17th Century
- Kepler, Johannes
- Mantegna, Andrea
- Pasha, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa
- Radisson, Pierre-Esprit
- Sacagawea
- Shahu Shivaji Raje Bhonsle (under India - Princely States: 1)
- Skanudharova
- Slaves
- Stradling, John
- Strozzi, Barbara
- Sun Kewang
- Swift, Jonathan
- Tamaiti Whangai
- Tekakwitha, Kateri
- Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista
- Transportees
- Zhang Xianzhong (under Sun Kewang)
- Zvi, Sarah
de Rossi, Giovanni Battista
De Rossi was born into a happy country family in Voltaggio, near Genoa. When he was 10 a wealthy Genoese couple, who had become enchanted by the boy on their holidays, persuaded his parents... [more]
Gay, John
Gay was raised by his uncle after his parents died in 1694 and 1695. His career was erratic - some of his work was very popular during his lifetime (the Beggar's Opera and the libretto for ... [more]
Gülnüs Ummetüllah
Gülnüs Ummetüllah was born on the Greek island of Crete about 1640. In 1645 Turkey invaded the island and she was captured and sent back to Istanbul. When she was older she became the favor... [more]
Hale, Matthew
Hale was orphaned by the age of five and fostered by Anthony Kingscote. He had no interest in the law until 1628, when he began to study intensively. He was called to the bar in 1637 and ev... [more]
Janissaries
These were members of the elite infantry of the Turkish sultans in the middle ages. For part of their history, starting in the 1380s under Sultan Murad I, until 1638, they were recruited... [more]
Jones, Frederick McKinley
McKinley was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and orphaned as a young child. He was then raised by a priest in Kentucky until he was 16. He worked as a pinsetter in a bowling alley and then became... [more]
Kano Sanraku
Sanraku was the last of the great Momoyama decorative painters of Japan, head of the Kano school of painting in Kyoto from 1614 on, and the adopted son of Eitoku, another great artist. He w... [more]
Kano Sansetsu
Sansetsu was raised by the colony of Kano artists in Kyoto, and later adopted by the master Kano Sanraku , whose daughter he also married. He was leader of the Kano school from 1635 to his... [more]
Kepler, Johannes
Kepler was born in Weil der Stadt, Swabia. His father was a merchant who went as a mercenary soldier to fight in the Spanish Netherlands when he was two. His mother was the daughter of an i... [more]
Mantegna, Andrea
Mantegna was adopted as a child about 10 years old by the painter Francesco Squarcione. He was the most famous painter of his day in Padua and was one of the first Italians to use copper... [more]
