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Akbar the Great Akbar the Great (ruled 1556–1605) was the greatest of all Mughal emperors. The Mughal Empire had been founded in 1526 by his grandfather, Babur, a descendant of the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan. The empire stretched across almost the whole of modern India.

Alexander the Great Alexander the Great (ruled 336–323 BC) was a Greek king and general. He came from Macedonia, a mountainous area on the northern borders of Greece. After conquering the Persian Empire, the Greeks’ old enemy, he marched his troops into India. In 323 BC, on the long journey back to Greece, Alexander died of a fever in Babylon.

Ali, Muhammad Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay, 1942–2016) was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he was widely regarded as one of the finest boxers of all time. He won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston at the age of 22 in 1964.

Amundsen, Roald Roald Amundsen (1872–1928) was a Norwegian polar explorer. He led the first expedition through the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic in 1906. He also led the first expedition to the South Pole in 1911, beating the British Antarctic Expedition under Robert Scott.

Archimedes Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) was a Greek mathematician, scientist and inventor. He is best known for Archimedes’ Principle. This is a method of calculating the volume of something by immersing it in a bath and measuring the amount of water pushed aside. On discovering this, Archimedes leaped out of his bath, shouting "Eureka!" ("I have found it!").

Aristotle Aristotle (384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher. He made a huge contribution to many aspects of human knowledge, including science, philosophy, poetry and music. Aristotle believed that our knowledge is based on direct observations of the world around us.

Armstrong, Neil Neil Armstrong (1930–2012) was an American astronaut. He was the first person to walk on the Moon. In July 1969, Armstrong and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin spent two and a half hours on the Moon's surface. When Armstrong stepped on to the lunar surface, he said: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

Ashoka the Great Ashoka the Great (ruled 269–232 BC) was Mauryan Emperor of India. He converted to Buddhism and set about governing his empire in a peaceful manner. His beliefs about how people should behave and the laws he made were engraved on rocks and pillars throughout the empire.

Augustus Augustus (ruled 27 BC–AD 14) was a Roman Emperor. After Julius Caesar’s death, Augustus (then known as Octavian) defeated his rival Mark Antony and his ally Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. He became the first emperor of Rome in 27 BC. He ruled wisely and brought peace to the empire.

Aurangzeb Alamgir I Aurangzeb (ruled 1658–1707), was the sixth Mughal emperor of India. He proclaimed himself emperor before defeating his elder brother Shikoh in battle. Aurangzeb conquered the Deccan Sultanates of Golconda and Bijapur. Under his rule, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, spanning nearly the entire Indian subcontinent.

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Bach, Johann Sebastian Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a German composer. He is known for instrumental compositions, such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, as well as for choral music, such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor.

Beethoven, Ludwig van Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German composer. His symphonies and other works are among the greatest and most popular classical compositions ever written. His hearing started to fail in his 20s and he became almost completely deaf later in life.

Bell, Alexander Graham Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922) was a Scottish-born American inventor. He invented the telephone. In March 1876 he made the world’s first telephone call. His assistant, Tom Watson, in the next room, heard the words “Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you.”

Benz, Karl Karl Benz (1848–1929) was a German engineer. In 1885, he successfully fitted a petrol engine to a three-wheeled tricycle, and so invented the first petrol-driven car. It could reach speeds of 15 km/h (9 mph).

Bonaparte, Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to power after the French Revolution. He became emperor of France in 1804. A brilliant military commander, Napoleon fought a series of wars in Europe, finally ending in defeat and exile.

Brunel, Isambard Kingdom Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–59) was a British engineer. He built the Great Western Railway, connecting the west of England with London. For it, he constructed a number of viaducts, tunnels and bridges, many still in use today. Brunel went on to design three great steamships.

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama (c.563–483 BC), who was later known as the Buddha, was an Indian prince. After sitting under a fig tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in India for 49 days, he achieved nirvana, or enlightenment. He taught people how to live peaceful lives. This was the beginning of the Buddhist religion.

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Caesar, Julius Julius Caesar (100–44 BC) was a Roman general and ruler. Julius Caesar led his Roman soldiers in a successful campaign to conquer all of Gaul (modern-day France) in 58–51 BC. After defeating his rival Pompey, he ruled the Roman world as dictator. Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC.

