Born on This Day: February 17

Chinese ruler and the only woman to govern China as emperor, whose reign expanded administration, scholarship, and imperial authority.

Italian violinist and composer whose works helped standardize Baroque instrumental forms and violin technique.

German astronomer whose lunar tables improved navigation and helped mariners determine longitude.

German industrialist who founded the steel enterprise that became a major force in European industry.

American merchant whose mail-order business transformed rural retailing and consumer access to manufactured goods.

American business leader who built IBM into a major international computing and information-processing company.

Greek-French mathematician whose work in Fourier analysis established influential results and the Salem numbers named for him.

American novelist whose fiction brought Jewish religious, cultural, and generational conflicts to a broad readership.