Death: February 3, 1468

Occupation: Blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher

Nationality: German

Creations: The printing press and the "Forty-Two Line" Bible

Contribution: Made printing much easier by innovating the printing press to use movable metal alloy tiles.

Fun Fact: In 1462, Gutenberg's printing business was destroyed when his town of Mainz, Germany was taken over by Archbishop Adolph II; Gutenberg stayed in Mainz and was granted the title Hofmann, or "gentleman of the court.

Death: May 2, 1519

Occupation: Painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer

Nationality: Italian

Creations: The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, the Vitruvian Man, flying machines, and war weapons

Contributions: Leonardo was a true Renaissance Man. He contributed in many fields of science and has been used as inspiration for many people such as the Wright Brothers.

Fun Fact: Leonardo stole corpses from graveyards to study human anatomy.

Death: April 23, 1616

Occupation: Poet, playwright, and actor

Nationality: English

Creations: Hamlet, A Midsummer Night Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and The Tempest

Contributions: He wrote about 40 plays that were acted out in theaters and are still read today. These plays included comedies as well as tragedies. He also wrote 154 sonnets. Shakespeare is considered one of the best playwrights of all time.

Fun Fact: Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway and had three children. One of his children was named Hamnet, but he died at the age of 11. This is probably the origin of the name of Shakespeare's play "Hamlet."

Death: January 28, 1547

Occupation: King of England

Nationality: English

Creations: The Church of England

Contributions: In the hopes of continuing his heir, Henry VIII married six woman to try to have a son. To get out of his marriage with Catherine Parr he split from the Catholic Church and created the Church of England. In addition, Henry VIII's love for art supported artists to do their job which may have been the start of the Renaissance.

Fun Fact: Henry VIII's doctors were afraid to tell him that he was dying because the Treason Act forbid anyone from predicting the death of the king.

Death: December 23, 1524

Occupation: Explorer

Nationality: Portuguese

Discovery: The first water route around Africa to India

Contributions: Vasco da Gama made trading with China and India much easier. Although China and India didn't want to trade much with European countries because they were more advanced, Vasco da Gama was still seen as a hero.

Fun Fact: Vasco da Gama was asked to sail to India again. On the way there, he died in Cochin; his body was sailed back to Portugal.

Death: May 20, 1506

Occupation: Explorer and colonizer

Nationality: Portuguese

Discovery: The "New World" including North and South America.

Contributions: Columbus was first credited with the discovery of a route to India, but after he died they realized that he had discovered a completely new land. Columbus is responsible for creating the first colonies in the "New World".

Fun Fact: Columbus was very interested in gold so forced every Tainos adult to give him gold dust. If they didn't they would get a hand chopped off.

Death: November 13, 1460

Occupation: Patron and explorer

Nationality: Portuguese

Creations: School of Navigation and the caravel

Contributions: Prince Henry was wealthy because he was part of the royal family. He was in line to become king, but it was unlikely that he would; therefore he funded a school for navigators which taught many of the most well-known explorers.

Fun Fact: During one expedition, Prince Henry had to return home because his crew was afraid to be eaten by a sea monster.

Death: June 22, 1611

Occupation: Explorer, sea commander, and author

Nationality: English

Discovery: New York metropolitan area

Contributions: Hudson tried to find a water route to China above the Arctic Circle, but ended up exploring a river later named after him (Hudson River). He explored around the New York area.

Fun Fact: Hudson and his crew explored some of Greenland. On his way back he noticed that there were many whales which caused Europeans to start whale hunts in the area.

Death: March 18, 1584

Occupation: First czar of Russia

Nationality: Russian

Creations: Sea ports used for trade and lots of land for Russia

Contributions: Ivan IV strengthened the Russia military and conquered the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia. Ivan IV also created a strong alliance between Russia and England. He was responsible for transforming Russia from its medieval state.

Fun Fact: Ivan IV died while playing chess with his bodyguard Bogdan Belsky

Death: February 18, 1546

Occupation: Priest, monk, and author

Nationality: German

Creations: The 95 Theses, Luther's Large Catechism, and On the Freedom of a Christian

Contributions: Martin Luther believed that your faith is what got you into Heaven. He protested against the pope who told everyone that they would burn in Hell if you didn't go to church and if you sinned. Martin Luther wrote his 95 Theses in many languages to show everyone that the Catholic Church was lying about indulgences. He was outlawed from the church and his writings were banned, but many people aready got to read them.

Fun Fact: Martin Luther served as the dean of theology at the University of Wittenberg. Due to his pain from illnesses, many of his writings included offensive language against Jews and Muslims.