Born in Pisa, Galileo revolutionized humanity's understanding of the cosmos by championing the Copernican heliocentric model through telescopic observation. His confrontations with the Catholic Church over the Earth's movement around the Sun made him one of history's most famous defenders of empirical truth. His work laid the foundations of classical mechanics and the scientific method.

One of the most important figures in the American women's suffrage movement, Susan B. Anthony devoted her life to securing voting rights for women. She co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and was famously arrested in 1872 for voting illegally. The 19th Amendment, ratified fourteen years after her death, is often called the "Susan B. Anthony Amendment."

English philosopher Jeremy Bentham developed the doctrine of utilitarianism — the idea that the best action is the one that maximizes overall happiness. His ideas profoundly influenced law, economics, and social reform. He left instructions that his preserved body, known as his "Auto-Icon," be kept at University College London, where it still resides.

Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton led three expeditions to Antarctica, most famously the Endurance expedition of 1914–1917, during which his ship was crushed by ice. His extraordinary leadership in guiding all 28 men to safety across 800 miles of open ocean in a small lifeboat is considered one of the greatest survival stories in exploration history.

American cartoonist and animator Matt Groening created The Simpsons in 1987, which became the longest-running American animated series and primetime scripted television series in history. He also created Futurama and the comic strip Life in Hell.