Historical Figures
People who shaped history.
29 profiles
Historical Figures
Swami Vivekananda
Hindu monk and philosopher who introduced Vedanta and Yoga to the West
1863 – 1902
Literature
Sri Aurobindo
Philosopher, yogi, poet and early nationalist leader
1872 – 1950
Science
Vikram Sarabhai
Physicist and father of India’s space programme
1919 – 1971
Science
C. V. Raman
Physicist; Nobel laureate who discovered the Raman effect
1888 – 1970
Politics & Leadership
Vallabhbhai Patel
First Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India
1875 – 1950
Literature
Premchand
Hindi and Urdu novelist and short-story writer
1880 – 1936
Science
Homi J. Bhabha
Nuclear physicist and father of India’s nuclear programme
1909 – 1966
Historical Figures
Guru Nanak
Founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus
1469 – 1539
Business
Dhirubhai Ambani
Founder of Reliance Industries
1932 – 2002
Politics & Leadership
Subhas Chandra Bose
Freedom fighter and leader of the Indian National Army
1897 – 1945
Politics & Leadership
Rajiv Gandhi
Sixth Prime Minister of India (1984–1989)
1944 – 1991
Politics & Leadership
Mahatma Gandhi
Leader of India’s independence movement and pioneer of non-violent resistance
1869 – 1948
Politics & Leadership
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Second Prime Minister of India (1964–1966)
1904 – 1966
Science
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Self-taught mathematician whose results still shape number theory
1887 – 1920
Historical Figures
Ramana Maharshi
Sage of Arunachala and teacher of self-enquiry
1879 – 1950
Music
Rabindranath Tagore
Poet, writer and composer; first non-European Nobel laureate in Literature
1861 – 1941
Activism & Humanitarian
Mother Teresa
Founder of the Missionaries of Charity; Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Catholic saint
1910 – 1997
Sports
Milkha Singh
Sprinter; India’s first Commonwealth Games gold medallist in athletics
1929 – 2021
Science
Jagadish Chandra Bose
Physicist and plant biologist; pioneer of radio and microwave research
1858 – 1937
Art & Design
Amrita Sher-Gil
Painter and a founding figure of modern Indian art
1913 – 1941
Politics & Leadership
Manmohan Singh
Thirteenth Prime Minister of India (2004–2014) and architect of the 1991 reforms
1932 – 2024
Politics & Leadership
Jawaharlal Nehru
First Prime Minister of India (1947–1964)
1889 – 1964
Politics & Leadership
Indira Gandhi
Third Prime Minister of India and the only woman to hold the office
1917 – 1984
Politics & Leadership
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Tenth Prime Minister of India and a founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party
1924 – 2018