Leading Figures in History

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

21506 persons found

Yaya Touré

b. 1983

Ivorian footballer (born 1983)

Ye Jianying

b. 1897

Chinese communist leader and politician (1897–1986)

Yechezkel Kutscher

b. 1909

Israeli philologist and Hebrew linguist

Yefim Fomin

Soviet political commissar (1909–1941)

Yegor Titov

b. 1976

Russian footballer

Yehuda Amichai

b. 1924

Israeli poet and author (1924–2000)

Yehudi Menuhin

b. 1916

American-British violinist (1916–1999)

Yeji (singer)

b. 2000

South Korean singer and dancer (born 2000)

Yekaterina Podkopayeva

b. 1952

Yelena Bonner

Human rights activist in the Soviet Union (1923–2011)

Yelena Gorchakova

b. 1933

Soviet javelin thrower

Yelena Isinbayeva

b. 1982

Russian Olympic pole-vaulter

Yelena Shushunova

b. 1969

Soviet Russian gymnast (1969–2018)

Yenew Alamirew

b. 1990

Ethiopian runner

Yeoh Ghim Seng

Singaporean politician (1918–1993)

Yerin Baek

b. 1997

South Korean singer-songwriter (born 1997)

Yevgenia Ginzburg

Soviet writer who served an 18-year sentence in the Kolyma Gulag

Yevgeny Khrunov

Soviet cosmonaut (1933–2000)

Yevgeny Kiselyov

b. 1956

Russian television journalist (born 1956)

Yevgeny Kychanov

b. 1932

Soviet-Russian orientalist (1932–2013)

Yevgeny Minayev

b. 1933

Russian weightlifter (1933–1993)

Yevgeny Mravinsky

b. 1903

Soviet conductor (1903–1988)

Yevgeny Prigozhin

b. 1961

Russian oligarch and mercenary leader (1961–2023)

Yevgeny Primakov

Russian politician and diplomat (1929–2015)