NOSTRADAMUS

Nostradamus (Michel de Nostredame, 1503–1566) was a French apothecary, physician and astrologer best known for Les Prophéties (the "Centuries"), a collection of cryptic four-line verses (quatrains) first published in 1555 that later editions expanded to nearly 1,000 items. He also published almanacs and medical/cosmetic treatises and served patrons including Catherine de' Medici. 

His quatrains are deliberately vague, mix local and classical references, and were written in a style that allows wide interpretation; supporters claim hits on later events while scholars and skeptics point to retroactive fitting, plagiarism from earlier sources, and ambiguous wording. Modern assessments treat him as a prominent cultural figure of the Renaissance rather than a reliably predictive prophet.