Catherine the Great Catherine the Great (ruled 1762–96) was Empress of Russia. During her reign, called the Golden Age of Russia, her country became a great power. Many new buildings in an elegant style were constructed. However, most ordinary Russians, the serfs (peasants), lived in terrible poverty.

Charlemagne Charlemagne (ruled 768–814) became king of the Franks in 768. At the time, his kingdom covered most of modern-day France. His name means "Charles the Great", and he is remembered for his military conquests, his reforms and his love of learning.

Churchill, Winston Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965) was a British politician. As prime minster during World War II, he led his country through the Battle of Britain, in which British air forces successfully repelled the German Luftwaffe. The Allies, the USA, Soviet Union and Britain, secured victory over Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945.

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII (ruled 51–30 BC) was Queen of Egypt. She was descended from a Greek family of rulers, known as the Ptolemies. She and her Roman lover Mark Antony made an alliance against Octavian (later Augustus) to win power in Rome, but they were defeated. Cleopatra took her own life by means of the bite of a venomous snake (according to legend).

Columbus, Christopher Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) was a Genoese navigator and explorer. In 1492 he sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in the service of the King and Queen of Spain, looking for a sea route to the rich lands of East Asia. He landed on a Caribbean island, and so accidentally "discovered" the Americas.

Confucius Kong Qiu, known as Confucius (551-479 BC), was a Chinese teacher and philosopher. He believed in strong family loyalty and respect. His philosophy emphasized morality—knowing the difference between right and wrong.

Constantine I Constantine the Great (ruled 306–337 AD), was a Roman emperor. In 313, he helped draw up the Edict of Milan, which allowed Christians to worship in the Roman Empire. He founded the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) on the site of the ancient Greek city, Byzantium.

Cook, James Captain James Cook (1728–79) was a British explorer. He made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, the first in a ship called the Endeavour. He charted much of the coastline of Australia and New Zealand, as well as many Pacific islands.

Copernicus, Nicolaus Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was a Polish astronomer. He challenged the traditional view of the time that the planets, Moon and Sun all orbited (went around) the Earth. Instead, he said that the Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun.

Cortés, Hernán Hernán Cortés (1485–1547) was a Spanish soldier and adventurer (conquistador). With the backing of the Spanish crown, he set out to conquer the Aztec Empire. After a long siege, the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán fell to Cortés in August 1521.

Curie, Marie Marie Curie (1867–1934) was a Polish-born scientist who lived and worked in France. She is remembered for her work with her husband Pierre Curie on radioactivity, and especially for the discovery of two radioactive elements, radium and polonium.

Cyrus the Great Cyrus the Great (ruled 559–529 BC) was Emperor of Persia. He greatly expanded the Persian Empire. A wise ruler, Cyrus respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered. He allowed the Jews, who had been forced to live in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar, to return to Israel after years of exile.

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Da Gama, Vasco Vasco da Gama (c.1460–1524) was a Portuguese explorer. In 1497, he set sail from Lisbon in the hope of finding a new trade route to India around the southern tip of Africa. His ships successfully completed the voyage.

Darwin, Charles Charles Darwin (1809–82) was an English biologist. He proposed that all living things have evolved (changed over generations), and that this was the result of a process known as natural selection. His work changed scientific thinking.

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Edison, Thomas Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931) was an American inventor. He was the creator of many devices, including sound recording, a movie camera and a practical light bulb. Some of his inventions, such as a new kind of telephone, were improvements on those that already existed.

Einstein, Albert Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was a German-born physicist. He made some of the greatest contributions to modern science. He thought that laws of motion, first proposed by Isaac Newton in the 17th century, no longer held true. His new ideas were called the Theories of Relativity.

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Faraday, Michael Michael Faraday (1791–1867) was an English physicist. His work on the properties of electricity and magnetism led to the invention of the electric motor and the discovery of how electricity could be generated.

Fleming, Alexander Alexander Fleming (1881–1955) was a Scottish biologist. In 1928, he discovered that a kind of mould, called Penicillium notatum, could kill bacteria. He had discovered the first antibiotic—later called penicillin—a substance that kills disease-carrying bacteria.

