Leading Figures in History

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

62243 persons found

Charles Williams (composer)

British composer and conductor (1893–1978)

Charles Wood (composer)

Irish composer (1866–1926)

Charles Wood (playwright)

b. 1932

British playwright and scriptwriter (1932–2020)

Charles Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax

b. 1912

British politician and peer

Charles Woodson

b. 1976

American football player (born 1976)

Charles Wright (poet)

b. 1935

American writer; University of Virginia professor

Charles Wriothesley

b. 1508

16th-century officer of arms at College of Arms

Charles Wuorinen

b. 1938

American composer (1938–2020)

Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont

British statesman

Charles X Gustav

b. 1622

King of Sweden from 1654 to 1660

Charles X of France

b. 1757

King of France from 1824 to 1830

Charles XII of Sweden

b. 1682

King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718

Charles XIII

b. 1748

King of Sweden from 1809 to 1818

Charles XV

b. 1826

King of Sweden and Norway from 1859 to 1872

Charles Zwolsman Jr.

b. 1979

Dutch racing driver

Charles-Amédée Kohler

b. 1790

Swiss chocolate maker and inventor (1790–1874)

Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo

French painter (1719–1795)

Charles-André van Loo

French painter (1705–1765)

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb

b. 1736

French physicist (1736–1806)

Charles-Denis Bourbaki

b. 1816

French soldier and officer (1816–1897)

Charles-Édouard Guillaume

Swiss physicist (1861–1938)

Charles-François Lebrun

French nobleman, lawyer and statesman (1739–1824)

Charles-François Tiphaigne de la Roche

French novelist (1722-1774)

Charles-François-Frédéric, marquis de Montholon-Sémonville