Famous People Born In 1596

Pocahontas was a Native American woman born in the Powhatan tribal nation. She was embroiled in the hostility between the English colonial settlers and the natives in Virginia during the 1610s. Later she married an Englishman and was taken to England in 1616 for the world to see the example of the ‘civilised savage’. Her legacy continues in the US.

Emperor Go-Mizunoo made history by being the first Japanese emperor to rule throughout the Edo period. Before he acquired the Chrysanthemum Throne, he was known as Kotohito or Masahito. He eventually abdicated the throne for his daughter, Okiko. The Imperial Mausoleum in Kyoto is dedicated to him.

Part of the Dutch Golden Age, Constantijn Huygens was at the same time a composer and a poet. A diplomat, too, he went to England multiple times, where he was introduced to New Science by Francis Bacon, which he then popularized in the Netherlands. He also translated John Donne’s poems.

Johan Banér was a Swedish army man best remembered for his participation in the Thirty Years' War where he served as the Field Marshal. He also played important roles in the Ingrian War, Polish–Swedish War of 1621 to 1625, and Polish–Swedish War of 1626 to 1629.

Italian military commander Thomas Francis, who was also the Prince of Carignano, is remembered as the founder of the House of Savoy’s Savoy-Carignano branch. He initially supported Spain against the French during the Piedmontese Civil War, but soon changed sides and began fighting for France against the Spanish forces.

Richard Mather was a Puritan minister in colonial Boston in the 17th-century. He began his career as a school teacher and later became a minister. He soon gained fame as a preacher and traveled to many places to preach. He was a leader of New England Congregationalism and a co-author of the Bay Psalm Book. 

German classical scholar Lucas Holstenius is best remembered for his Epistolae ad diversos, which offers a mirror of his era. His notes and annotations on various geographical works are also significant. He also headed the Vatican Library as its librarian and revised the Italian map at the Vatican gallery.