a British peer and physicist. He discovered "active nitrogen" and was the first to distinguish the glow of the night sky.

an English physician who pioneered the field of inborn errors of metabolism.

a Russian author of science fiction, philosophy, literary criticism, and political satire.

a French Baroque painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. His sculpture expressed emotion, pathos and drama, setting it apart from the more classical and academic sculpture of the Style Louis XIV.

a French novelist and playwright. Lesage is best known for his comic novel The Devil upon Two Sticks, Le Diable boiteux, his comedy Turcaret, and his picaresque novel Gil Blas.

an American-born British author. He is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language.