Familiar Faces

Carl Sagan (1934–1996) was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, and science communicator. He became renowned for his work on the search for extraterrestrial life and for his studies of the greenhouse effect on Venus. The author of Cosmos and Contact, he helped...

Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) was a renowned American mythologist, writer, and professor, best known for his studies of comparative mythology and religion. His most influential work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, introduced the concept of the “monomyth” or “Hero’s...

Infante Dom Henrique (1394–1460), known as Henry the Navigator, is a well-known figure from the Age of Portuguese Discoveries, though one surrounded by a certain degree of mystery. The son of King João I and Philippa of Lancaster, he played a crucial role in the...

Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, regarded as one of the most important figures of the Scientific Revolution. He is best known for his studies on light and wave theory, as well as for pioneering the construction of...

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) were two of the leading poets of English Romanticism. Friends and collaborators, they revolutionised poetry with the joint publication of Lyrical Ballads (1798), a work that marked the beginning of...

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) was a French writer, philosopher and feminist who profoundly shaped twentieth-century thought. Associated with existentialism, she developed reflections on freedom, identity and the condition of women, with The Second Sex (1949) being...

Juliette Gréco (1927–2020) was a French singer and actress who became an icon of music and the bohemian culture of Paris. With her deep voice and intense interpretative style, she captivated audiences with songs such as “La Javanaise”, “Parlez-moi d’amour”, and...

Boris Vian (1920–1959) was a musician, poet, novelist, and engineer. Associated with surrealism and existentialism, he stood out in literature with works such as Froth on the Daydream and Autumn in Beijing, both characterised by unique plots and inventive language. He...

The French couple are Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) and Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986), one of the most important intellectual pairings of the twentieth century. They sustained both an intellectual and romantic partnership for more than fifty years, challenging social...