|
Ancient Egypt
|
|
c. 3100 BC
|
-
|
Unifier of Egypt
|
Narmer
|
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c. 2686 BC
|
c. 2648 BC
|
Commissioned the construction of the first pyramid
|
Djoser
|
|
2589 BC
|
2566 BC
|
Commissioned the construction of the Great Pyramid
|
Khufu
|
|
c. 1479 BC
|
16th January 1458 BC
|
The second historically confirmed female pharaoh
|
Hatshepsut
|
|
c. 1353 BC
|
c. 1336 BC
|
Introduced Atenism
|
Akhenaten
|
|
c. 1334 BC
|
c. 1325 BC
|
Died while still young
|
Tutankhamun
|
|
1279 BC
|
1213 BC
|
His successors called him the "Great Ancestor"
|
Ramesses II
|
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943 BC
|
922 BC
|
Was a pharaoh of Berber descent
|
Shoshenq I
|
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305/304 BC
|
282 BC
|
Was one of the Diadochi
|
Ptolemy I Soter
|
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51 BC
|
30 BC
|
Last ruler of Egypt before the Romans conquered it
|
Cleopatra VII Philopator
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|
|
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Babylonia
|
|
c. 1792 BC
|
c. 1750 BC
|
He is associated with a legal text
|
Hammurabi
|
|
c. 1186 BC
|
c. 1172 BC
|
His existence is significant to Near Eastern chronology
|
Meli-Shipak II
|
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c. 605 BC
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c. 562 BC
|
The most powerful monarch of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
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Nebuchadnezzar II
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China
|
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c. 1046 BC
|
c. 1043 BC
|
The first king of the Zhou dynasty
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Wu
|
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7th May 247 BC
|
221 BC
|
The first emperor of a unified China
|
Qin Shi Huang
|
|
28th February 202 BC
|
1st June 195 BC
|
One of a small number of dynasty founders in Chinese history to have been born into a peasant family
|
Gaozu
|
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15th May 221
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10th June 223
|
Fought the Yellow Turbans and in many subsequent battles
|
Liu Bei
|
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17th October 690
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21st February 705
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Only female monarch in Chinese history
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Wu Zetian
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4th February 960
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14th November 976
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Founder of the Song dynasty
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Taizu
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5th May 1260
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18th February 1294
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Founder of the Yuan dynasty
|
Kublai Khan
|
|
23rd January 1368
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24th June 1398
|
Founder of the Ming dynasty
|
Hongwu Emperor
|
|
17th July 1402
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12th August 1424
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Six of the Ming treasure voyages occurred during his reign
|
Yongle Emperor
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2nd December 1908
|
12th February 1912
|
The last Qing emperor
|
Puyi
|
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20th March 1943
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9th September 1976
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Founder of the People's Republic of China
|
Mao Zedong
|
|
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Ancient Rome
