How Many Of These Lesser-Known People Do You Know?

Some historical figures are held on a pedestal for centuries, their names burned into our memories from being endlessly repeated in history class. Meanwhile, there are countless others who've made arguably more important contributions whose names we've never heard. Many of them were prevented from recognition due to their race or gender, having to watch while another swooped in and collected all the credit. Don't let them fade into obscurity. Here are the most interesting historical figures that rarely show up in history class. 

Alfred Edward Chalon on Wikimedia

1. Percy Julian

Percy Julian was an African-American doctor living under Jim Crow laws. He revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry by synthesizing physostigmine, the drug used to treat glaucoma, but he was never given due recognition because of the color of his skin. 

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2. Al-Razi

Al-Razi was a Persian physician who lived in the first century. His collection of notes and observations, The Comprehensive Book of Medicine, was an invaluable source of information that had a major influence on the development of healthcare in Europe. 

Fæ on Wikimedia

3. Belisarius

We've all heard of Justinian I, leader of the Byzantine Empire, but what about his right-hand man? Much of Justinian's success can be accredited to General Belisarius's military might. He reconquered vast territories from Rome, including Italy and North Africa. 

Michel Wolgemut on Wikimedia

4. Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress as well as an inventor. During WWII, she came up with a technology that could hop frequencies, solving the problem that the allies faced of German U-Boats jamming their torpedo signals. Although it wasn't seen as a very important invention at the time, it laid the groundwork for modern wireless tech like Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi. 

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5. Ada Lovelace

An accomplished mathematician and writer, Ada Lovelace is often considered the first computer programmer due to her work on the Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer. She created the first algorithm designed to be processed by a machine and invented looping.

Alfred Edward Chalon on Wikimedia

6. Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battuta was a 14th-century Moroccan explorer who traveled more extensively than Marco Polo. He covered 75,000 miles across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, writing about it extensively in a book called The Rihla which became a famous travel log providing valuable insight into the cultures of his time. 

Imre Solt on Wikimedia

7. Emily Warren Roebling

Emily Warren Roebling was a 19th-century New York City socialite who was largely responsible for the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. When her husband who was chief engineer of the project became ill, she took over guiding the construction ensuring it was completed as intended. 

Carolus-Duran on Wikimedia

8. York

York was William Clark's slave. As a talented hunter and frontiersman, he was an integral part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He was also likely the first African-American to traverse the country. 

Charles R. Chickering on Wikimedia

9. Sybil Ludington

We all know the name Paul Revere, who made the famous ride to Lexington to warn the Patriots of an impending British attack during the Revolutionary War, but what about Sybil Ludington? At 16 years of age, she rode 40 miles (twice as long as Revere) through the night to warn of a British attack on Danbury.

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10. Lyudmila Pavlichenko

Nicknamed "Lady Death," Lyudmila Pavlichenko was a Soviet sniper who fought in WWII. With over 300 confirmed kills, she was one of the most successful snipers in modern warfare.

Jack Delano on Wikimedia

11. Matthew Henson

Matthew Henson was an African American explorer who was an integral part of Robert Peary's Arctic expeditions. Although not as famous, he accompanied Peary on seven journeys, including the one in 1909 in which they claimed to have reached the North Pole. 

Frederick Cook on Wikimedia

12. Henrietta Leavitt

Henrietta Leavitt was a 19th-century American astronomer. She discovered more than 2,400 stars and found the correlation between Period and Luminosity, which helped establish the scale of the universe. 

Margaret Harwood on Wikimedia

13. Vera Rubin

Another pioneering American astronomer, Vera Rubin, provided proof for the existence of dark matter. She found that stars at the outer edges of the universe move at the same speed as those near the center. 

NOIRLab/NSF/AURA on Wikimedia

14. Charles Drew

Charles Drew was an African American surgeon known as the "father of the blood bank." He revolutionized blood storage techniques and organized the country's first large-scale blood bank, saving countless lives. 

Darwinek on Wikimedia

15. Philo Farnsworth

Though John Logie Baird got the credit, Philo Farnsworth was the true inventor of the television. He presented his "Image Dissector" in 1927. A natural inventor, he also created an air traffic control system, a baby incubator, and a nuclear fusion reactor, among other things. 

Harris & Ewing on Wikimedia

16. Henry Dunant

The recipient of the very first Nobel Peace Prize, Henry Dunant, founded the Red Cross after initiating the first Geneva Convention. After being horrified at the suffering he saw when passing through a war-torn region of Italy, he devised a plan where medical personnel would be granted safe passage to tend to wounded soldiers.

Time Life Pictures on Wikimedia

17. Witold Pilecki

Perhaps one of the greatest unsung heroes, Witold Pileck put himself at risk to expose the horrors of Auschwitz. He purposely got himself captured by the Nazis and leaked information about what was really going on inside to the Allies using a makeshift radio transmitter.

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18. Josephine Cochrane

Josephine Cochrane was an American inventor and the brains behind the first dishwasher. She founded the Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Co., later bought by Kitchenaid, to manufacture and market it. 

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19. Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace was a British anthropologist and the first person to conceive the theory of evolution. He sent his ideas to Charles Darwin, who wrote his own version of Wallace's idea and used his connections to make sure he got the credit. 

London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company on Wikimedia

20. Lewis Latimer

Though Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the lightbulb, it was Lewis Latimer who patented the carbon filaments that allowed lightbulbs to stay lit for any meaningful amount of time. He also invented a flushing train toilet and a device that disinfected patients' hospital rooms. 

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