Born on June 9

Selim II (1524–1574) was Ottoman sultan and caliph from 1566 to 1574. His reign is marked by the conquest of Cyprus and the naval defeat at Lepanto against the Christian coalition in 1571.

Tsar and first Emperor of Russia (1682–1725), Peter I undertook a radical modernization of his empire inspired by Western European models. He founded Saint Petersburg, reformed the army and administration, and transformed Russia into a major European power.

British engineer (1781–1848), George Stephenson is the father of the railway. He built the first efficient steam locomotive for passenger transport and designed the Liverpool-Manchester line, inaugurated in 1830.

Austrian novelist and pacifist activist (1843–1914), Bertha von Suttner published in 1889 “Die Waffen nieder!” (Lay Down Your Arms!), a novel that shocked Europe with its realistic portrayal of the horrors of war. In 1905, she became the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

French seamstress, companion of Auguste Rodin for over fifty years and one of his very first models. She married him in January 1917, just a few weeks before she died, and Rodin followed her in death the same year.

Maclyn McCarty was an American physician and geneticist. Together with Oswald Avery and Colin MacLeod, he demonstrated in 1944 that DNA is the carrier of genetic information, a founding discovery of molecular biology.

Barbara (1930–1997) was a French singer-songwriter, nicknamed “the Lady in Black.” A pianist and poet of song, she is known for intimate works such as “Nantes” and “The Black Eagle.”