The Lineage of the Makers

64 figures · 10 eras · A history map that makes sense of Europe’s dynasties, revolutions, and ideas

Those Who Drew the Lines on the MapFounders & Monarchs15The monarchs who redrew the map of Europe through war, marriage, or reform

👑CharlemagneCharles the GreatKing of the Franks, Crowned "Emperor of the Romans"

⚔️William the ConquerorWilliam of NormandyDuke of Normandy, Conqueror of England in 1066

💍Henry VIIITudor King of England, of Six Marriages and the Founder of the Church of England

🌹Elizabeth I"The Virgin Queen"Last Tudor Queen of England, Maker of a "Golden Age"

☀️Louis XIV"The Sun King"King of France, Reigning 72 Years, the Peak Symbol of French Absolutism

🎖️NapoleonNapoleon BonaparteEmperor of the First French Empire, a Turning-Point Figure of Modern European History

⚓Peter the GreatPeter ITsar of Russia, Who Westernized the State and Founded St. Petersburg

👑Catherine the GreatCatherine IIEmpress of Russia, a Representative of Enlightened Absolutism

💎Queen VictoriaQueen of the United Kingdom, Reigning 63 Years, Symbol of the "Empire on Which the Sun Never Set"

🦅Charles VHoly Roman Emperor and King of Spain, Forerunner of the "Empire on Which the Sun Never Set"

🔥Ivan the TerribleIvan IVFirst Russian Ruler Crowned With the Title "Tsar"

🦅Frederick the GreatFrederick IIKing of Prussia, a Representative of "Enlightened Absolutism" and Military Reform

☪️Suleiman the MagnificentSuleiman IOttoman Sultan, Maker of the Empire’s Territorial and Cultural Height

👑Maria TheresaHabsburg Archduchess, the Only Female Ruler of Her House

👑Isabella IIsabella of CastileQueen of Castile, Whose Marriage to Ferdinand Brought About the Union of Spain

Those Who Turned a Ruler’s Decision Into RealityGenerals & Statesmen15Generals, prime ministers, revolutionaries — those who actually acted at history’s turning points

⚙️BismarckOtto von BismarckMinister-President of Prussia, the "Iron Chancellor" of German Unification

🦁Richard the LionheartRichard IKing of England, Central Commander of the Third Crusade

🐎The Duke of WellingtonArthur WellesleyBritish General, Commander Who Defeated Napoleon at Waterloo

⚓NelsonHoratio NelsonBritish Naval Commander, Hero of the Battle of Trafalgar

🔴GaribaldiGiuseppe GaribaldiMilitary Leader of Italian Unification, Commander of the "Expedition of the Thousand"

📜CavourCount Camillo Benso di CavourPrime Minister of Sardinia, Chief Architect of Italian Unification’s Diplomacy

🗡️RobespierreMaximilien RobespierreJacobin Leader of the French Revolution, Driver of the "Reign of Terror"

🕊️MetternichKlemens von MetternichAustrian Foreign Minister, Leading Figure of the Congress of Vienna

🪖Wilhelm IILast German Emperor, Head of Germany at the Outbreak of WWI

☭LeninVladimir LeninBolshevik Leader, Founder of Soviet Russia

⚒️StalinJoseph StalinSupreme Leader of the USSR, Driver of Industrialization, the Great Purge, and WWII

🚬ChurchillWinston ChurchillBritish Prime Minister Who Led Britain’s Resistance to Nazi Germany in WWII

⛪Cardinal RichelieuCardinal RichelieuChief Minister of France, the Real Operator of Centralization Under Louis XIII

🐴CromwellOliver CromwellLeader of the English Civil War, "Lord Protector" of a Short-Lived Republic

⚠️Adolf HitlerFührer of Nazi Germany; Instigator of WWII in Europe, Chief Party Responsible for Genocide

Those Who Changed How Humanity ThinksMasters & Thinkers20Scientists, artists, philosophers — their works outlive any dynasty

🎨Leonardo da VinciLeonardo da VinciRenaissance Polymath — Painter, Engineer, Anatomist

🗿MichelangeloRenaissance Sculptor and Painter, Creator of the Sistine Ceiling

🔭GalileoGalileo GalileiItalian Astronomer and Physicist, "Father of Modern Science"

🍎NewtonIsaac NewtonEnglish Physicist and Mathematician, Founder of Classical Mechanics

🐢DarwinCharles DarwinEnglish Naturalist, Proposer of the Theory of Evolution

📕MarxKarl MarxGerman Philosopher and Economist, Founder of Das Kapital and Communist Theory

🌞CopernicusNicolaus CopernicusPolish Astronomer, Systematic Proposer of Heliocentrism

🪐KeplerJohannes KeplerGerman Astronomer, Proposer of the Three Laws of Planetary Motion

🧠EinsteinAlbert EinsteinTheoretical Physicist, Proposer of Relativity

🎼BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenGerman Composer Who Completed His Late Masterworks While Deaf

🎹MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartAustrian Composer, a Representative of Classical Music

🎻BachJohann Sebastian BachGerman Composer, the Great Synthesizer of Baroque Music

🎭ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareEnglish Playwright and Poet, the Most Influential Writer in English Literary History

🗡️CervantesMiguel de CervantesSpanish Writer, Author of Don Quixote

🖋️VoltaireFrench Enlightenment Thinker, Spokesman for Religious Tolerance and Free Speech

📖RousseauJean-Jacques RousseauFrench Enlightenment Thinker, Author of The Social Contract

⏰KantImmanuel KantGerman Philosopher, Founder of German Classical Philosophy

⚡NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheGerman Philosopher, Proposer of "God Is Dead" and the Philosophy of the Übermensch

🛋️FreudSigmund FreudAustrian Psychiatrist, Founder of Psychoanalysis

☢️Marie CurieMarie CuriePhysicist and Chemist, First Scientist to Win Two Nobel Prizes

One Story Remembered for LifeSmall Roles, Famous Names14Little screen time, but stories long since carved into Europe’s collective memory

🏰SaladinSalah ad-Din YusufAyyubid Sultan, Richard I’s Adversary in the Third Crusade

💐Marie AntoinetteQueen of France, Sent to the Guillotine in the French Revolution

💥Archduke Franz FerdinandHeir to the Austro-Hungarian Throne, Whose Assassination Ignited World War I

🏰Otto IOtto the GreatThe First Crowned Holy Roman Emperor

⛵ColumbusChristopher ColumbusNavigator Who First Reached the Americas in 1492

🌍MagellanFerdinand MagellanNavigator Whose Fleet Completed the First Circumnavigation

🐫Marco PoloVenetian Merchant and Traveler, Narrator of The Travels of Marco Polo

🧭Vasco da GamaVasco da GamaNavigator Who First Opened the Sea Route to India Around the Cape of Good Hope

🛡️Ferdinand IIFerdinand of AragonKing of Aragon, Whose Marriage to Isabella I Brought About the Union of Spain

🕯️RasputinGrigori RasputinRussian Mystic, Court Favorite of the Last Tsar’s Family

👑Nicholas IIThe Last Tsar of Russia, Forced to Abdicate in the Revolution of 1917

📰GutenbergJohannes GutenbergGerman Craftsman, the European Popularizer of Movable-Type Printing

⚜️Joan of ArcFrench Peasant Girl Who Led the Army to Lift the Siege of Orléans in the Hundred Years’ War

🐎El CidRodrigo Díaz de VivarCastilian Knight, Legendary Military Hero of the Reconquista