Born on March 2

Pope from 1878 to 1903, Leo XIII modernized the social doctrine of the Church with the encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891). He sought to reconcile Catholicism with the modern world and liberal democracies.

260th pope of the Catholic Church (1939–1958), Pius XII led the Church through the Second World War and the Cold War. His attitude toward the Holocaust remains controversial to this day.

Last General Secretary of the Soviet Union (1985–1991), Gorbachev initiated sweeping reforms with Perestroika and Glasnost, transforming the USSR before its dissolution in 1991. His actions marked the end of the Cold War and the restructuring of the Soviet bloc.

Naomi James, née Power, was a New Zealand-born sailor who became a naturalised British citizen. In 1978, she became the first woman to complete a solo round-the-world voyage by sailing past the formidable Cape Horn, aboard the Express Crusader.