Born on February 22

A 19th-century German philosopher, Schopenhauer is the great thinker of pessimism and the will. His masterwork, The World as Will and Representation (1818), profoundly influenced Nietzsche, Freud, and Wagner.

French-Polish composer and pianist

Spanish-born filmmaker who became a Mexican citizen (1900–1983), a towering figure of cinematic surrealism. His provocative films blend dream imagery, social critique, and anticlericalism. He is the creator of masterworks such as Un chien andalou, Belle de jour, and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

Fritz Strassmann was a German chemist who, together with Otto Hahn, carried out in 1938 the experiment demonstrating the fission of the uranium nucleus. This discovery, interpreted by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch, paved the way for nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.