Leading Figures in History

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

21510 persons found

Mary de Bohun

English noblewoman (c. 1369–1394)

Mary Dresselhuys

Dutch actress (1907–2004)

Mary Dyer

American Quaker martyr (c. 1611 – 1660)

Mary Eliza Mahoney

b. 1845

African American nurse (1845-1926)

Mary F. Lyon

b. 1925

English geneticist (1925–2014)

Mary H. Gray Clarke

American journalist

Mary Haviland Stilwell Kuesel

b. 1866

Pioneer American dentist

Mary Helen Young

b. 1883

Scottish nurse and resistance worker (1883–1945)

Mary Hopkin

b. 1950

Welsh singer (born 1950)

Mary II

b. 1662

Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 to 1694

Mary Katharine Goddard

b. 1738

American publisher and postmaster (1738–1816)

Mary Kay Ash

b. 1918

American businesswoman (1918–2001)

Mary Kay Bergman

b. 1961

American voice actress and voice-over teacher (1961–1999)

Mary Kenner

b. 1912

American inventor (1912–2006)

Mary Kingsley

English ethnographer, scientific writer and explorer (1862–1900)

Mary Lou McDonald

b. 1969

Irish politician (born 1969)

Mary Lou Williams

b. 1910

American jazz pianist and composer (1910–1981)

Mary Louise Booth

b. 1831

American editor, translator and writer

Mary Lynn Rajskub

b. 1971

American actress and comedian

Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi

Italian Carmelite mystic and saint

Mary McAleese

b. 1951

President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011

Mary McCarthy (author)

b. 1912

American novelist and political activist (1912–1989)

Mary McDonnell

b. 1952

American actress (born 1952)

Mary McLeod Bethune

American educator and civil rights leader (1875–1955)