Famous People Born In 1585

Cardinal Richelieu was a French clergyman and statesman who was active in the early 17th century. He held powerful positions in both the Catholic Church and French government and served as the chief minister to Louis XIII of France in 1624. He helped the French maintain their dominance in the Thirty Years' War that engulfed Europe. 

British colonial official John Rolfe was one of the first English settlers in North America. He not only gained fame as a tobacco planter in Virginia, but also married Pocahontas, the daughter of Native American chief Powhatan. He died in the infamous Jamestown massacre of 1622.

Dutch optician Zacharias Janssen is credited with discovering the compound microscope and the first optical telescope. Since he worked along with his father, Hans, many believe Hans had a greater role in his inventions, while others feel the claims of his inventions were mere fabrications by his son.

Thomas Howard, 2nd earl of Arundel is also sometimes referred to as the 14th or 21st earl of Arundel. A lover of paintings, marble sculptures, and coins, he also gained the nickname Collector Earl. Most of his prized possessions are now housed at the Oxford University and the British Museum.

Danish physician Caspar Berthelsen Bartholin, or Caspar Bartholin the Elder, is best known for his work on anatomy, Anatomicae Institutiones Corporis Humani. He also made pioneering research on the olfactory nerve. However, he is incorrectly attributed with the discovery of the Bartholin’s gland, which his grandson, Caspar Bartholin the Younger, had discovered.

Cornelius Jansen was the Dutch Catholic bishop of Ypres best remembered as the father of an early modern theological movement called Jansenism, which was declared a heresy by the Roman Catholic Church. Jansenism was used as a major political force in France up until the French Revolution.

William Drummond was a Scottish poet best remembered for his work the Cypresse Grove. An influential and important poet of his generation, Drummond is among the 16 Scottish writers and poets whose faces have been carved on the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.

Jacques Lemercier was a French engineer and architect. Along with François Mansart and Louis Le Vau, Jacques Lemercier helped develop the French Classical style and introduced classicism to French Baroque architecture. During the late-1630s, he was made the chief architect, a position that came with the responsibility of overseeing all the royal building enterprises.

Gerbrand Bredero was a Dutch playwright and poet who played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. His works include the famous De klucht van de koe, which can be translated as Farce of the Cow. A memorial to Gerbrand Bredero can be seen in Amsterdam.

Known as the Working Empress, Anna of Tyrol was a Holy Roman Princess and the queen consort of Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia, by virtue of her marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Matthias. Her contributions include the formation of the Imperial Crypt and the transfer of the Imperial court from Prague to Vienna.