|
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c. 578 BC
|
c. 535 BC
|
The sixth king of Rome
|
Servius Tullius
|
|
458 BC (dictator)
|
439 BC (dictator)
|
He gives his name to a society, which was itself the origin of the names of two US cities
|
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
|
|
396 BC (dictator)
|
367 BC (dictator)
|
He was given the title Second Founder of Rome
|
Marcus Furius Camillus
|
|
233 BC (consul)
|
208 BC (consul)
|
The originator of many tactics used in guerrilla warfare
|
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus
|
|
205 BC (consul)
|
194 BC (consul)
|
He famously defeated Hannibal
|
Scipio Africanus
|
|
195 BC
|
-
|
Known as "the Elder"
|
Marcus Porcius Cato
|
|
82 BC
|
79 BC
|
The first ruler of the Republic to seize power by force
|
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix
|
|
49 BC
|
44 BC
|
Was killed on the Ides of March
|
Julius Caesar
|
|
16th January 27 BC
|
19th August AD 14
|
The first Roman emperor
|
Augustus
|
|
13th October 54
|
9th June 68
|
A famously tyrannical emperor
|
Nero
|
|
27th January 98
|
8th August 117
|
He ruled over the empire at its maximum territorial extent
|
Trajan
|
|
8th March 161
|
17th March 180
|
Was also a Stoic philosopher
|
Marcus Aurelius
|
|
14th April 193
|
4th February 211
|
Born in present-day Libya
|
Septimius Severus
|
|
22nd October 253
|
spring 260
|
Was taken captive by Shapur I
|
Valerian
|
|
20th November 284
|
1st May 305
|
Retired to his palace in present-day Split, Croatia
|
Diocletian
|
|
25th July 206
|
22nd May 337
|
First Roman emperor to convert to Christianity
|
Constantine
|
|
|
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Achaemenid Empire
|
|
559 BC
|
530 BC
|
Founder of the empire
|
Cyrus II
|
|
29th September 522 BC
|
October 486 BC
|
Conquered areas such as Thrace, Macedonia and Egypt
|
Darius I
|
|
October 486 BC
|
August 465 BC
|
Tried to conquer Greece
|
Xerxes I
|
|
358 BC
|
338 BC
|
Reclaimed Egypt
|
Artaxerxes III
|
|
|
|
|
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Macedonia
|
|
-
|
370 BC
|
Founder of a unified Macedonian kingdom
|
Amyntas III
|
|
359 BC
|
336 BC
|
Developed the Macedonian phalanx formation
|
Philip II
|
|
336 BC
|
323 BC
|
Conquered Persia and founded many cities
|
Alexander III
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Maurya Empire
|
|
c. 324/321 BC
|
c. 297 BC
|
Founder of the empire
|
Chandragupta Maurya
|
|
c. 268 BC
|
c. 232 BC
|
Sent his Edicts to places throughout the empire
|
Ashoka
|
|
c. 224 BC
|
c. 215 BC
|
He was a great patron of Jainism
|
Samprati
|
|
c. 187 BC
|
c. 180 BC
|
Final emperor
|
Brihadratha Maurya
|
|
|
|
|
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Kingdom of Aksum
|
|
c. 270
|
c. 300
|
One of the earliest rulers in the Horn of Africa to mint his own coins
|
Endubis
|
|
320s
|
c. 360
|
First Aksumite monarch to embrace Christianity
|
Ezana
|
|
c.590
|
-
|
Shares his name with a modern Middle Eastern country
|
Israel
|
|
|
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Francia
|
|
c. 509
|
27th November 511
|
United the Frankish tribes under one rule
|
Clovis I
|
|
558
|
561
|
Gained the territories that had been given to his brothers
|
Chlothar I
|
|
751
|
24th September 768
|
First Carolingian King of the Franks
|
Pepin
|
|
25th December 800
|
28th January 814
|
Crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III
|
Charlemagne
|
|
813
|
840
|
Was the first of nineteen French kings called _____
|
Louis I
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|
|
|
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Japan
|
|
5th December 539
|
15th April 571
|
First historically verifiable emperor
|
Kinmei
|
|
8th December 592
|
7th March 628
|
First empress regnant of Japan
|
Suiko
|
|
30th April 781
|
9th April 806
|
Appointed the first Shōgun
|
Kanmu
|
|
