Leading Figures in History

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

24408 persons found

John Davies (poet, born 1569)

b. 1569

English poet, lawyer, and politician (1569–1626)

John Dawes

British Lions & Wales international rugby union player and coach (1940–2021)

John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln

English Yorkist nobleman (died 1487)

John de Mol Jr.

b. 1955

Dutch media proprietor (born 1955)

John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford

b. 1408

15th century English noble

John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey

b. 1286

English nobleman (1286–1347)

John Deere (inventor)

American blacksmith and manufacturer (1804–1886)

John Derek

American actor and filmmaker (1926–1998)

John Devereux, 9th Baron Ferrers of Chartley

English Baron

John Dewey

American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer (1859–1952)

John Dillinger

b. 1903

American bank robber (1903–1934)

John Dingell

b. 1926

American politician (1926–2019)

John Dixon (cartoonist)

Australian comic book artist and writer (1929–2015)

John Dollond

b. 1706

English optician (1706–1761)

John Douglas (bishop of Salisbury)

Scottish scholar and Anglican bishop (1721–1807)

John Downer

b. 1843

Australian politician

John Drew Barrymore

b. 1932

American actor (1932–2004)

John Drew Jr.

19th/20th-century American actor

John Drew Sr.

19th-century Irish-American actor and theatre manager

John Droxford

14th-century Bishop of Bath and Wells and Treasurer of England

John Dryden

English poet and playwright (1630–1700)

John Du Cann

b. 1946

English guitarist (1946–2011)

John Dyson (Australian cricketer)

b. 1954

Australian cricketer

John E. McLaughlin

b. 1942

American intelligence official