Born on January 6

German astronomer and mathematician (1572–1630), Kepler formulated the three laws of planetary motion that revolutionized astronomy. A disciple of Tycho Brahe, he confirmed Copernicus's heliocentric model through precise mathematical calculations.

American trapper, explorer, and cartographer. The first known man to cross the Sierra Nevada range and the Great Basin desert overland, he helped map the American West before his early death at age 32.

Polish countess famous for her long correspondence with the writer Honoré de Balzac, whom she married in 1850 after eighteen years of exchanging letters. Her relationship with the novelist fed an important part of Balzac's correspondence.

A self-taught German archaeologist (1822–1890), he devoted his fortune to finding the Homeric Troy. His excavations at Hisarlik in Turkey revealed several superimposed cities, one of which he identified — incorrectly — as the Troy of the *Iliad*.

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) was a Russian pianist and composer. A figure of late post-Romanticism and Symbolism, he evolved toward a daring harmonic language and a synesthetic mysticism, associating sounds with colors.

Lebanese poet, writer, and painter (1883-1931), a major figure of Arab émigré literature (Mahjar). Author of the collection of poetic prose The Prophet (1923), one of the most widely read books in the world, he wrote in both Arabic and English.