Pick a world
7 worlds. Thousands of lives. Pick a door.
RulersNames carved into monuments1,542people5,000years71guidesStep in 
MusiciansThe lives behind the melodies771people1,000years5guidesStep in 
ArtistsSix centuries of paintings724people900years38guidesStep in 
ScientistsBetaThree millennia of discovery1,374people2,500years66guidesStep in 
WritersBetaHow Stories Were Told1,321people4,500yearsStep in 
BattlesBetaCareers measured in campaigns1,104people2,500yearsStep in 
BuildersBeta791people4,500yearsStep in Meanwhile, in other worlds
True, every word.
His bronze David: Europe's first nude since antiquity.Donatello
She sent a warship to fetch a philosopher from Holland.Christina of SwedenAt fourteen he cycled sixty miles to school in a strike.Alan TuringSo fond of his statue Zuccone, he swore his oaths by it.DonatelloHer father ordered her raised and taught as a prince.Christina of SwedenHe chained his mug to a radiator to stop it being stolen.Alan TuringCarving Zuccone, he yelled at the marble: 'Speak, damn you!'DonatelloNobody would lift her crown, so she removed it herself.Christina of SwedenConvicted in 1952 for being gay, he was pardoned in 2013.Alan Turing
Signed his paintings 'As I Can', a pun on his own name.Jan van EyckHe chaired the council on orthodoxy while unbaptised.Constantine the Great
He served as a palace eunuch at the Han court from about 75.Cai LunHis soldiers dug up the Rosetta Stone. Britain took it.Napoleon Bonaparte
Wore a swan dress to the 2001 Oscars and 'laid' fake eggs.BjorkTagged the Arnolfini Portrait: 'Jan van Eyck was here 1434.'Jan van EyckHe was buried as a thirteenth among the twelve apostles.Constantine the GreatFacing trial, he bathed, dressed formally and drank poison.Cai LunHis bronze David: Europe's first nude since antiquity.DonatelloShe sent a warship to fetch a philosopher from Holland.Christina of SwedenAt fourteen he cycled sixty miles to school in a strike.Alan TuringSo fond of his statue Zuccone, he swore his oaths by it.DonatelloHer father ordered her raised and taught as a prince.Christina of SwedenHe chained his mug to a radiator to stop it being stolen.Alan TuringCarving Zuccone, he yelled at the marble: 'Speak, damn you!'DonatelloNobody would lift her crown, so she removed it herself.Christina of SwedenConvicted in 1952 for being gay, he was pardoned in 2013.Alan TuringSigned his paintings 'As I Can', a pun on his own name.Jan van EyckHe chaired the council on orthodoxy while unbaptised.Constantine the GreatHe served as a palace eunuch at the Han court from about 75.Cai LunHis soldiers dug up the Rosetta Stone. Britain took it.Napoleon BonaparteWore a swan dress to the 2001 Oscars and 'laid' fake eggs.BjorkTagged the Arnolfini Portrait: 'Jan van Eyck was here 1434.'Jan van EyckHe was buried as a thirteenth among the twelve apostles.Constantine the GreatFacing trial, he bathed, dressed formally and drank poison.Cai Lun
At nine, his clan rode off and left the family to starve.Genghis Khan
About 10,000 mourners filed past her coffin in 1937.Bessie SmithOrphaned young, he spent twenty years at Plato's Academy.AristotleTook an alphabet off a captured scribe to write Mongol.Genghis KhanHer grave stayed unmarked until Janis Joplin paid for a stone.Bessie SmithHe was hired to tutor a thirteen-year-old Alexander.AristotleAsked a monk for immortality. Was told to hunt less.Genghis KhanTop-paid Black act of her day, touring in a 78-foot railcar.Bessie SmithStrabo says his papers lay hidden in a cellar for years.AristotleSix hundred thousand went into Russia. One in ten came out.Napoleon BonaparteRecorded her debut album at just 11 years old, in 1977.BjorkSailed to Portugal to paint a bride for his choosy duke.Jan van EyckHis victory arch credits a divinity but never names one.Constantine the GreatHis paper of 105 was made from bark, hemp, rags and nets.Cai LunThe regiment sent to arrest him joined him instead.Napoleon BonaparteWon Best Actress at Cannes for Dancer in the Dark, 2000.BjorkAt nine, his clan rode off and left the family to starve.Genghis KhanAbout 10,000 mourners filed past her coffin in 1937.Bessie SmithOrphaned young, he spent twenty years at Plato's Academy.AristotleTook an alphabet off a captured scribe to write Mongol.Genghis KhanHer grave stayed unmarked until Janis Joplin paid for a stone.Bessie SmithHe was hired to tutor a thirteen-year-old Alexander.AristotleAsked a monk for immortality. Was told to hunt less.Genghis KhanTop-paid Black act of her day, touring in a 78-foot railcar.Bessie SmithStrabo says his papers lay hidden in a cellar for years.AristotleSix hundred thousand went into Russia. One in ten came out.Napoleon BonaparteRecorded her debut album at just 11 years old, in 1977.BjorkSailed to Portugal to paint a bride for his choosy duke.Jan van EyckHis victory arch credits a divinity but never names one.Constantine the GreatHis paper of 105 was made from bark, hemp, rags and nets.Cai LunThe regiment sent to arrest him joined him instead.Napoleon BonaparteWon Best Actress at Cannes for Dancer in the Dark, 2000.Bjork