Leading Figures in History

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

39104 persons found

Charles Garnier (missionary)

b. 1606

French Jesuit missionary and martyr (1606–1649)

Charles Ghigna

b. 1946

American poet and author (born 1946)

Charles Gibson (historian)

b. 1920

American historian (1920–1985)

Charles Gondouin

b. 1875

French rugby union player (1875–1947)

Charles Goodyear

American inventor (1800–1860)

Charles Goodyear (politician)

b. 1804

American attorney and politician

Charles Gordon Greene

b. 1804

American journalist and politician

Charles Gounod

b. 1818

French composer (1818–1893)

Charles Grandison Finney

b. 1792

American minister and writer (1792–1875)

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834

Charles Grodin

b. 1935

American actor (1935–2021)

Charles H. Townes

b. 1915

American physicist (1915–2015)

Charles Haid

b. 1943

American actor and director (born 1943)

Charles Hamilton Houston

American lawyer (1895–1950)

Charles Hardy

Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator (1714–1780)

Charles Harold Davis

American landscape painter (1856–1933)

Charles Harrelson

b. 1938

American hitman (1938–2007)

Charles Hart (actor)

17th-century English actor

Charles Haughey

Taoiseach (1979–1981, 1982, 1987–1992)

Charles Hendry

b. 1959

British Conservative Party politician (born 1959)

Charles Holden

English architect (1875–1960)

Charles Horace Mayo

American physician (1865–1939)

Charles Horman

b. 1942

American journalist and documentary filmmaker (1942–1973)

Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle

British nobleman, peer and statesman (c. 1669 – 1738)