Leading Figures in History

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

62247 persons found

François Weyergans

b. 1941

Belgian writer and director (1941–2019)

François-Adrien Boieldieu

French composer (1775–1834)

François-Alphonse Forel

Swiss scientist (1841–1912)

François-André Danican Philidor

French composer and chess master (1726–1795)

François-Hippolyte Barthélémon

b. 1741

French violinist, pedagogue and composer

François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis

b. 1715

Catholic cardinal (1715–1794)

François-Louis Cailler

b. 1796

Swiss chocolatier (1796–1852)

François-Louis Tremblay

b. 1980

Canadian short track speed skater (born 1980)

François-Marie, comte de Broglie

François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois

Secretary of State for War under Louis XIV

François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo

b. 1774

French general

François-Noël Babeuf

French revolutionary and journalist (1760–1797)

François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers

French Navy officer (1753–1798)

François-René de Chateaubriand

French writer, politician and historian (1768–1848)

François-Timoléon de Choisy

French abbé and writer (1644–1724)

François-Xavier Garneau

b. 1809

French Canadian notary, poet, civil servant and liberal

Françoise Arnoul

b. 1931

French actress (1931–2021)

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi

b. 1947

French virologist and Nobel laureate (born 1947)

Françoise Blanchard

French actress

Françoise Charlotte d'Aubigné

b. 1684

French aristocrat

Françoise d'Amboise

French Carmelite nun (1427–1485)

Françoise d'Eaubonne

French ecofeminist (1920–2005)

Françoise Dorléac

French actress (1942–1967)

Françoise Giroud

b. 1916

French journalist, writer, and politician (1916–2003)