Famous People Born In 165

Johann Pachelbel was a German composer, teacher, and organist who is credited with helping the south German organ schools achieve their peak. His contributions to the progression of the fugue and chorale prelude have established him as one of the most prominent composers of the middle Baroque era. During his lifetime, his music became a model for several German composers.

Edmond Halley was an English astronomer and mathematician who was mainly concerned with practical applications of science. He abandoned college education to travel to St. Helena. He published catalogue of 341 southern stars with telescopically determined locations. Known for his wide range of interest, he helped Newton to publish his magnum opus,  Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. He used Newton's Law of Motion to compute periodicty of Halley’s Comet.

Philip II of France reigned as the king of France from 1180 until his death in 1223. He is credited with transforming France into the most powerful and prosperous country in Europe. He is also credited with building the Wall of Philip Augustus and bringing financial stability to France.

Born into a family of drug merchants, Jacob Bernoulli was forced to study theology by his father but later deviated to math. He taught math and laid down the Bernoulli’s equation and calculus of variations. Apart from him and his brother, Johann Bernoulli, his family later produced more great mathematicians.

Italian composer and violinist Arcangelo Corelli is regarded as a pioneer of the concerto grosso and the sonata. Named after his father who died 5 months before his birth, Corelli rose to be a major figure of Baroque music and became a favorite of priests and the royalty.

English statesman and soldier John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough was the second son of Sir Winston Churchill and is remembered for his contribution to wars such as the Monmouth Rebellion and the War of the Spanish Succession. He was once imprisoned in the Tower of London for Jacobitism.

The Maratha Empire’s second Chhatrapati, Sambhaji Bhosale, was the eldest son of Shivaji. After losing his mother at 2, he was raised by his grandmother. A treaty made him a Mughal mansabdar. Later, following repeated clashes with the Mughals, he was eventually captured and tortured to death.

Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac was a French adventurer and explorer. He is credited with founding Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit, which later became the famous city of Detroit. The famous car brand Cadillac was named in Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac's honor.

François Fénelon was a French writer, poet, theologian, and Catholic archbishop. He is best remembered for his book The Adventures of Telemachus, which was published in 1699. François Fénelon also served as a tutor of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, guiding the character formation of Louis, Grand Dauphin's eldest son.

German princess Elizabeth Charlotte, also known as Madame Palatine, became the duchess of Orléans as the second wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. Interestingly, she converted from Protestantism to Catholicism just to get married to Philippe I. An ancestress of several royal families, she was also known as the Grandmother of Europe.

Jacob Roggeveen was a Dutch explorer who is credited with discovering Easter Island, Samoa, Maupiti, and Bora Bora. Interestingly, he found Easter Island by accident as he was initially sent to find Terra Australis. He is also remembered for publishing his work De val van 's werelds afgod.

The Baroque architecture of Austrian architect, sculptor, and architectural-historian Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, who penned the influential book titled A Plan of Civil and Historical Architecture, greatly influenced the Habsburg Empire and shaped the architectural tastes of Austrian aristocracy for decades. Two of his major works include the Austrian National Library in Vienna, and the Holy Trinity Church in Salzburg.

Seventeenth-century German physician and traveler Engelbert Kaempfer had been on trade missions across the world, including places such as Russia, Iran, Java, and Japan. His written experiences about his stay in Japan became a valuable source of information on the flora and fauna of the country.

John Baptist de La Salle, also known as La Salle, is remembered as the founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, or the de La Salle Brothers. Apart from setting up charitable boarding schools, he also trained teachers. He is revered as the patron saint of school teachers and educators.

Mary of Modena, the second wife of King James II of England, who was also James VII of Scotland, reigned as the queen of England, Ireland, and Scotland. It is believed she induced James to escape to France during the Glorious Revolution, when William of Orange invaded England.

A non-juror bishop, theologian, celebrated author and theatre critic, Jeremy Collier refused to take oath of allegiance to King William III and was sent twice to prison for supporting James II. Despite that, he publicly gave absolution on the scaffold to King’s enemies and suffered reprisal for it. He published several works, some which became quite controversial.

Christoph Haizmann was the Austrian painter who had sold his soul to the Devil to attain artistic fame and was later exorcized. He had also painted several pictures of the Devil as it appeared to him. The Haizmann case was later studied by many psychiatrists and psychologists, such as Sigmund Freud.  

Thomas Bray was an English abolitionist and clergyman who helped found the Church of England in Maryland. He is also remembered for his role in the establishment of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (USPG) and the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK).