Leading Figures in History

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

21504 persons found

Rod Smith (wide receiver)

b. 1970

American football player (born 1970)

Rod Thorn

b. 1941

American basketball player (born 1941)

Roddy Doyle

b. 1958

Irish author and screenwriter (born 1958)

Roddy Piper

b. 1954

Canadian professional wrestler and actor (1954–2015)

Roden Cutler

b. 1916

Australian Army officer, politician and diplomat

Roderigo Lopes

Portuguese physician (c.1517–1594)

Rodney Frelinghuysen

b. 1946

American politician (born 1946)

Rodney King

Black American victim of police brutality (1965–2012)

Rodney Rogers

b. 1971

American basketball player (1971–2025)

Rodolfo Pio da Carpi

16th-century Catholic cardinal

Rodolfo Quezada Toruño

Guatemalan Catholic cardinal (1932–2012)

Rodolphe Töpffer

Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricature artist (1799–1846)

Rodri (footballer, born 1996)

b. 1996

Spanish footballer

Rodric Braithwaite

b. 1932

British diplomat and author

Rodrigo (musician)

b. 1973

Argentine singer (1973–2000)

Rodrigo Anes de Sá Almeida e Meneses, 1st Marquis of Abrantes

Portuguese nobleman and diplomat

Rodrigo De Paul

b. 1994

Argentine footballer (born 1994)

Rodrigo Defendi

b. 1986

Brazilian footballer (born 1986)

Rodulf (archbishop of Bourges)

French Catholic archbishop

Roelof Klein

b. 1877

Dutch rower (1877–1960)

Roger Ailes

b. 1940

American TV executive and consultant (1940–2017)

Roger Angell

American writer (1920–2022)

Roger Ball (musician)

b. 1944

Scottish musician

Roger Boisjoly

b. 1938

American aerodynamics engineer (1938–2012)