23rd August 1155
|
5th September 1158
|
The last de facto absolute monarch of Japan until 1868
|
Go-Shirakawa
|
|
12th July 1192
|
9th February 1199
|
Founder of the Kamakura shogunate
|
Minamoto no Yoritomo
|
|
29th March 1318
|
18th September 1339
|
Overthrew the Kamakura shogunate and brought the Imperial House back into power, for a short while
|
Go-Daigo
|
|
1338
|
1358
|
Founded the shogunate named after his clan's name
|
Ashikaga Takauji
|
|
1603
|
1605
|
One of the "Great Unifiers" of Japan
|
Tokugawa Ieyasu
|
|
13th April 1735
|
9th June 1747
|
Was allowed by the Shōgun to restore some Imperial rites
|
Sakuramachi
|
|
3rd February 1867
|
30th July 1912
|
Oversaw the transformation of Japan from a feudal state to a world power
|
Meiji
|
|
25th December 1926
|
7th January 1989
|
Emperor during World War II
|
Hirohito
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Abbasid Caliphate
|
|
10th June 754
|
6th October 775
|
Though not the first Abbasid caliph, he is typically considered as the real founder of the caliphate
|
Al-Mansur
|
|
14th September 786
|
24th March 809
|
Established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad
|
Harun al-Rashid
|
|
27th September 813
|
7th August 833
|
Promoted the Graeco-Arabic translation movement
|
Al-Ma'mun
|
|
28th January 946
|
5th August 974
|
His reign represented the nadir of the caliphate
|
Al-Muti
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Khmer Empire
|
|
802
|
835
|
Founder, shares his name with eight of the other kings
|
Jayavarman II
|
|
1113
|
1150
|
Ordered the construction of Angkor Wat
|
Suryavarman II
|
|
1417
|
1431
|
Last king of the empire, moved to modern Phnom Penh sometime after fleeing Angkor
|
Ponhea Yat
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kievan Rus'
|
|
879
|
912
|
First Christian ruler of the Kievan Rus'
|
Oleg of Novgorod
|
|
11th June 980
|
15th July 1015
|
Expanded the borders of the territory of the Kievan Rus'
|
Vladimir Sviatoslavich
|
|
1019
|
1054
|
The legal code of the Kievan Rus' was created during his reign
|
Yaroslav I
|
|
1149
|
1151
|
Known as "the Founder of Moscow"
|
Yuri Dolgorukiy
|
|
1168
|
1170
|
Fought against the Cumans
|
Roman Mstislavich
|
|
1236-1240 (first)
|
1241-1243 (last)
|
Last autonomous senior prince of Kiev
|
Mikhail Vsevolodovich
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kingdom of England
|
|
c. 886
|
26th October 899
|
Fought the Vikings at the Battle of Edington and won, leading to the creation of the Danelaw
|
Alfred
|
|
18th March 978
|
1013
|
Known as "the Unready"
|
Æthelred
|
|
1016
|
1035
|
Was King of Denmark, England and Norway (known as the North Sea Empire)
|
Canute
|
|
5th January 1066
|
14th October 1066
|
Last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England
|
Harold II
|
|
25th December 1066
|
9th September 1087
|
First Norman monarch of England
|
William I
|
|
19th December 1154
|
6th July 1189
|
Quarrelled with Thomas Becket
|
Henry II
|
|
27th May 1199
|
19th October 1216
|
Signed the Magna Carta
|
John
|
|
26th June 1483
|
22nd August 1485
|
Last king of the House of York
|
Richard III
|
|
July 1553
|
17th November 1558
|
Known as "Bloody ____"
|
Mary I
|
|
17th November 1558
|
24th March 1603
|
The Spanish Armada was defeated during her reign
|
Elizabeth I
|
|
29th May 1660
|
6th February 1685
|
First monarch after the Interregnum
|
Charles II
|
|
8th March 1702
|
1st May 1707
|
Last monarch of the House of Stuart
|
Anne
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kingdom of Hungary
|
|
1000/1001
|
1038
|
Was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians before becoming the first King of Hungary
|
Stephen I
|
|
1060
|
1063
|
Known as "the Boxer"
|
Béla I
|
|
1077
|
1095
|
A legend narrates his fight with a Cuman, who had abducted a Hungarian girl
|
Ladislaus I
|
|
6th December 1305
|
1308
|
Was previously the Duke of Lower Bavaria
