| ROBESPIERRE | King honours Curie, perhaps, a leading figure in French history |
| EIFFEL | Towering figure in French history |
| IRENE | Actress Dunne or scientist Joliot-Curie, perhaps (5) |
| DANTON | Lawyer who was a leading figure in the French Revolution, executed without trial in 1794 (6) |
| HENRYTHEEIGHTH | A leading figure in half a dozen unions? |
| BEARDSLEY | Aubrey ---, 19th Century illustrator and author; a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement (9) |
| BRIDGETRILEY | English artist, a leading figure in Op art |
| EMPRESS | A leading figure in society - newsmen follow me back |
| ROBESON | American singer and activist and a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance (4,7) |
| PAUL | American singer and activist and a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance (4,7) |
| CAGE | John ___ (1912 - 92),US composer who was a leading figure in the post-war avantgarde (4) |
| BRUTUS | Marcus Junius ___ (85-42 BC), a leading figure in the plot to murder Julius Caesar |
| KEROUAC | Jack, U.S. novelist and poet who was a leading figure in the Beat Generation (7) |
| LEONARDO | Italian polymath, painter, engineer, scientist, sculptor and architect, 1452-1519, a leading figure in the High Renaissance (8,2,5) |
| DAVINCI | Italian polymath, painter, engineer, scientist, sculptor and architect, 1452-1519, a leading figure in the High Renaissance (8,2,5) |
| RALEIGH | English statesman and explorer, 1552-1618, a leading figure in the colonisation of North America (7) |
| REIGNOFTERROR | Referring to, or about, a period in French history |
| MARAT | A tram crash in French history (5) |
| GRANDSIECLE | The era of Louis XIV in French history (5,6) |
| ERA | Napoleonic ___ (1799-1815 in French history) |
