Famous People Born In 1480

Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, is remembered for organizing the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522. A skilled sailor and naval officer, he was in service of the Portuguese crown in Asia. He was killed during the Battle of Mactan. The Pacific Ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the 18th century.

Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene, better known as Saint Cajetan, was a Italian priest who co-established the Theatine order, thus becoming a significant figure of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also created what later became the Bank of Naples. He is the patron saint of Argentina, bankers, gamblers, and unemployed people.

Albrecht Altdorfer was a German painter, engraver, and architect active during the Renaissance. He predominantly worked in Regensburg, Bavaria. He is considered one of the main representatives of the Danube School of painters. He was one of the first artists to focus on landscape as an independent subject. As an architect, he oversaw the construction of several commercial structures. 

Johann Georg Faust was an astrologer, magician, and itinerant alchemist of the German Renaissance. Faust is the subject of a local folk legend which claims that Johann Georg Faust managed to make a deal with the devil. His story was adapted by Christopher Marlowe in his 1604 Elizabethan tragedy, The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus.

The only daughter of Habsburg archduke Maximilian I, who became the Holy Roman Emperor, Margaret of Austria was also the duchess of Savoy by virtue of her marriage to Philibert II, Duke of Savoy. A patron of the arts, she owned a huge library and had several painters at her court.

Joachim Patinir was a Flemish Renaissance painter best remembered for painting history and landscape subjects. He is credited with inventing world landscape, a style of panoramic Renaissance landscapes, which is considered Patinir's most significant contribution to Western art. Joachim Patinir also pioneered landscape as an independent genre.

Sebastián de Belalcázar was a Spanish conquistador best remembered for founding some of the most prominent early colonial cities in South America. He is credited with founding important cities like Quito, Cali, Popayán, and Pasto. Sebastián de Belalcázar is also remembered for leading expeditions in present-day Colombia and Ecuador.

Lourenço de Almeida was a Portuguese military commander and explorer. The son of Francisco de Almeida, Lourenço played a major role in making modern day Sri Lanka a tributary to Portugal. Lourenço de Almeida established a settlement in Ceylon in 1505, thus enabling the augmentation of the Portuguese Empire in Asia. 

Pier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian rebel leader and pirate, whose life is shrouded in mystery. He was said to be a big, strong man with a dark complexion. He led an armed band, known as the Arumer Zwarte Hoop, against the Hollanders and Burgundians at sea and targeted ships that traveled the Zuiderzee. He died in 1520. 

Italian artist Gian Giacomo Caprotti, better known by his pseudonym, Andrea Salaì, or Salai, had been one of Leonardo da Vinci’s favorite pupils. Also known as the Little Devil, he had entered da Vinci’s home at age 10 and later became his muse for paintings such as Bacchus and also his lover.

Regarded as Spain’s most significant sculptors of the 16th century, Damià Forment is remembered for his huge altars and alabaster masterpieces. His works mingled Gothic and Renaissance elements. He is also considered one of the first to introduce Spain to Mannerist art. His works adorn the Huesca Cathedral among others.

Josel of Rosheim was a 16th-century German Jewish advocate, or shtadlan, known for his fight for the rights of German Jews. A Czech-French by birth, he had initially been a money lender, apart from being a rabbi. He is also remembered for his efforts to counter anti-Semitism.

Portuguese chess player Pedro Damiano was initially a pharmacist. He is perhaps best known for his book Questo libro e da imparare giocare a scachi et de li partiti. He is associated with the Damiano Checkmate and the famous aphorism “If you see a good move, try to find a better one.”