|
Otto III
|
|
1301/1308
|
1342
|
The only son of Charles Martel
|
Charles I
|
|
1387
|
1437
|
Was also crowned Holy Roman Emperor
|
Sigismund
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ethiopian Empire
|
|
1181
|
1221
|
He gives his name to a town containing monolithic churches
|
Lalibela
|
|
1314
|
1344
|
Greatly expanded the borders of the empire
|
Amda Seyon I
|
|
13th August 1507
|
2nd September 1540
|
The Ethiopian–Adal War began during his reign
|
Dawit II
|
|
1632
|
18th October 1667
|
Made Gondar his capital, and may have founded the city
|
Fasilides
|
|
10th March 1889
|
12th December 1913
|
The formation of Addis Ababa and the First Italo-Ethiopian War occurred during his reign
|
Menelik II
|
|
2nd April 1930
|
12th September 1974
|
Tried to modernise Ethiopia
|
Haile Selassie I
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ottoman Empire
|
|
c.1299
|
1323/1324
|
Founder of the Ottoman dynasty
|
Osman I
|
|
March 1362
|
15th June 1389
|
Conquered most of the Balkans
|
Murad I
|
|
16th June 1389
|
20th July 1402
|
Was defeated and captured by Timur at the Battle of Ankara
|
Bayezid I
|
|
August 1444
|
September 1446
|
Conquered Constantinople
|
Mehmed II
|
|
30th September 1520
|
6th September 1566
|
The longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
|
Suleiman I
|
|
22nd December 1603
|
22nd November 1617
|
The Blue Mosque was built during his reign
|
Ahmed I
|
|
7th April 1789
|
29th May 1807
|
The Janissaries deposed and murdered this Sultan after he created a new infantry corps
|
Selim III
|
|
31st August 1876
|
27th April 1909
|
The last Sultan to exert effective control over the empire
|
Abdul Hamid II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aztec Empire
|
|
1427
|
1440
|
First emperor of the Aztec Empire
|
Itzcoatl
|
|
1486
|
1502
|
Shares his name with a legendary creature
|
Ahuizotl
|
|
1502/1503
|
1520
|
Was killed while Hernán Cortés and his men were taking over Tenochtitlan
|
Moctezuma II
|
|
1520
|
1521
|
The last emperor of the Aztec Empire
|
Cuauhtémoc
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inca Empire
|
|
1438
|
1471/1472
|
Transformed the Kingdom of Cusco into the Inca Empire
|
Pachacuti
|
|
1493
|
1524
|
Ruled the empire at the height of its size and power
|
Huayna Capac
|
|
1532
|
1533
|
Won the Inca Civil War in 1532, but was captured by Francisco Pizarro during the same year
|
Atahualpa
|
|
1533
|
1544
|
Rebelled against the Spanish and founded the Neo-Inca State
|
Manco Inca Yupanqui
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prussia
|
|
10th April 1525
|
20th March 1568
|
The 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, and the first Duke of Prussia
|
Albert
|
|
28th August 1618
|
23rd December 1619
|
His marriage to Duchess Anna made him Duke of Prussia and resulted in the creation of Brandenburg-Prussia
|
John Sigismund
|
|
31st May 1740
|
17th August 1786
|
Reorganised the Prussian armies and had many military successes
|
Frederick II
|
|
15th June 1888
|
9th November 1918
|
German Emperor and King of Prussia during World War I
|
Wilhelm II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mughal Empire
|
|
20th April 1526
|
26th December 1530
|
Founder
|
Babur
|
|
11th February 1556
|
27th October 1605
|
Under his reign, the empire grew to cover much of the Indian subcontinent
|
Akbar
|
|
19th January 1628
|
31st July 1658
|
The Taj Mahal was built as a tomb for his favourite wife
|
Shah Jahan
|
|
31st July 1658
|
3rd March 1707
|
The empire became the world's largest economy under his reign, though he is also considered to be a controversial ruler
|
Aurangzeb
|
|
27th September 1719
|
26th April 1748
|
He was a patron of the arts, but his reign was also marked by a rapid decline of the empire
|
Muhammad Shah
|
|
28th September 1837
|
21st September 1857
|
The last Mughal emperor
|
Bahadur Shah Zafar
