Being an immortal being, the Sandman has encountered more than his fair share of famous characters and figures from history. In the Netflix series alone, Dream runs into the likes of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Marlowe before his tale with Hob Gadling even begins. In the grand scheme of the comics, that's only a small sampling.
During the original run and the extended universe, Dream and the rest of the Endless have all rubbed elbows with a cast of famous characters. From writers to explorers to emperors, the immortal beings that run the forces of the universe certainly have more than a few historical connections.
Geoffrey Chaucer
The issue "Men of Good Fortune "is one of the first time travel storylines presented in The Sandman, and both Morpheus and Death encounter one of Europe's most prevalent writers right out of the first issues in The Dolls' House. Before Hob Gadling even enters the scene, the tavern is visited by a young Geoffrey Chaucer.
For those who didn't attend English 101, Chaucer was the author of the Canterbury Tales, one of the earliest forms of literature in the English language. These tales were a collection of poems that focused on a group of pilgrims journeying to Canterbury. Many of the tales were bawdy, full of jokes, and all written in verse. Given Neil Gaiman's literary background, it fits that authors play a part in the world of the Sandman.
Christopher Marlowe
The Renaissance was a period where many famous thinkers existed at the same time, and the time of Elizabethan theater was a fertile spawning ground for a number of great writers and playwrights. One of the newest up-and-comers that Morpheus and Hob Gadling encounter in the comics is Christopher Marlowe.
While a young Williams Shakespeare was still in his first drafts, Marlowe had already brought his variation of the Faustian tale to life on stage. This reference to the author of Dr. Faustus is meant to reflect the relationship between Dream and Hob, using immortality in exchange for the favor of a supernatural entity. Thankfully, the Endless are far more agreeable than the typical demon.
William Shakespeare
One of the most famous dreamers Morpheus encounters in his journeys through the cosmos of existence is William Shakespeare. That's not because he grows to be one of the most iconic and successful writers in history, but because Dream himself commissions him to create two of his most timeless stories, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest.
Given the fact that Morpheus has often been called "The Prince of Stories," seeing him help Shakespeare pen two of his greatest fantasies feels entirely in character. The price the Bard pays for such marvelous stories, however, might be one some second guess.
Marco Polo
Appearing in the storyline "Soft Places," the famous explorer encounters the Dream Lord while lost in the Desert of Lop when he is separated from his family's caravan. Dazed, confused, and consumed by the swirling sands, Marco Polo is taken on a sort of vision quest when he runs into a strange man in a vision.
What transpires is a psychedelic trip to Fiddler's Green with reflections on the explorer's past and even an encounter with Rusticello da Pisa. Eventually, Dream appears to bring Marco Polo back to his caravan before he returns to his throne in the Dreaming.
Caesar Augustus
"August" is a stark and disturbing entry in The Sandman: Fables and Reflections, as it weaves a tragic tale of Caesar Augustus and his plans for Ancient Rome inspired by a set of history-altering prophecies. Disguised as a beggar, the emperor elates his tragic backstory to his dwarf companion.
The plot provides insight into one of Rome's most famous leaders, his traumatic abuse at the hands of his uncle, Julius Caesar, and how his decisions laid out both the rise and fall of the Roman empire. It pulls back the curtain on one of the pillars of the ancient civilization in a story worthy of a Greco-Roman tragedy.
Harun Al-Rashid The Caliph Of Baghdad
In a sort of narrative send up to 1001 Nights, "Ramadan" sees the Caliph of Baghdad make a devastating deal with Dream which comes at the cost of his beloved kingdom. Like so many stories in The Sandman's comics, this one follows the motifs of "be careful what you wish for," and the ruler soon comes to rue his encounter.
The central storyline is that the Caliph, disenchanted by the temporary status of his perfect city, makes a deal with Morpheus to keep Baghdad in a perpetual state of perfection in exchange for the kingdom itself. The Dream Lord grants his request but does so by erasing Baghdad's stellar reputation, leaving it only in legend and literature, making it immortal in the minds of the collected culture.
Joshua A. Norton And Mark Twain
"Three Septembers and a January" is a curious tale to say the very least, as it doesn't just concern two historical figures but four of the Endless as well. The narrative itself focuses on Joshua A. Norton, a man who labored under the delusion of being the first emperor of the United States, but also how the forces of Despair, Delirium, Death, and Dream interact with him.
One of Norton's only friends in the narrative is a young newspaper editor named Sam, who becomes engrossed in the man's story. Upon a decree from Norton, Samuel Clements becomes the "Official Storyteller" for the Emporer of the United States. Therefore, his encounter and with the Endless affects the career of Mark Twain.
Wesley Dodds
Although not a character from human history, Wesley Dodds is a crucial figure in the history of the Sandman himself. Before Neil Gaiman created the Dream Lord, DC Comics' Sandman was a vigilante detective with prophetic dreams, a purple suit, a mask, and a gun that shot sleeping gas.
In Sandman Mystery Theatre, Dodds encounters Dream while he is still imprisoned by Roderick Burgess and his mages. This meeting of the worlds is almost paradoxical as two variations of the same character are only separated by a sheet of glass. Fortunately for Dodds, Dream makes sure this encounter is quickly forgotten.
The Presence/The Creator
Not many comic book characters have the opportunity to rub elbows with God, but The Presence is the supreme divine creator encountered in the DC Universe, and The Sandman series depicts him as well. Logic dictates that if Lucifer exists in this world, God has to as well.
Written in as The Presence or The Creator, the supreme being appears as avatars whenever they encounter any of the main cast, including the Endless. Though his primary appearances are in the Lucifer series, his connection to the Endless ties him in with the realms of dreams, delirium, and desires.