2. Charles V (Holy Roman Empire) Dates of birth and death Feb 34, 1500 - Jan 23, 1558 Location of birth - : Ghent The Holy Roman emperor Charles V (1500-1558) inherited the thrones of the Netherlands, Spain, and the Hapsburg possessions, Charles failed in his attempt to bring all of Europe under his imperial rule.
3. Catherine de Medici (France) Dates of birth and death April 13, 1519 - 1589 Location of birth - - Florence, Italy Catherine de' Medici (1519-1589) was the wife of Henry II of France. Catherine was never able to rule France as monarch because the law determined the throne could only pass to male heirs, but she managed to rule for 30 years as regent for her three sons. It was as regent that she authorized the killing of French Protestants in the notorious Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day in 1572.
4. Henry IV (France) 13 December 1553 14 May 1610 Henry VI is considered one of the greatest kings of France and was instrumental in ending the French Wars Of Religion. Henry converted to Catholicism from Calvinism to satisfy the wishes of the majority of the population of France. He is perhaps best known for promising all French workers the "means to have a chicken in the pot every Sunday".
5. Louis XV (France) Dates of birth and death 15 February 1710 -- 10 May 1774 Location of birth - : Versailles Louis XV ruled as King of France and of Navarre from September 1715 until his death in May of 1774. He succeeded to the throne at the age of five, but others served as Regant until took over control of the State in 1743.
6. Cardinal Richelieu (France) Dates of birth and death born Sept. 9, 1585, died Dec. 4, 1642, Paris Location of birth - Richelieu, Poitou, France Cardinal Richelieu of France served as prime minister of France, and because King Louis XIII was a weak ruler, Richelieu was able to run the empire through his advice to the king from behind the throne. During his time of influence Richelieu expanded royal power, punished dissent and built France into a great European power.
7. Ivan the Terrible (Russia) Dates of birth and death August 25 1530 March 28 1584 Location of birth - Russia Ivan IV, know as Ivan the Terrible, is most known for his brutal ruling. Ivan IV brutally destroyed the boyars , the hereditary nobility, of Russia and turned onto all landowners under his rule into servants to the tsar. He centralized the administration of Russia and expanded the Russian Empire boundaries. At the time of his death Moscow was on the verge of anarchy as a result of his policies.
8. Peter the Great (Russia) Dates of birth and death 1672 - 1725 Location of birth - Moscow Peter was tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725. His self-given title was Peter the Great though he was officially Peter I. Peter the Great pulled Russia out of the medieval times in such a way that at the time of his death in 1725 Russia had become a leading eastern European state. He centralized government, modernized the army, created a navy, practiced an aggressive foreign policy and increased the subjugation and subjection of the Russian peasants.
9. Catherine the Great (Russia) Dates of birth and death April 21, 1729 Location of birth - Stettin, Prussia Catherine II, often called Catherine the Great became the Russian empress in 1762. Russia expanded its territories and modernized during Catherines reign. Although one of the great monarchs of her time who ruled for 34 years and guided Russia through three years, Catherine the Great is possibly best remembered from her reputation of having an adventurous love life.
10. Isaac Newton Dates of birth and death 1642 1727 Location of birth - Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England Describe the events or accomplishments associated with the individual (2-3 sentences) Issac Newton made decisive contributions to mathematics, physics, astronomy and optics. Using the changes that had started with Copernicus as a basis, he united physics and astronomy into a single system to explain all motion. He helped to transform mathematics by developing the calculus, and he established some of the basic laws of modern physics.
11. Johann Kepler Dates of birth and death December 27, 1571 November 15, 1630 Location of birth - : Germany Johann Kepler was a German mathematician and astronomer who discovered that the Earth and planets travel about the sun in elliptical orbits. Kepler believed that it was the language of mathematics that described the movements of planets. He gave three laws of planetary motion. He was able to prove that the orbits of the planets are ellipses, that there is a regularity which determines the movements of all planets based on their distance from the sun. It was Keplers laws that Issac Newton used in later years as the basis for his new system of the heavens.
12. Mary I (England) Dates of birth and death February 18, 1516 November 17, 1558 Location of birth - Greenwich Palace Mary I , also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and of Ireland from July 6, 1553 until her death in 1558. Mary I of England was the half sister of Edward VI. During her reign she briefly reestablished Roman Catholicism, forced many of her subjects into exile and provoked two major revolts. She had almost three hundred religious dissenters executed, and as a consequence, she is often known as Bloody Mary.
13. Elizabeth I (England) Dates of birth and death September 7, 1533 March 24, 1603 Location of birth - Greenwich Palace Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from November 17, 1558, until her death. Sometimes referred to as The Virgin Queen because she never married. She steadied England during a period of political and religious turmoil and set her nation's course to become the leading Protestant world power for the next three centuries. Elizabeth's reign is referred to as the Elizabethan era or the Golden Age
14. James II (England) Dates of birth and death October 14, 1633 - September 6, 1701 Location of birth - at St. James Palace James IIs short reign turned into a disaster as the English feared he would attempt to restore a Protestant England to Catholicism. James reign lasted only three years, as he was challenged by the Protestant ruler of the United Colonies, William III, and uncertain of his support James fled to exile in France.
15. William Shakespeare (England) Dates of birth and death April 26, 1564 April 23, 1616 Location of birth - Stratford-on-Avon, England English poet and playwright wrote the famous 154 Sonnets and numerous highly successful oft quoted dramatic works. Shakespeares works include plays such as the tragedies Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and MacBeth.
16. William and Mary (England) Dates of birth and death Location of birth - Netherlands William II gained the throne through his wife, Mary, eldest daughter of Charles I of England, and the two were proclaimed joint monarchs by Parliament. William exercised strong leadership, guiding England into an aggressive foreign policy. During his reign the general government grew considerably, gaining new powers and positions.