Leading Figures in History

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

62243 persons found

Willem Barentsz

Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer (c. 1550 – 1597)

Willem Dafoe

b. 1955

American actor (born 1955)

Willem de Kooning

b. 1904

Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist (1904–1997)

Willem de Sitter

b. 1872

Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (1872–1934)

Willem Drees

Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1948 to 1958

Willem Drees Jr.

Dutch politician (1922–1998)

Willem Drost

b. 1633

Dutch painter

Willem Duys

b. 1928

Dutch media personality

Willem Einthoven

b. 1860

Dutch physiologist (1860–1927)

Willem Elsschot

b. 1882

Flemish writer

Willem Frederik Hermans

Dutch writer (1921–1995)

Willem Hendrik Keesom

b. 1876

Dutch physicist (1876–1956)

Willem Jacob van Stockum

Dutch mathematician (1910–1944)

Willem Janssen (footballer, born 1986)

b. 1986

Dutch footballer

Willem Kalf

Dutch still-life painter (1619–1693)

Willem Pijper

b. 1894

Dutch composer, music critic and teacher (1894–1947)

Willem van der Zaan

b. 1621

Dutch Admiral (1621–1669)

Willem van Otterloo

Dutch conductor and composer

Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

b. 1967

King of the Netherlands since 2013

Willi Boskovsky

Austrian violinist and conductor

Willi Hennig

b. 1913

German biologist and zoologist (1913–1976)

Willi Ninja

American dancer and choreographer (1961–2006)

Willi Stoph

b. 1914

German politician (1914–1999)

Willi Unsoeld

b. 1926

American mountaineer