Leading Figures in History

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

21506 persons found

Vladislav Tretiak

b. 1952

Russian ice hockey player (born 1952)

Vladislav Volkov

Soviet cosmonaut (1935–1971)

Vladko Maček

Croatian politician (1879–1964)

Vlado Perlemuter

b. 1904

Lithuanian-born French pianist and teacher (1904 - 2002)

Vlasis Kazakis

b. 1983

Greek footballer

Vlasta Vraz

b. 1900

Czech American relief worker, editor, and fundraiser

Võ Văn Kiệt

Prime Minister of Vietnam

Volfgangs Dārziņš

Latvian composer, pianist and music critic

Volker Beck (athlete)

b. 1956

East German sprinter and hurdler

Volmari Iso-Hollo

Athletics competitor

Volney Howard

American lawyer, statesman, and jurist (1809–1889)

Volodymyr Holubnychy

b. 1936

Ukrainian racewalker (1936–2021)

Voltaire

French writer and philosopher (1694–1778)

Vontae Davis

b. 1988

American football player (1988–2024)

Vujadin Boškov

Yugoslavian footballer and manager (1931–2014)

Vyacheslav Artyomov

b. 1940

Russian and Soviet composer (born 1940)

W. Arthur Lewis

Saint Lucian economist and Nobel laureate (1915–1991)

W. B. Yeats

b. 1865

Irish poet and playwright (1865–1939)

W. G. G. Duncan Smith

b. 1914

British flying ace (1914–1996)

W. G. Sebald

b. 1944

German writer and academic (1944–2001)

W. Graham Claytor Jr.

American government official (1912–1994)

W. H. R. Rivers

English psychiatrist and anthropologist (1864–1922)

W. Otto Miessner

b. 1880

American composer and music educator (1880–1967)

W. P. Kinsella

b. 1935

Canadian author (1935–2016)