Leading Figures in History

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

62247 persons found

Elena Reygadas

b. 1976

Mexican chef

Elena Rybakina

b. 1999

Kazakhstani tennis player (born 1999)

Elena Semikina

b. 1983

Russian-Canadian actress

Elena Verdugo

b. 1925

American actress (1925–2017)

Elena Vesnina

b. 1986

Russian tennis player (born 1986)

Elena-Gabriela Ruse

b. 1997

Romanian tennis player (born 1997)

Eleni Daniilidou

b. 1982

Greek tennis player

Eleni Vitali

b. 1954

Greek singer and composer (born 1954)

Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo

Italian noblewoman

Eleonora Duse

Italian actress (1858–1924)

Eleonora Gonzaga (born 1598)

Holy Roman Empress from 1622 to 1637

Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland

b. 1653

Queen of Poland (1670–1673), Duchess of Lorraine (1678–1690)

Éleuthère Irénée du Pont

b. 1771

French-American chemist and industrialist (1771–1834)

Elfriede Jelinek

b. 1946

Austrian playwright and novelist

Elfriede Rinkel

b. 1922

German concentration camp guard deported from the United States

Elfriede Wever

b. 1900

German middle-distance runner

Elgar Howarth

b. 1935

English conductor (1935–2025)

Elgin Baylor

b. 1934

American basketball player (1934–2021)

Eli Apple

b. 1995

American football player (born 1995)

Eli Lilly

b. 1838

American pharmacist, Union Army officer, businessman, philanthropist (1838–1898)

Eli Roth

b. 1972

American film director and screenwriter (born 1972)

Eli Wallach

American actor (1915–2014)

Eli Whitney Blake

American inventor

Eli Whitney Blake Jr.

American scientist (1836–1895)