Leading Figures in History

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

39103 persons found

Will Wynn (American football)

American football player (1949–2013)

Willa Beatrice Player

b. 1909

American educator and civil rights activist

Willa Cather

American writer (1873–1947)

Willa Kim

b. 1917

American costume designer (1917–2016)

Willard Boyle

Canadian physicist (1924–2011)

Willard Harrison Bennett

b. 1903

American physicist (1903–1987)

Willard Maas

b. 1906

American experimental filmmaker and poet

Willard Metcalf

b. 1858

American painter

Willard Miller

b. 1877

United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient

Willard Price

b. 1887

American writer

Willard Richards

b. 1804

American religious leader

Willard Van Orman Quine

b. 1908

American philosopher and logician (1908–2000)

Willebrord Snellius

b. 1580

Dutch astronomer and mathematician (1580–1626)

Willem Arondeus

Dutch painter, writer and member of the Dutch anti-Nazi resistance

Willem Barentsz

Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer (c. 1550 – 1597)

Willem Dafoe

b. 1955

American actor (born 1955)

Willem de Kooning

b. 1904

Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist (1904–1997)

Willem de Sitter

b. 1872

Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (1872–1934)

Willem Drees

Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1948 to 1958

Willem Drost

b. 1633

Dutch painter

Willem Duys

b. 1928

Dutch media personality

Willem Einthoven

b. 1860

Dutch physiologist (1860–1927)

Willem Elsschot

b. 1882

Flemish writer

Willem Frederik Hermans

Dutch writer (1921–1995)