a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form who depicted human lives, destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms.

a Dutch poet, writer and playwright. He is considered the greatest poet and playwright of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age

a German physician and botanist. His chief notability is as the author of a large book about plants and their uses as medicines, a herbal, which was first published in 1542 in Latin.

an English physiologist regarded as a founder of endocrinology; coined the word "insulin"

a French physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the pressure cooker and of the steam engine.

an Italian writer and novelist. He was a contemporary of Cesare Pavese and an influential voice in the modernist school of novel writing.