Sir Francis Bacon is the man who pioneered the scientific method. It was meant to serve as a pathway for all scientists to objectively observe, and theorize reasons for, natural phenomena in the world.

Galileo was the man who championed the idea of Heliocentricity. While he often gets credit for first proposing the theory, it was actually Copernicus who first proposed the theory. Galileo was an ardent believer in the theory though, and pushed it publicly, causing the backlash from the Catholic Church which made him even more famous.

Sir Isaac Newton was one of, if not the, defining academic of all time. He is credited with the invention of many academic fields including Physics and Calculus. He is not, however, credited with the invention of trigonometry, which has a history too diverse and complicated to be credited to a single person. Trigonomic functions have been found in the artifacts of numerous ancient civilizations, including Egypt, China, and India.

The Guillotine was the machine used to behead the people of France who were put to death during the French Revolution. The Guillotine remained the primary method of execution in France until 1981 when Capital Punishment was abolished in France. The other methods listed here were used, but not in France.

Charles Dickens was by far the most well-known and widely read novelist of the Victorian period in Great Britain, to the point that he was a celebrity on par with any other figure of the time. His work was not just popular among the masses, but also largely about them, as his work featured intriguing characters, descriptions of familiar themes and people, the city of London, and a serialized format of each chapter being published separately in installments. One trend from previous writers that Dickens did not continue was a reliance on complicated classical references.

The Renaissance represented a revival of Greco-Roman culture, and therefore its art began to reflect classical art and themes, including myths. Nevertheless, religious themes continued to be popular in art. During the Renaissance, the status of the artist increased greatly: individuals such as Michelangelo were widely revered for their artistic genius. Additionally, individual patrons more frequently began to commission art (most famously, the Medici family in Florence); the portrait became a more common genre; and even religious paintings often portrayed the patron and his family. Note that during the Renaissance, the human body began to be depicted in a more naturalistic manner, and was typically glorified. Consider, for example, Michelangelo’s David.

Romanticism flourished in the first half of the nineteenth century throughout Europe as a literary movement that reacted against the Englightenment, valued emotion, and lauded both medieval literature and regional identities. This last point was also a huge factor in the burgeoning nationalism of the era, which sought to overthrow traditional autocratic governments and replace them with democratically elected governments that were meant to more accurately reflect their constituencies.

Impressionism as an artistic movement emerged in the nineteenth century and was particularly influential in France. All of these individuals were notable impressionists, and Monet is often referred to as the original impressionist. Impressionism focuses on ordinary subject matter, and the use of light. It was initially widely criticized by artistic experts in French and European society for being unrealistic and crude, but it soon gained overwhelming popularity as it spread around the world.

Persian Letters was published in 1721 by the Enlightenment philosopher Charles de Montesquieu. It employs the perspective of two travellers from the Near East who are visiting France and observing French society. It critiques the nature of French society and Christianity.

Voltaire was an Enlightenment-era philosopher most famous for his ardent defense of freedom of religion and freedom of speech. He clashed frequently with the authorities in France, but was widely influential across Europe. His most famous work, Candide, was published in 1759. It is a satirical attack on religion in Europe and mocks the established political order of the time period.