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Countries (85)
All countries (selected filter)Afghanistan2Algeria2Argentina4Australia5Austria10Bangladesh1Barbados2Belarus1Belgium2Botswana1Brazil6Bulgaria1Canada6Chile2China18Colombia2Costa Rica1Croatia1Cuba2Cyprus1Czech Republic3Denmark2DR Congo1Egypt6Ethiopia1Fiji1France16Germany21Ghana3Greece3Guatemala2Guinea-Bissau1Hungary5Iceland1India26Indonesia1Iran5Iraq1Ireland4Israel3Italy15Ivory Coast1Japan11Kenya3Liberia2Mali1Mexico3Morocco2Mozambique1Myanmar1Netherlands4New Zealand5Nigeria4Norway3Pakistan3Peru1Philippines1Poland5Portugal2Romania1Russia7Saint Lucia1Samoa1Senegal3Serbia1Singapore1Somalia1South Africa3South Korea3Spain5Sweden4Switzerland1Tanzania1Trinidad and Tobago1Tunisia1Türkiye3Ukraine1United Kingdom34United States76Uruguay1Uzbekistan4Venezuela1Vietnam1Yemen1Zimbabwe1
7 figures
Leonardo da Vinci
1452 – 1519Proved that art and science are one act of looking.
Italy·Engineering · Biology · Astronomy · LiteratureFull profile
Miguel de Cervantes
1547 – 1616Don Quixote, the first modern novel and the most translated after the Bible.
Spain·Literature
Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti
1556 – 1627Timbuktu's greatest scholar; wrote over 40 works and argued against enslavement of Muslims.
Mali·Literature · Philosophy
William Shakespeare
1564 – 1616Built the language most of the planet now negotiates in.
United Kingdom·LiteratureFull profile
Matsuo Bashō
1644 – 1694Perfected haiku and the travel journal in The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
Japan·Literature
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
1648 – 1695The nun who argued for women's right to learn — and was silenced for it.
Mexico·Literature · PhilosophyFull profile
Voltaire
1694 – 1778Weaponised satire for tolerance and free expression.
France·Literature · Philosophy