Historical Thread of Creativity across Cultures

Leonardo da Vinci

Apr 15, 1452

Inventor, Engineer, Painter of the Last Supper & the Mona Lisa

Nicolaus Copernicus

Feb 19, 1473

Formulated the model of the universe; Influential contributor to the science revolution; Derived a quantum theory of money

Galileo Galilei

Feb 15, 1564

Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician; Developed breakthrough ideas that guided the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century

Thomas Hobbes

Apr 5, 1588

English philosopher; Developed some of the fundamentals of European liberal thought inc. theories on imagination: the right of the individual; the natural equality of all men; the view of "representative" political power.

Isaac Newton

Dec 25, 1642

Influential scientist; Key figure in the scientific revolution; Ahared credit on the development of Calculus

Voltaire

Nov 21, 1694

Avid French Enlightenment writer, historian, & philosopher who advocated for freedom of religion, expression, and separation of church & state

Benjamin Franklin

Jan 17, 1706

Inventor, Scientist, Political Theorist, One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Conducted experiments with lightning and electricity

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jun 28, 1712

Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer; influenced Enlightenment in France, political and educational thought

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Jan 27, 1756

Composer by the age of 5 who composed over 600 works in his lifetime

Ludwig van Beethoven

Dec 17, 1770

Famous and influential composer who was critical in transition the Classical and Romantic eras of Western art

JMW Turner

May 14, 1775

Landscape painter; innovative technical and stylistic working methods in both oils and watercolors

Charles Darwin

Feb 12, 1809

Theorist of the diversity of life, naturalist, and geologist

Claude Monet

Jul 11, 1840

Leader of the French Impressionism plein-air painting movement; acknowledged initiator of Modern Art

Alexander Graham Bell

Mar 3, 1847

Inventor and Engineer, Patent on the telephone

Antoni Gaudi

Jun 25, 1852

Architect influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion; developed a style all his own inspired by nature

Sigmund Freud

May 6, 1856

Neurologist now known as the father of psychoanalysis; developed innovative therapeutic techniques

Nikola Tesla

Jul 10, 1856

Developed the AC electrical delivery system

Louis Henri Sullivan

Sep 3, 1856

Broke free from tradition and became influential in forging a distinctly American architecture; known for the principle of "form follows function"

Frank Lloyd Wright

Jun 8, 1867

American architect, interior designer, writer, and educator; original and innovative designs inspired by nature; work known as organc architecture

Marie Curie

Nov 7, 1867

Developed breakthrough ideas in radioactivity and discovered two elements

The Wright Brothers

Aug 19, 1871

Two American brothers who were legendary inventors and innovators in flight

Albert Einstein

Mar 14, 1879

Developed the Theory of Relativity; Infleuncer of the philosophy of science; pivotal in the evolution of quantum theory

Pablo Picasso

Oct 25, 1881

Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright; founder of Cubist art movement; revolutionary 20th century artist

Georgia O'Keeffe

Nov 15, 1887

painter; known as mother of American modern art; first woman to have a Solo art show at MOMA

Walt Disney

Dec 5, 1901

American entrepreneur, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer, co-founder of Walt-Disney

Jackson Pollock

Jan 28, 1912

Influential American painter; pure creative inpiration & work; existentialist painting

Nelson Mandela

Jul 18, 1918

Anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist; creative visionary who modeled the core values he espoused

Kurt Vonnegut

Nov 11, 1922

Known for humanists beliefs and his satirical and science fiction books, Cat's Cradle (1963), Slaughterhouse-Five(1969), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)

Steven Spielberg

Dec 18, 1946

Director, producer and screenwriter known as the pioneer of the New Hollywood era

Steve Jobs

Feb 24, 1955

American pioneer of the computer revolution, engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, marketer, and co-founder of Apple Computer

Bill Gates

Oct 28, 1955

Founded and built Microsoft

Salman Khan

Dec 27, 1965

Founder of the Khan Academy, a free online education platform

Elon Musk

Jun 28, 1971

Co-founder of pay pal; founder of the electric car company Tesla