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Petrarch, Italian in full Francesco Petrarca, (born July 20, 1304, Arezzo, Tuscany [Italy]—died July 18/19, 1374, Arquà, near Padua, Carrara), Italian scholar, poet, and humanist whose poems addressed to Laura, an idealized beloved, contributed to the Renaissance flowering of lyric poetry.Aug 25, 2023
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German inventor of a method of printing from movable type. Born to a patrician family in Mainz, he apparently worked at such crafts as goldsmithing and gem cutting in Mainz and Strasbourg and was experimenting with printing by 1438.
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Italian Lorenzo il Magnifico, (born January 1, 1449, Florence [Italy]—died April 9, 1492, Careggi, near Florence), Florentine statesman, ruler, and patron of arts and letters, the most brilliant -
Leonardo grew up on his father's family's estate, where he was treated as a “legitimate” son and received the usual elementary education of the day: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Leonardo never married, but he had many close relationships with other artists and intellectuals as well as with his assistants. -
Paul III (1468–1549) Pope (1534–49), b. Alessandro Farnese. As pope, he largely initiated the Counter-Reformation. Paul sponsored reform, established the Jesuits (1540) and summoned the Council of Trent (1545).
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Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance political philosopher and statesman and secretary of the Florentine republic. His most famous work, The Prince (1532), brought him a reputation as an atheist and an immoral cynic -
indefatigable correspondent, controversialist, self-publicist, satirist, translator, commentator, editor, and provocateur of Renaissance culture. He was perhaps above all renowned and repudiated for his work on the Christian New Testament. -
painter, printmaker, and writer generally regarded as the greatest German Renaissance artist. His paintings and engravings show the Northern interest in detail and Renaissance efforts to represent the bodies of humans and animals accurately.
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Michelangelo was a sculptor, painter and architect widely considered to be one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance—and arguably of all time. His work demonstrated a blend of psychological insight, physical realism and intensity never before seen. -
Recognized for his great intelligence, impartiality, and wisdom, he rose through the ranks of Parliament and earned King Henry VIII's favor until he became Lord Chancellor in 1529. -
German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
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Raphael, Italian in full Raffaello Sanzio or Raffaello Santi, (born April 6, 1483, Urbino, Duchy of Urbino [Italy]—died April 6, 1520, Rome, Papal States [Italy]), master painter and architect of the Italian High Renaissance. Raphael is best known for his Madonnas and for his large figure compositions in the Vatican.Aug 11, 2023
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Cranmer was a prime architect of the English Reformation. His two versions of the Book of Common Prayer (1549 and 1552) helped establish a new form of Anglican worship, and his death during the reign of Mary Tudor saw him lauded as a protestant martyr.
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He was a powerful man and charismatic figure; perhaps best known for his tumultuous love life and the establishment of the Church of England. He is also credited with establishing the Royal Navy, encouraging shipbuilding and the creation of anchorages and dockyards.
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Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish priest and theologian who founded the Jesuit order in 1534 and was one of the most influential figures in the Counter-Reformation. Known for its missionary, educational, and charitable works, the Jesuit order was a leading force in the modernizing of the Roman Catholic Church.
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theologian and ecclesiastical statesman. He was the leading French Protestant reformer and the most important figure in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation.
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She was very well-educated (fluent in five languages), and had inherited intelligence, determination and shrewdness from both parents. Her 45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English history.
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William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is most commonly celebrated on 23 April (see When was Shakespeare born), which is also believed to be the date he died in 1616.