History hero

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Former US president Theodore Roosevelt stands on a boat with Cândido Rondon

History hero Ella Al-Shamahi chooses Cândido Rondon (1865–1958) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Professor Stephen Hawking in his office at the University of Cambridge, 2003

History hero Bobby Seagull chooses Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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A c1638 oil painting of Katherine Howard, Lady Aubigny

History hero Julia Donaldson chooses Katherine Howard, Lady Aubigny (d1650) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Félix Kir in 1947, when he was the mayor of Dijon

Second World War

History hero Simon Farnaby chooses Félix Kir (1876–1968)

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Charles Darwin at his home at Down House, Kent, c1880. (Photo by English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

History hero Andrew Marr chooses Charles Darwin (1809–82) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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George Washington Carver in a laboratory

History hero Gillian Burke chooses George Washington Carver (c1864–1943) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 19th-century engraving of Francis Grose

History hero Susie Dent chooses Francis Grose (1731–1791)

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Young girl putting garland around Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. (Photo by Dinodia Photos/Getty Images)

History hero Fergal Keane chooses Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Krystyna Skarbeck, also called Christine Granville

History hero Michael Morpurgo chooses Krystyna Skarbek (1908–1952) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Mary Seacole as seen in a contemporary photo. Although she became famous for her nursing work in the Crimean War, her story subsequently became largely forgotten. (Photo by Alamy)

History hero Bernardine Evaristo chooses Mary Seacole (1805–1881) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Victorian heroine Grace Darling (1815–1842) with her father, lighthouse keeper William Darling. They are rowing from the Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands off Northumberland, to rescue the passengers of the stricken ship 'SS Forfarshire'. (Photo by Nigel Dobinson/Getty Images)

History hero Miriam Stoppard chooses Grace Darling (1815–1842) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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c1935: Beatrice Shilling sits astride her Norton motorcycle. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

History hero Cathy Newman chooses Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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American jazz singer Helen Forrest performing with trumpeter Harry James (1916-1983), c1945. (Photo by Metronome/Getty Images)

History hero Dame Vera Lynn chooses Helen Forrest (1917–99) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Frank Gillard pictured during a 1944 rehearsal for battle reporting

History hero Chris Mason chooses Frank Gillard (1908–98) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Harold Wilson in 1971, after his first period as prime minister. He would take power again in 1974. (Photo by Getty Images)

History hero Jason Watkins chooses Harold Wilson (1916–95) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.