Born on November 17

Henry IV (1050–1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105. He is best known for his power struggle with the papacy, particularly the Investiture Controversy, which pitted imperial authority against that of Pope Gregory VII.

Aimé Pallière (1868-1949) was a French writer and lecturer, first destined for the Catholic priesthood before drawing closer to Judaism. Having become a figure of the Noahide movement, he worked toward dialogue between Christianity and Judaism while remaining unconverted.

French film director, producer and screenwriter

British field marshal, one of the principal Allied military commanders of the Second World War. He led the victorious 8th Army at El Alamein and then commanded the Allied ground forces during the Normandy landings.

Alain Gerbault (1893-1941) was a French sailor, World War I aviator, and top-level tennis player. He made the first solo east-to-west crossing of the Atlantic, then a solo round-the-world sailing voyage between 1923 and 1929.

Soviet psychologist of Belarusian origin, founder of the cultural-historical approach to the development of the mind. He showed that higher mental functions are built through social interactions and language. He died prematurely of tuberculosis at the age of 37.

Stanley Cohen (1922-2020) was an American biochemist. Together with Rita Levi-Montalcini, he discovered growth factors, notably epidermal growth factor (EGF), proteins essential to the development and repair of cells. This work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986.

Arman (1928-2005) was a Franco-American artist and co-founder of Nouveau Réalisme alongside Yves Klein and Pierre Restany. He is celebrated for his "accumulations" of manufactured objects and his "destructions-reconstructions," which question consumer society.

Martin Scorsese is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer born in 1942 in New York. A major figure of the New Hollywood movement, he is one of the most influential directors in contemporary cinema.