Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Politics

11

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Abu al-Hasan Ali Abu Hassun

أبو حسون علي الوطاسي

Morocco

c. 1495 – 1554 (~59 years old)

The last fighting Wattasid ruler, who escaped Saadian captivity, secured Ottoman military backing from Salah Rais in Algiers, recaptured Fez in 1554, and died in battle at Tadla.

Kasba Tadla, Morocco

11 Full Record →

Arts & Music

3,823

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Lucas Cranach the Elder

Lucas Maler / Lucas Cranach der Ältere

Germany

1472 – 1553 (81 years old)

Leading German Renaissance master and official artist of the Protestant Reformation, close ally of Martin Luther.

Weimar, Germany

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Literature & Poetry

46

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François Rabelais (Alcofribas Nasier)

François Rabelais

France

c. 1494 – 9 April 1553 (~59 years old)

French Renaissance giant, physician, and humanist whose colossal satirical novels Gargantua and Pantagruel revolutionized world prose with boundless comedic exuberance, grotesque body humor, and the utopian humanist creed 'Do as thou wilt'.

Paris, France

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Religious Figures & Theologians

43

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Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta

Francisco de Javier

Spain

1506 – 1552 (46 years old)

Navarrese co-founder of the Jesuits and supreme missionary of the early modern era who baptized tens of thousands across India, the Moluccas, and Japan.

Old Goa, India

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Prophets & Divine Messengers

43

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Guru Angad Dev Ji (Second Sikh Guru & Master of Gurmukhi)

ਗੁਰੂ ਅੰਗਦ ਦੇਵ ਜੀ

India

1504 – 1552 (47 years old)

Originally named Bhai Lehna, Guru Angad became the second Sikh Guru after proving selfless devotion to Guru Nanak; he standardized and popularized the Gurmukhi script, opening education, scripture, and physical fitness to all castes.

Khadur Sahib, India

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Printing

3

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Francysk Skaryna

Францыск Скарына

Historical Belarus

c. 1490 – c. 1552 (61 years old)

Towering Renaissance humanist, physician, and scholar from Polotsk who established the first printing press in Eastern Europe, printing the Bible in Old Belarusian in Prague in 1517.

Prague, Czech Republic

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Religious Figures & Theologians

41

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Martin Bucer

Martin Butzer

France

1491 – 1551 (59 years old)

Pioneering Protestant reformer of Strasbourg whose tireless ecumenical diplomacy sought to reconcile Luther and Zwingli and who shaped the English Reformation under Edward VI.

Cambridge, United Kingdom

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Politics

1

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King Tabinshwehti

တပင်ရွှေထီး

Historical Burma

1516-04-16 – 1550-04-30 (34 years old)

Dynamic young monarch who expanded Toungoo from a minor mountain redoubt into the Toungoo Empire, conquering Pegu (Bago) and creating a unified dual Burman-Mon administration.

Bago (Pegu), Myanmar

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Humanitarian & Peace

42

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Saint John of God

João Cidade de Deus

Portugal

1495 – 1550 (55 years old)

Fondateur portugais de l'Ordre des Frères Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean-de-Dieu, révolutionnaire des soins hospitaliers et du traitement digne des malades mentaux.

Granada, Spain

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

38

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Queen Idia

Idia (First Iyoba of Benin)

Nigeria

c. 1475 CE – c. 1550 CE (75 years old)

Celebrated warrior queen and spiritual strategist of the Benin Empire, the first Iyoba (Queen Mother), immortalized worldwide by the famous 16th-century ivory pendant mask chosen as the symbol of FESTAC 77.

Benin City (Edo State), Nigeria

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

33

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Askia Ishaq I

Askia Ishaq I (Ishaq ibn Muhammad)

🌐 Songhai Empire

Unknown – 1549

Fifth monarch of the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire (reigned 1539–1549) who restored fiscal solvency, maintained strict central discipline, and famously repelled Moroccan demands for the lucrative Saharan salt mines of Taghaza.

Gao, Mali

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

35

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Francis I of France

François Ier (Le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres)

France

1494 – 1547 (52 years old)

French Renaissance monarch who patronized Leonardo da Vinci, constructed Chambord, and standardized the French language.

Saint-Denis, Paris, France

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

38

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Henry VIII of England

Henry Tudor

Great Britain

1491 – 1547 (55 years old)

Formidable Tudor monarch who broke with the Roman Catholic Church to establish the Church of England, and father of the Royal Navy.

Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom

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Humanitarian & Peace

37

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Francisco de Vitoria

Francisco de Vitoria

Spain

c. 1483 – 1546 (63 years old)

Renaissance Dominican theologian and jurist of the School of Salamanca whose lectures 'De Indis' laid the foundations of modern international law, human rights, and the sovereign equality of indigenous peoples.

Salamanca, Spain

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

35

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Hayreddin Barbarossa

خير الدين بربروس

Greece

c. 1478 – 1546 (68 years old)

Younger brother of Aruj who placed Algiers under Ottoman caliphal protection, destroyed the Spanish Peñón of Algiers, conquered Tunis, and routed Holy League navies at the Battle of Preveza in 1538.

Besiktas (Istanbul), Turkey

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Military Leaders & Strategists

45

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Hayreddin Barbarossa (Khizr Reis)

بارباروس خير الدين باشا / Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa

Greece

1 – 1546 (68 years old)

Grand Admiral (Kapudan Pasha) of the Ottoman Navy who defeated the Holy League at the Battle of Preveza, establishing Ottoman naval supremacy across the Mediterranean.

Beşiktaş (Istanbul), Turkey

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Religious Figures & Theologians

50

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Martin Luther (Father of the Reformation)

Martin Luther

Germany

10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546 (62 years old)

German monk and professor whose Ninety-Five Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation. Translated the Bible into vernacular German, establishing foundational principles of justification by faith alone (Sola Fide) and scripture alone (Sola Scriptura).

Eisleben, Germany

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Religious Figures & Theologians

39

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Mirabai

मीराबाई

India

c. 1498 – c. 1546 (48 years old)

Legendary Rajput princess and supreme Bhakti poet-saint whose ecstatic bhajans to Lord Krishna defied royal patriarchy and caste taboos, inspiring millions across India.

Dwarka, India

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