Frank, Anne Anne Frank (1929–45) was a young German Jewish girl. Her account of being forced to go into hiding with her family during World War II, The Diary of Anne Frank, has become one of the most widely-read books about the events of the Holocaust.

Franklin, Rosalind Rosalind Franklin (1920–58) was an English chemist. She made a crucial contribution to the understanding of the structure of the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecule. DNA carries the coded instructions, called genes, that contain all the information a living thing needs to develop and maintain itself.

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Galileo Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) was an Italian scientist and astronomer. Galileo based his theories on observation and experimentation, one of the first scientists to do so. Using a telescope he made in 1609, he observed, among other things, the four largest moons of Jupiter orbiting their "parent" planet.

Gandhi, Indira Indira Gandhi (1917–84) was an Indian politician. The daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, she served as prime minister herself 1966–77 and 1980–84. She was assassinated by two of her bodyguards, both Sikh nationalists, in 1984.

Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) was a leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule. He believed in non-violent protest. To Hindus, Gandhi is a spiritual leader: their Mahatma ("Great Soul").

Gagarin, Yuri Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968) was a Soviet cosmonaut (astronaut). He was the first person to travel in space. In April 1961 his spacecraft, Vostok 1, made one orbit of the Earth in a flight that lasted 108 minutes.

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (ruled 1206–27) was Mongol Emperor. Originally named Temüjin, he brought all the Mongol tribes together as one nation under his control. He conquered northern China as well as Russia and the Muslim lands of central Asia.

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Hammurabi Hammurabi (ruled 1792–1750 BC) was King of Babylon. He was a wise king who set out a new code of laws. These gave status to women, protected poor people and punished wrongdoers. During his reign, he built a great ziggurat (stepped pyramid temple) in Babylon. It was later known as the Tower of Babel.

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut (ruled 1478–1458 BC) was Queen of Egypt during the New Kingdom. When her husband Thutmose II died, she took power and became pharaoh. She wore the traditional clothing of a male pharaoh, including even a false beard. Her reign began a long, peaceful era in Egyptian history.

Hitler, Adolf Adolf Hitler (lived 1889–1945) was leader of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, and führer (leader) of Germany. In 1939 Hitler plunged the world into World War II: a war that would leave millions of people dead, including 6 million Jews.

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Ivan the Terrible Czar Ivan IV "the Terrible" (ruled 1533–84) was the first Russian ruler to be crowned tsar (emperor), in 1547. During his reign of terror, he ordered the murder of anyone he considered a threat. With the Cossack army under his command, he greatly expanded the Russian Empire.

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Jefferson, Thomas Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was the third president of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1809. He drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and later wrote a bill establishing religious freedom, which became law in 1786.

Jesus Christ Jesus Christ (c. 4 BC–between AD 30 and 33) was a Jewish spiritual leader whom Christians believe to be the Son of God. Born in Judea, then part of the Roman Empire, Jesus carried out healings, taught in parables and gathered followers. He was crucified on the orders of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. Christians believe he rose from the dead and into Heaven.

Jinnah, Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948) was a politician and the founder of Pakistan. In 1940 the All-India Muslim League, of which he was leader, passed the Lahore Resolution, calling for independent states for the Muslims of British India. Upon the founding of Pakistan in 1947, Jinnah became its first governor-general.

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (1412–31), also known as the Maid of Orleans, was a French peasant girl who inspired the French army to win a great victory against the English at Orleans, in 1429. She was later captured and burned to death at the stake at the age of only 19.

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Kennedy, John F. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–63) became the youngest-ever president of the United States at the age of 43. The Cuban missile crisis and the start of the US Apollo space programme took place during his presidency. He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963.

King, Martin Luther Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) was an African American Baptist minister who became a leader of the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. He used methods of non-violent civil disobedience to fight for equal rights for African Americans.

Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (ruled 1260–94) was Mongol Emperor. He completed the conquest of China in 1279 and founded the Yuan dynasty (ruling family) with his capital at Cambaluc (now Beijing). A wise and tolerant ruler, he permitted the existence of various religions in China.

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Leonardo Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect and inventor. Living at the time of the Renaissance, he is often described as a Renaissance Man, a person who is brilliant at many different things. Among his most famous works are The Last Supper and Mona Lisa.

