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...

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...

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...

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...

Paracelsus was an alchemist, physician, astrologer, and general occultist. Paracelsus rejected Gnostic traditions, but kept much of the Hermetic, neoplatonic, and Pythagorean philosophies from Ficino and Pico della Mirandola; however, Herme...

Francis I of France, called the Father and Restorer of Letters, was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch. His reign saw France make...

Suleiman I, also called Süleyman I and nicknamed the Lawmaker or the Magnificent, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566 and successor to Selim I. He was born on November 6, 1494 at Trabzon, Turkey. The Ottoman Empire reache...

Jan van Scorel was an influential Dutch painter credited with the introduction of High Italian Renaissance art to the Netherlands. It is not known whether he began his studies under Jan Gossaert in Utrecht or with Jacob Cornelisz in Amsterd...

Jean Parisot de Valette was born into a noble family in Quercy. He was a Knight of St. John, joining the order in the Langue de Provence, and fought with distinction against the Turks at Rhodes. As Grand Master, Valette became the Order's...

Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson and later known as Gustav Vasa, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Vasa, an influential noble family which came to be the royal house of Sweden for much of t...

Eleanor of Austria, also called Eleonor of Castile, was born Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and became subsequently in turn Queen consort of Portugal (1518–1521) and of France. She also held the Du...

Charles V was Holy Roman Emperor from 1519-1558; he was also King of Spain from 1516-1556, officially as Charles I of Spain, although often referred to as Charles V ("Carlos Quinto" or "Carlos V") in Spain and Latin America. He was the son...

Isabella of Austria (also known as Isabella or Elisabeth of Burgundy, of Habsburg, or of Castile), Archduchess of Austria, Infanta of Castile and Princess of Burgundy by birth and Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway by her marriage to King...

Pope Gregory XIII, born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 13 May 1572 to his death in 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally accepted civil calendar to this...

Isabella of Portugal was a Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Spain, Germany, Italy, Naples and Sicily and Duchess of Burgundy by her marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and regent of Spain during the absences of her husband during 1529-...