Born on December 18

Carlo Cesare Malvasia (1616-1693) was a Bolognese Italian art historian and writer. He is the author of the *Felsina pittrice*, a major work devoted to the painters of the Bolognese school, which stands as a fundamental historiographical source for Italian Baroque art.

Queen of Sweden from 1632 to 1654, Christina voluntarily abdicated her throne to convert to Catholicism and settle in Rome. An exceptional woman, she invited Descartes to her court and ruled with authority in the Europe of the Thirty Years' War.

Archduke and heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his assassination in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, by Gavrilo Princip triggered the First World War. A central figure in the nationalism and European tensions of the early twentieth century.

Soviet dictator from 1922 to 1953, Joseph Stalin established a totalitarian regime characterized by massive political repression and forced industrialization. His leadership transformed the USSR into a superpower, but at the cost of millions of lives.

French actor born in 1892 and died in 1973, Noël Roquevert is best known for his roles as grumpy gendarmes, military figures, and authoritarian characters in film. He appeared in over 200 movies, leaving his mark on French cinema from the 1930s through the 1970s.

Esther Lederberg (1922-2006) was an American microbiologist who pioneered bacterial genetics. She discovered the lambda bacteriophage and developed the replica plating technique, long overshadowed by her husband Joshua Lederberg.

Steve Biko was a South African anti-apartheid activist, founder of the Black Consciousness Movement in the 1970s. A leading figure in the emancipation of black South Africans, he died in 1977 from the injuries inflicted on him in police custody, becoming a global symbol of the struggle against apartheid.

Steven Spielberg is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer born in 1946. A major figure of the New Hollywood movement, he invented the modern blockbuster while also directing critically acclaimed historical films. He ranks among the most influential and popular filmmakers of the late twentieth century.

Christina Aguilera is an American singer, songwriter, and actress born in 1980. Breaking through in 1999, she established herself as one of the most powerful voices of her generation, blending pop, R&B, and soul. She became a symbol of female empowerment in the music industry at the turn of the 21st century.