Livingstone, David David Livingstone (1813–73) was a Scottish missionary and explorer. He arrived in Africa in 1841, hoping to convert the African peoples to Christianity. He explored the interior of southern Africa. In 1871, believed lost, Livingstone was "found" by Henry Morton Stanley at Ujiji.

Lincoln, Abraham Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) was president of the United States (1861–65), and one of the country’s greatest leaders. He became president at a time of crisis, as civil war threatened to split the North and South. Lincoln abolished slavery in the US.

Luther, Martin Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German priest. Dissatisfied with the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, he is said to have nailed a document called the Ninety-five Theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg in 1517. His act of protest marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

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Magellan, Ferdinand Ferdinand Magellan (c.1480–1521) was a Portuguese explorer whose fleet of ships, in the service of Spain, was the first to sail around the world. He sailed through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean, reaching the Spice Islands in the Far East. His expedition returned to Spain via the Indian Ocean, but he was killed in the Philippines.

Mandela, Nelson Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) was a leader in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, from the 1940s until 1994. During that time he was held as a prisoner for 27 years. In 1994, he became the first black president of South Africa.

Michelangelo Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475–1564) was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet. He worked in Florence and Rome at the time of the Italian Renaissance, a period of great artistic and cultural change. He produced paintings on the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City.

Mohammed Mohammed (also spelled Muhammad, 570–632) was the Prophet of Islam. He was meditating in the at Mount Nour near Mecca when the angel Jibril told him there is only one god, Allah. He, Mohammed, should become the prophet of Allah and teach Allah's will. Mohammed began to preach Jibril’s message to the people of Mecca and, after he was forced to flee the city, the people of Medina. Muslims believe that the messages given to Mohammed by Jibril were the words of Allah. These messages are contained in the holy book of Islam, the Qur'an (Koran).

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91) was an Austrian composer. He began to compose at a very early age and performed in public from the age of six. His many compositions, numbering more than 600, include symphonies, chamber music, operas and choral works.

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Nanak, Guru Guru Nanak (1469–1539) was an Indian teacher and poet. Born a Hindu, he is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and its first guru ("spiritual guide"). Nanak's words are recorded in hymns, or shabda, in the scripture of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib.

Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar II (ruled 605–562 BC) was King of Babylon. He was a warlike ruler who fought the Egyptians and expanded the Babylonian Empire. Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon became one of the richest cities in the world. He used wealth from his conquests to rebuild the city.

Nehru, Jawaharlal Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) was an Indian statesman. One of the leaders of the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s, upon independence in 1947 he served as the Dominion of India's prime minister. On 26th January 1950, Nehru became the Republic of India's first prime minister.

Newton, Isaac Isaac Newton (1642–1727) was an English mathematician and scientist. He lived during a time that has been described as the Scientific Revolution. He proposed laws of motion and how gravity works. He also greatly furthered our understanding of the nature of light and colour.

Nightingale, Florence Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) was an English nurse who worked to improve the quality of medical care for British soldiers during the Crimean War (1853–56). She greatly improved hygiene in the hospital where she worked, reducing the spread of disease which caused so many deaths.

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Parks, Rosa Rosa Parks (1913–2005) was an African American civil rights activist. It was in Montgomery, Alabama, on 1st December 1955, that Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, for which she was arrested. Her act of defiance became an important symbol of the civil rights movement.

Pasteur, Louis Louis Pasteur (1822–95) was a French chemist and microbiologist. He is known for his work on studying disease-carrying microbes (micro-organisms) such as bacteria, that we sometimes call germs. He discovered that microbes could spread diseases.

St Paul Saint Paul the Apostle (c. 5–c.65 AD) was a Jew who taught the gospel of Christ in the first century, soon after the death of Jesus Christ. After being struck blind by a vision of Christ on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, he devoted his life to preaching. He travelled across Asia Minor (modern Turkey), Greece and as far as Rome to spread this message.

Picasso, Pablo Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was a Spanish artist. He spent most of his life in France. Over the course of a long career, lasting nearly 80 years, he produced thousands of paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and ceramics. He transformed modern art, developing new techniques and styles, including Cubism.