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
|
|
1st May 1576
|
12th December 1586
|
Repulsed a Russian invasion of the Commonwealth borderlands and secured the favourable Truce of Yam-Zapolsky
|
Stephen Báthory
|
|
19th August 1587
|
30th April 1632
|
Invaded Russia and defeated the Ottomans
|
Sigismund III Vasa
|
|
November 1648
|
16th September 1668
|
He was made a cardinal before becoming king
|
John II Casimir
|
|
15th September 1697 - 1706 (first)
|
1709 - 1st February 1733 (second)
|
Known as "the Strong"
|
Augustus II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maratha Empire
|
|
1674
|
1680
|
Founder
|
Shivaji Bhonsale I
|
|
16th January 1681
|
11th March 1689
|
Was captured, tortured and executed by the Mughals
|
Sambhaji Bhosale
|
|
12th January 1707
|
15 December 1749
|
Maratha power and influence extended to all corners of the Indian subcontinent during his reign
|
Shahu Bhosale I
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
United States
|
|
30th April 1789
|
4th March 1797
|
First US president
|
George Washington
|
|
4th March 1837
|
4th March 1841
|
Only US president to speak English as a second language
|
Martin Van Buren
|
|
4th March 1861
|
15th April 1865
|
President during the American Civil War
|
Abraham Lincoln
|
|
4th March 1869
|
4th March 1877
|
Led the Union Army during the American Civil War
|
Ulysses S. Grant
|
|
4th March 1885 - 4th March 1889 (first presidency)
|
4th March 1893 - 4th March 1897 (second presidency)
|
Only US president to serve two nonconsecutive terms
|
Grover Cleveland
|
|
14th September 1901
|
4th March 1909
|
Formed the "Bull Moose Party"
|
Theodore Roosevelt
|
|
4th March 1913
|
4th March 1921
|
US president during World War I
|
Woodrow Wilson
|
|
20th January 1961
|
22nd November 1963
|
Last US president to be assassinated
|
John F. Kennedy
|
|
20th January 1969
|
9th August 1974
|
Only US president to resign
|
Richard Nixon
|
|
20th January 1981
|
20th January 1989
|
Was an actor prior to becoming US president
|
Ronald Reagan
|
|
20th January 2009
|
20th January 2017
|
First African-American US president
|
Barack Obama
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kingdom of Bavaria
|
|
1st January 1806
|
13th October 1825
|
First King of Bavaria
|
Maximilian I Joseph
|
|
10th March 1864
|
13th June 1886
|
He commissioned the construction of Neuschwanstein Castle
|
Ludwig II
|
|
13th June 1886
|
5th November 1913
|
Never actively reigned, with his uncle Luitpold and his cousin Ludwig running the country
|
Otto
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Colombia
|
|
24th February 1819
|
4th May 1830
|
Led various modern South American countries to independence
|
Simón Bolívar
|
|
7th October 1832
|
1st April 1837
|
His surname is also the name of a city in Spain
|
Francisco de Paula Santander
|
|
1st April 1853
|
17th April 1854
|
Initially fought for the Royalist Army in the Independence Wars of Colombia, eventually joined the revolutionary forces then opposed the government after independence was attained
|
José María Obando
|
|
1st April 1845 - 1st April 1849 (first presidency)
|
22nd May 1866 - 1st November 1867 (final presidency)
|
Was president of Colombia four times
|
Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera
|
|
4th August 1909
|
7th August 1910
|
Fought in several civil wars, and also shared his surname with the name of a Spanish city
|
Ramón González Valencia
|
|
13th June 1953
|
10th May 1957
|
Imposed martial law and established a dictatorship
|
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
France
|
|
20th December 1848 - 2nd December 1852 (president)
|
2nd December 1852 - 4th September 1870 (emperor)
|
Last French monarch
|
Napoleon III
|
|
30th January 1879
|
2nd December 1887
|
Seen as the first real republican President of France
|
Jules Grévy
|
|
17th January 1895
|
16th February 1899
