Born on November 16

Vespasian (9–79 AD) was the ninth Roman emperor and founder of the Flavian dynasty. A general of equestrian background, he rose to power after the civil war of 69 AD. His reign marked a period of stability and reconstruction following the excesses of Nero.

A fourteenth-century English mystic, Julian of Norwich is the first known woman to write in the English language. Following a divine vision received in 1373, she composed Revelations of Divine Love, a foundational work of medieval Christian spirituality. Living as an anchoress in Norwich, she developed a theology centered on divine love and mercy.

A mathematician and philosopher of the Enlightenment, he co-edited the great Encyclopédie with Diderot and wrote its famous Preliminary Discourse. He formulated the mechanical principle that bears his name and embodied the encyclopédiste ideal of bringing together all human knowledge.

Franco-Belgian nun of the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, famous for her humanitarian work among the rag-pickers of Cairo. A popular figure of solidarity, she founded the Asmae association to help the most destitute.

José Saramago is a Portuguese writer and a major figure in 20th-century literature. The author of novels with a powerful imagination and a singular style, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998, becoming the first Portuguese-language author to do so.

Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet and critic, a major figure of African literature in English. His novel *Things Fall Apart* (1958) is regarded as the founding work of the modern African novel.

American philosopher, a major figure in 20th-century political philosophy. A professor at Harvard, he was the great theorist of libertarianism and the chief opponent of John Rawls.

Prime Minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023, Sanna Marin became, at the age of 34, one of the youngest heads of government in the world. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she led a gender-equal coalition and steered Finland toward NATO membership in 2022.