Dragut was an Ottoman Greek Admiral and privateer who also served as Bey of Algiers; Beylerbey of the Mediterranean; and first Bey, later Pasha, of Tripoli. Under his naval command the Ottoman Empire's maritime power was extended across Nor...

Pedro de la Gasca was a Spanish bishop, diplomat and the second (acting) viceroy of Peru, from April 10, 1547 to January 27, 1550. Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru, rose in revolt, killed viceroy Blasc...

Arthur Tudor (20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502) was Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester and Duke of Cornwall as the eldest son and heir apparent of Henry VII of England and his wife, Elizabeth of York—daughter of Edward IV—and his birth thus c...

The Vitruvian Man is a drawing created by Leonardo da Vinci circa 1487. It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the architect Vitruvius. The drawing, which is in pen and ink on paper, depicts a male figure in two superimposed positi...

Shah Ismail I, was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1501 to 23 May 1524 as shah (king). The rule of Ismail is one of the most vital in the history of Iran—before his accession in 1501, Iran, since its occupation by...

Bernard van Orley, also called Barend or Barent van Orley, Bernaert van Orley or Barend van Brussel, was a Flemish Northern Renaissance painter and draughtsman, and also a leading designer of Brussels tapestry and stained glass. He is count...

William I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg (nicknamed William the Rich, Dutch: Willem de Rijke) was a count of Nassau-Dillenburg from the House of Nassau. He was not wealthy; his nickname the Rich refers to him having many children. He was t...

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer of the New World, and one of four survivors of the 1527 Narváez expedition. During eight years of traveling across what is now the US Southwest, he became a trader and faith healer to variou...

Titian or Tiziano Vecellio was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno (in Veneto), in the Republic of Venice. During his lifetime he was often called d...

Blasco Núñez Vela y Villalba, first viceroy of Peru (1544-46). Sent to replace Vaca de Castro and to enforce the New Laws of Bartolomé de Las Casas, he had a violent, short career. He antagonized all in command and either ordered a murder o...

Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was Governor of the province of Pánuco from 1525–1533, and of Nueva Galicia from 1529–1534, President of the first Audiencia from 1528-30. He foun...

Antonio Pigafetta was an Italian navigator born in Vicenza. He paid a large sum of money to accompany and assist the Portuguese captain Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish crew on their trip around the world. He kept an accurate journal of t...

Henry VIII was King of England and Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) from 22 April 1509 until his death. He was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII. He is famous for having been married six times...

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, also known as Ignacio López de Loyola, was the principal founder and first Superior General of the Society of Jesus, a religious order of the Catholic Church professing direct service to the Pope in terms of missio...

Jacques Cartier was a French navigator who first explored and described the Gulf of St-Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named Canada. In 1534, Jacques Cartier set sail hoping to discover a western passage to the...