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Alexander the Great -

Alexander the Great was a Macedonian king and military genius who conquered the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, and parts of Asia in an astonishing short period of time. Alexander's campaigns became legendary after his death in 323 BCE, influencing the tactics and careers of later Greek and Roman generals. He remains one of the most popular and recognizable figures in world history. 

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Aristotle -

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, was the founder of modern logic. Together with Socrates and Plato, he laid much of the groundwork for western philosophy. Dying in 322 BCE, he is still considered one of the world's greatest thinkers.  

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Jesus -

Jesus died in 30 or 33 CE, still only in his 30s. But as the central figure of Christianity, the man who millions believe is the Incarnation of God, is one of the most revered religious figures in world history. 

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Marco Polo -

Venetian merchant and adventurer Marco Polo traveled from Europe to Asia from 1271 to 1295, much of the time following the Silk Road. His journeying is recorded in 'The Travels of Marco Polo.' Published in 1300, it was one of the world's first travel books and described to Europeans the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world. 

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Leonardo da Vinci -

Painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect, Leonardo da Vinci was a hugely celebrated and influential Italian polymath of the High Renaissance. His sketches and blueprints featuring groundbreaking inventions like flying machines, armored vehicles, and hydraulic systems, were imagined many hundreds of years before their time. 

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Vasco da Gama -

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was the first European explorer to reach India by sea, doing so in 1498. His intrepid voyages initiated the lucrative spice trade but more importantly, they marked the beginning of a sea-based phase of global multiculturalism. 

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Christopher Columbus -

The Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus garnered equal celebrity for the four voyages he made across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498, and 1502. The expeditions opened the way for the widespread European exploration and European colonization of the Americas. 

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Martin Luther -

German priest and theologian Martin Luther was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. His theological beliefs resulted in the division of Western Christendom between Roman Catholicism and the new Protestant traditions. He remains one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity.

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Galileo Galilei -

We have the Italian astronomer and  physicist Galileo Galilei, born in 1564, to thank for inventing an early microscope and a predecessor to the thermometer. Most of all, however, Galileo's celebrity stems from his improving of the telescope, which led this star-gazer from Pisa being described as the "father of of observational astronomy." 

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William Shakespeare -

Without Shakespeare the world would be bereft of some of the finest plays ever conceived. As the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist, Shakespeare can be regarded as one of entertainment's earliest celebrities.  

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Rembrandt -

One of the most esteemed Dutch masters of the 17th century, Rembrandt is also generally considered among the greatest visual artists in the history of art. Examples of his work today command millions at auction. 

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Isaac Newton -

Legend has it that a young Isaac Newton formulated gravitational theory in 1665 or 1666 after he was knocked on the head by a falling apple. A fruitful episode indeed, because this science celeb went on to develop the three laws of motion: Newton's Law of Inertia, Newton's Law of Acceleration, and Newton's Law and Action and Reaction. 

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -

A child prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was packing them in at concert halls from the age of five—younger even than Michael Jackson! The Austrian died young, aged 35, but his legacy as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music was secured long before his untimely passing. 

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George Washington -

As a Founding Father and first president of the United States, George Washington exemplified character and leadership. His shaping of the highest office in the land led in 1951 to the unwritten two-term limit set by Washington becoming the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. According to YouGov, he is second only to Abraham Lincoln as America's most popular president.   

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Ludwig van Beethoven -

As classical music celebrities go, Ludwig van Beethoven is up there with Mozart as one of the most influential composers in history. Indeed, his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire. 

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Bert Williams and George Walker -

Bert Williams and George Walker are perhaps the most famous (to both black and white audiences) of African American entertainers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And while their names may not be familiar to many, they remain two of the most influential figures in modern music history. 

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Nefertiti -

So much for early male celebrities. But who are some of the women who became famous in their own lifetime? Well, back in ancient Egypt the royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten known as Nefertiti was certainly turning heads. Her beauty and poise was made famous by her bust (pictured)—one of the most copied works of art of the era. 

