Leading Figures in History

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

24408 persons found

Joseph Brooks (songwriter)

American director and composer (1938–2011)

Joseph Butler

English Anglican bishop (1692–1752)

Joseph Carl Breil

b. 1870

American opera singer

Joseph Chamberlain

British politician (1836–1914)

Joseph Cohen (solicitor)

b. 1889

Bninessman solicitor and property developer active in Birmingham, England

Joseph Cotten

b. 1905

American actor (1905–1994)

Joseph Dalton Hooker

b. 1817

British botanist and explorer (1817–1911)

Joseph Dart

b. 1799

American inventor and engineer

Joseph Diez Gergonne

French mathematician and logician

Joseph Earl Sheffield

b. 1793

American railroad executive, philanthropist

Joseph Ebuya

b. 1987

Kenyan long-distance runner (born 1987)

Joseph Estrada

b. 1937

President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001

Joseph Fielding Smith

American religious leader (1876–1972)

Joseph Fiennes

b. 1970

English actor (born 1970)

Joseph Forshaw (athlete)

b. 1881

American long-distance runner

Joseph Fouché

b. 1759

French statesman, revolutionary and police chief (1763–1820)

Joseph Foullon de Doué

b. 1715

18th-century French politician

Joseph Fourier

French mathematician and physicist (1768–1830)

Joseph Gilbert (RAF officer)

b. 1931

Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal

Joseph Goebbels

German Nazi propaganda minister (1897–1945)

Joseph Goguen

b. 1941

American computer scientist

Joseph Green (actor)

b. 1900

American actor (1900–1996)

Joseph Greenberg

b. 1915

American linguist (1915–2001)

Joseph Grimaldi

English actor, comedian and dancer