|
The Dreyfus affair occurred during his presidency
|
Félix Faure
|
|
23rd September 1920
|
11th June 1924
|
Was nearly assassinated
|
Alexandre Millerand
|
|
10th May 1932
|
11th July 1940
|
Last president of the Third Republic
|
Albert Lebrun
|
|
8th January 1959
|
28th April 1969
|
Was previously the leader of Free France
|
Charles de Gaulle
|
|
20th June 1969
|
2nd April 1974
|
Has a building in Paris named after him
|
Georges Pompidou
|
|
21st May 1981
|
17th May 1995
|
Longest time spent in office of any French president
|
François Mitterrand
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South Africa
|
|
8th February 1860 - 20th June 1863 (Orange Free State)
|
22nd October 1866 - 20th November 1871
|
Founded Pretoria
|
Marthinus Wessel Pretorius
|
|
9th May 1883
|
31st May 1902
|
Last South African president before the Second Boer War
|
Paul Kruger
|
|
31st May 1961
|
1st June 1967
|
First State President of the Republic of South Africa
|
C. R. Swart
|
|
15th August 1989
|
10th May 1994
|
Dismantled the apartheid system
|
F. W. de Klerk
|
|
10th May 1994
|
16th June 1999
|
First black head of state of South Africa
|
Nelson Mandela
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Italy
|
|
17th March 1861
|
9th January 1878
|
First king of a united Italy
|
Victor Emmanuel II
|
|
31st October 1922
|
25th July 1943
|
Made himself Duce of Italian Fascism
|
Benito Mussolini
|
|
9th May 1946
|
12th June 1946
|
Last King of Italy
|
Umberto II
|
|
1st January 1948
|
12th May 1948
|
First President of Italy
|
Enrico De Nicola
|
|
11th May 1962
|
6th December 1964
|
First Sardinian to become head of state
|
Antonio Segni
|
|
3rd July 1985
|
28th April 1992
|
Labelled as "Iron Minister"
|
Francesco Cossiga
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Romania
|
|
15th March 1881
|
27th September 1914
|
First King of Romania
|
Carol I
|
|
10th October 1914
|
20th July 1927
|
Ruled Romania during World War I
|
Ferdinand I
|
|
9th December 1967
|
22nd December 1989
|
Second and last Communist leader of Romania
|
Nicolae Ceaușescu
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Soviet Union
|
|
8th November 1917
|
21st January 1924
|
First head of government of Soviet Russia
|
Vladimir Lenin
|
|
1927
|
5th March 1953
|
Leader of the Soviet Union during World War II
|
Joseph Stalin
|
|
14th September 1953
|
14th October 1964
|
Leader of the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis
|
Nikita Khrushchev
|
|
11th March 1985
|
24th August 1991
|
Last leader of the Soviet Union
|
Mikhail Gorbachev
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Egypt
|
|
28th April 1936
|
26th July 1952
|
Penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan
|
Farouk
|
|
23rd June 1956
|
28th September 1970
|
Led the overthrow of the monarchy in 1952
|
Gamal Abdel Nasser
|
|
14th October 1981
|
11th February 2011
|
Last president before the Egyptian Revolution of 2011
|
Hosni Mubarak
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yugoslavia
|
|
29th December 1945
|
14th January 1953
|
First president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
|
Ivan Ribar
|
|
14th January 1953
|
4th May 1980
|
Was the leader of the Yugoslav Partisans in World War II
|
Josip Broz Tito
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indonesia
|
|
18th August 1945
|
12th March 1967
|
First President of Indonesia
|
Sukarno
|
|
27th March 1968
|
21st May 1998
|
Named his administration the "New Order"
|
Suharto
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
|
27th June 1960
|
24th November 1965
|
First president of what was known then as the Republic of the Congo
|
Joseph Kasa-Vubu
|
|
24th November 1965
|
16th May 1997
|
Changed the country's name to Zaire
|
Mobutu Sese Seko
|
|
17th May 1997
|
16th January 2001
|
Was formerly a revolutionary
|
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
|