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Cleopatra -

Another famous ancient Egyptian celebrity was of course Cleopatra. She had many suiters in a flutter, most famously Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. The legacy of the celebrity Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt survives in ancient and modern world of art. 

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Joan of Arc -

The middle ages were pretty short on female celebrities, that is until Joan of Arc appeared. Revered by the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans, Joan met a painful death, burned at the stake in 1431. In 1920 she was canonized; two years later she was declared one of the patron saints of France. 

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Hürrem Sultan -

In her day, Hürrem Sultan, also known as Roxelana, was one of the most powerful and influential women in the Ottoman Empire. Actually she is arguably the most popular female celebrity in Ottoman history,  prominent and controversial as she was in the 16th century during the era known as the Sultanate of Women.

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Elizabeth I -

The only surviving daughter of Henry VIII by Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I was the last monarch of the Tudor era, ruling England and Ireland from 1558 until her death in 1603. As she grew older, Elizabeth became celebrated for her virginity.  

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Marie Antoinette -

Marie Antoinette was the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. She's remembered for her lavish lifestyle and bombastic fashion sense—all voluminous gowns and huge powdered wigs. She was in many ways, the first female celebrity. Unfortunately her scandalous behavior proved her downfall. In 1793 she was executed, guillotined in Paris before a gleeful crowd. 

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Catherine the Great -

Russia, meanwhile, had its own celebrity monarch, Catherine II. Better known as Catherine the Great, her long reign saw Russia experience a renaissance of culture and sciences, which led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres. Her star turn ended on November 17, 1797, the empress having succumbed to a stroke.

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Queen Victoria -

Queen Victoria enjoyed a long and impressive reign, 63 years and 216 days to be exact. This period became known as the Victorian era, a time of significant industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom. It was also marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.

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Florence Nightingale -

It was during the Victorian era that Florence Nightingale came to prominence. Celebrated as a social reformer, Nightingale is also known for her work as a nurse during the Crimean War. In fact she's regarded as the founder of modern nursing.

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Sarah Bernhardt -

Many consider French actress Sarah Bernhardt entertainment's first A-lister. A star of the stage during the later 19th and early 20th centuries, Bernhardt was fêted across Europe. She gained more fame as one of the early prominent actresses to make sound recordings and to act in motion pictures. 

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Emmeline Pankhurst 1928 -

Women's role in British society received a huge boost in 1918 when the suffragette movement helped women win the right to vote. The primary mover in this groundbreaking achievement was Emmeline Pankhurst, a political activist who gained celebrity status nationwide for her bravery and commitment in challenging the establishment. 

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Marie Curie -

Marie Curie has gone down in history as the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice! The Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist was recognized for her pioneering research on radioactivity, and for discovering polonium and radium during the first years of the the 20th century.  

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Coco Chanel -

The world of fashion had its first female celebrity in Coco Chanel. The French fashion designer was the founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, and was credited in the post–First World War era with popularizing a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style. The signature scent of the House of Chanel, Chanel No. 5, is one of the world's best-selling perfumes.  

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Nina Mae McKinney -

In much the same way the previously mentioned Bert Williams and George Walker are little-known in wider entertainment circles, the African American female entertainer Nina Mae McKinney, one of the first African-American film stars in the United States, hasn't fully received the credit she's due, even though she was dubbed the "Black Garbo" in Europe because of her striking beauty. McKinney was active on stage and screen from 1927 to 1967. 

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Helen Keller -

American author Helen Keller's name is synonymous with disability rights. Even more so given that she she lost her sight and her hearing after a bout of illness when she was 19 months old. More than a celebrity, Keller is regarded as a hero for her work as a suffragist, pacifist, radical socialist, and birth control supporter. 

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Anne Frank -

Anne Frank became a celebrity by default. She was a German-born Jewish girl who kept a diary in which she documented life in hiding under Nazi persecution. Eventually betrayed, Frank is one of the most-discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. 

Sources: (YouGov) (National Institutes of Health) (Anne Frank House) 

See also: Weird and wonderful celeb superstitions

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