As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Historical Bookshelf

Historical people

People

Browse historical figures ranked by the number of books linked to them.

c. 460s BCE–396 BCE

Thucydides was an Athenian general and historian of the Peloponnesian War. After exile following the loss of Amphipolis, he produced an analytical account of strategy, plague, […]

Tomyris is represented in the linked non-fiction through military command and battlefield decision-making, exploration, travel and cultural encounter, and art, learning and intellectual life. These works […]

Umar ibn al-Khattab is represented in the linked non-fiction through empire, conquest and resistance, religion, belief and institutional authority, and court politics and dynastic power. These […]

1 series

321–375

Valentinian I was proclaimed emperor in 364 and appointed his brother Valens to govern the eastern provinces. Ruling from the West, he strengthened the Rhine and […]

1879–1962

Vilhjalmur Stefansson was a Canadian Arctic explorer and ethnographer who promoted adaptation to northern environments and organised major expeditions. His attempt to claim Wrangel Island through […]

1891–1986

W. Averell Harriman was an American businessman, diplomat and Democratic politician. He served as ambassador to the Soviet Union during the Second World War, later became […]

1 series

1564–1620

William Adams was an English navigator who reached Japan in 1600 aboard the Dutch ship Liefde. He became an adviser to Tokugawa Ieyasu, received samurai status […]

1885–1960

William E. Fairbairn was a British police officer and close-combat instructor who served for decades with the Shanghai Municipal Police. Drawing on street violence and martial […]