In the late fifteenth century, Italian scholars developed a new form of education that they branded "humanism," which quickly spread across all of Europe and helped ignite both the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation. The start of humanism began with the rediscovery of Latin and Greek texts, which prompted new ideas and focuses, including a Christian neoplatonism, a focus on the individual, and a challenge to traditional religion.

Under the Spanish system of Encomienda, Spanish colonial administrators were granted by the Spanish crown specific percentages of the native population of their territory to work in slave-like conditions. In exchange, the Spanish colonial administrators were expected to educate the overworked and suffering native people in the Christian faith.

Miguel Cervantes wrote the (arguably) most famous piece of Spanish literature, Don Quixote, in the early seventeenth century. Cervantes' influence on the Spanish language can be compared to that of Shakespeare on the English language—modern-day Spanish would be near-unrecognizable without his impact.  

Adolf Hitler wrote the manifesto, Mein Kampf, or "My Struggle," in which he outlined his political ideology and vision for Germany. The second of two volumes was published in 1926.

Scottish economist Adam Smith advocated private enterprise, free trade, and lassiez-faire economics in his classic work popularly known as The Wealth of Nations (1776).

The Reformer Martin Luther was not the first person to try and create a Bible in a vernacular language instead of the Latin Vulgate used by the Catholic Church. Luther's translation was more successful, though, because he had the advantage of having printing presses that could produce more and more versions for easier access by parishioners. The German in Luther's Bible was a regional Saxon dialect, but over time Luther's Bible translation helped standardize modern German.

Cyrus Field was an American inventor and businessman who, along with other financiers and pioneers, founded the Atlantic Telegraph Company. In 1858, they laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable that connected Great Britain with North America.

James Watt did not invent the telegraph; that honor belongs to Samuel Morse, who also developed Morse Code. James Watt did, however, invent the first reliably functioning and efficient steam engine.

Michel de Montaigne was a French writer who lived in the sixteenth century (1533-1592). He is best remembered for developing the modern essay form. Montaigne wrote short treatments of a wide variety of topics, from historical figures to human nature in general. In his essays, he advocated for rationalism and logical reasoning and demonstrated these traits with the structure and style of his work.

In the fifteenth century, Thomas à Kempis helped spread the ideas of mysticism by writing in the vernacular German language. His most famous work, Imitation of Christ, is an argument in favor of each individual communing directly with God and being able to experience divinity without the assistance of conventional religious structures.