria Franziska von Trapp

b. 1914

Member of Trapp Family Singers (1914–2014)

Maria Furtwängler

b. 1966

German physician and actress (born 1966)

Maria Gaetana Agnesi

b. 1718

Italian mathematician and philanthropist (1718–1799)

Maria Georgina Grey

British educationist and writer

Maria Gheorghiu

b. 1963

Romanian folk singer and songwriter (born 1963)

Maria Goeppert Mayer

b. 1906

German–American physicist (1906–1972)

Maria Goretti

Italian virgin-martyr of the Catholic Church

Maria Gorokhovskaya

b. 1921

Soviet gymnast (1921–2001)

Maria Grazia Cucinotta

b. 1968

Italian actress (born 1968)

Maria Gripe

b. 1923

Swedish children's writer (1923–2007)

Maria Haraldsdotter

Norwegian princess (died 1066)

Maria II of Portugal

Queen of Portugal (1826–1828, 1834–1853)

María Isabel of Spain

b. 1789

Queen of the Two Sicilies from 1825 to 1830

Maria James

b. 1793

American poet

Maria Jane Jewsbury

b. 1800

English writer and poet (1800–1833)

Maria Jane Williams

Welsh musician and folklorist (c.1795–1873)

Maria João Pires

b. 1944

Portuguese classical pianist (born 1944)

María José Alvarado

Honduran beauty queen (1995–2014)

Maria Koepcke

b. 1924

20th-century German and Peruvian ornithologist

Maria L. de Hernández

b. 1896

Mexican-American rights activist

Maria Lacerda de Moura

b. 1887

Brazilian anarcho-feminist journalist (1887–1945)

Maria Lassnig

Austrian artist (1919–2014)

Maria Lawson

b. 1975

Musical artist