Pizarro, Francisco Francisco Pizarro (c.1475–1541) was a Spanish soldier and adventurer (conquistador). With the backing of the Spanish crown, he set out to conquer the Inca Empire. Pizarro’s small band of men slaughtered the Inca forces and captured the Inca emperor, Atahualpa. The Inca Empire collapsed and the Spanish invaders took it over.

Polo, Marco Marco Polo (1254–1324) was a Venetian traveller. In 1271, the 17-year-old Marco Polo accompanied his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo on a journey to China, then ruled by the great Mongol emperor, Kublai Khan. For the next 17 years, Marco travelled around his empire, reporting back on what he saw.

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Ramesses II Ramesses II (ruled 1279–1213 BC) was a pharaoh of the New Kingdom in Egypt. His reign was long, 67 years, and he lived to around the age of 90. Ramesses built many monuments to commemorate his rule, including the temples at Abu Simbel.

Rembrandt Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–69) was a Dutch artist. He lived and worked in the mid-1600s in the Dutch Republic during what was called the Dutch Golden Age. He made his name painting portraits of the rich people of Amsterdam, along with many self-portraits and other subjects.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) was president of the United States, the only one to be elected to office four times. Roosevelt tackled the crisis of the Great Depression with his programmes known as the New Deal. He led the US to victory during World War II and helped set up the United Nations.

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Saladin Saladin (1137/8–1193) was Sultan of Egypt at the time of the Crusades. Known as the Saracens, Saladin's soldiers were fine horsemen and brave fighters. In 1187, they recaptured Jerusalem and held on to it even after the Crusaders re-established the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Scott, Robert Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912) was a British polar explorer. In January 1912, Scott and four members of the British Antarctic Expedition reached the South Pole, only to find Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had beaten them to it. Scott and his men died on the return journey.

Shakespeare, William William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He wrote plays about history, as well as comedies, romances and tragedies. Shakespeare wrote 39 plays in all, as well as 154 sonnets (14-line poems). He is considered the greatest writer in the English language.

Shi Huangdi Shi Huangdi (ruled 221–210 BC) was China’s first emperor. He ruled over a vast empire from his capital city, Xianyang. In 214 BC he began building a massive wall to keep northern tribes out of China: the first Great Wall. When Shi died, thousands of clay statues of soldiers were buried alongside him in his tomb.

Stalin, Joseph Joseph Stalin (1879–1953) ruled the Soviet Union as a dictator. He was one of the most ruthless leaders of modern times. After he became secretary-general of the Soviet Communist Party, he made his country a world power.

Stephenson, George George Stephenson (1781–1848) was a British engineer. Along with his son, Robert (1803–1859), he supervised the construction of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. In 1829, the Stephensons' locomotive, Rocket, won a competition held by the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I "the Magnificent" (ruled 1520–66) was Sultan of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. During his reign, the Ottoman Empire took over much of the Middle East and North Africa. Suleiman made his empire a great power, but arts and learning also flourished there.

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Tamerlane Tamerlane (also known as Timur, ruled 1369–1405) was Mongol Emperor. A descendant of Genghis Khan, he seized the Mongol throne in 1369. From his capital, Samarkand, Tamerlane built an empire that stretched from Turkey in the west to the borders of China in the east.

St Teresa Mother Teresa (born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, 1910–97) was a Roman Catholic nun. She founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India. Dedicating her life to caring for the poor and needy, she won the Nobel Peace Prize and was made a saint by the Catholic Church.

Turing, Alan Alan Turing (1912–1954) was an English mathematician and computer scientist. His Turing machine, which he described in 1936, demonstrated how computers could work. During World War II (1939–45), Turing worked at Bletchley Park—Britain's code-breaking centre.

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Washington, George George Washington (1732–99) was the first president of the United States of America. He led American troops during the American Revolutionary War and scored victories against the British army at Trenton in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. After the war was over, Washington agreed to serve as president. He was inaugurated in 1789 and re-elected in 1792.

Wright, Orville and Wilbur Orville (1871–1948) and Wilbur Wright (1867–1912) were American inventors. The Wright brothers built and flew the world's first successful aeroplane. On the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with Orville at the controls, Flyer 1 made the first ever powered, controlled aeroplane flight in December 1903.

Consultant: Philip Parker