Born on July 4

Spanish Carmelite friar, mystic, and poet of the 16th century. A reformer of the Carmelite Order alongside Teresa of Ávila, he is the author of major works of mystical literature such as the *Dark Night of the Soul* and the *Spiritual Canticle*. A Doctor of the Church.

British geographer and geodesist, George Everest led the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in the 19th century. He carried out the precise triangulation of the Indian subcontinent — a monumental undertaking that made it possible to accurately measure the Himalayan peaks. Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, was named in his honour in 1865.

Italian general and patriot (1807–1882), Garibaldi is one of the central figures of the Risorgimento. A charismatic military leader, he unified much of Italy through his campaigns, most notably the famous Expedition of the Thousand in 1860.

Edmonia Lewis was an American sculptor of African-American and Native American (Ojibwe) descent. The first sculptor of color to gain international recognition, she worked marble in the neoclassical style and set up her studio in Rome.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921) was an American astronomer who discovered the period-luminosity relationship of Cepheid stars, giving humanity a tool to measure distances across the universe. Working as a "human computer" at the Harvard Observatory, she transformed astronomy despite the discrimination she faced because of her gender.

French poet (1900–1945) and major figure of Surrealism, celebrated for his wordplay and innovative poetry. A committed member of the French Resistance during World War II, he was deported and died at the Terezín concentration camp in 1945.