Ho Chi Minh (1880-1969 AD) - Ho Chi Minh was a great patriot and prominent leader who lighted the torch of freedom for his country- Vietnam. He made Vietnam free from the tyrannical rule of colonist and imperialist. He is called as the father of Vietnam. At that time Vietnam was a colony under France. Ho Chi Minh was a teacher but went to France as a cook. In France, he established an organization and wrote about the problems of Vietnam in a paper edited by him. Because of French oppressors, he had to remain in exile for most of the time. He suffered untold torture in French prison. But he floated many organizations to fight for Vietnam’s liberation. At last the French people were forced to leave Vietnam and Vietnam got its independence in 1941. Ho Chi Minh became the first President of the Republic of Vietnam.
Sophia Loren (Born1934) - Sophia Loren was a superstar of Hollywood film industry. She is hailed as an actress of rare talent. She had started her career in sub-roles but later became a symbol of glamour with an appealing wholesomeness. Soon, her talents were recognised and she became world famous as a versatile actress. She was the first foreign actress to win the prestigious Oscar Award of Hollywood in 1961 for her film ‘Two Women’. The prominent films of this great actress are- Edda, Woman of the River, Pride and Passion, Today and Tomorrow, Boy on the Dolphin Yesterday, etc. Even today at her old age, she is considered as the most beautiful, glamourous and talented actress of Hollywood.
Lenin (1870- 1924 AD) : -A famous Communist Leader & Revolutionary Statesman of Russia. He was the leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917, in which he liberated his country from the misrule of Czars. He was the head of Soviet Government during 1917-24.
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727 AD) - Sir Isaac Newton was the most respected and perhaps the greatest scientist ever produced by the world. He is known for his revolutionary scientific discoveries like Laws of motion, theory of Gravity, differential calculus, composition of light etc. Newton’s scientific theories were published in his scientific treatise ‘Philosophia Naturalis Principia’. His greatest discovery is the discovery of the gravitational pull of the Earth.
George Washington (1732-1799 AD)- George Washington is revered by all Americans as the father of the country. He was the hero of the American War of Independence. He was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the combined armies of the 13 colonies that fought against the Britishers to make America free from British rule. After nine years of long war, the American armies under the leadership of Washington achieved a decisive victory. American Colonies attained independence from British rule in 1783 and in 1789, George Washington was elected as the first President of America, by unanimous choice, where he remained upto 1779. His grateful countrymen named their capital ‘Washington’ as a mark of honour to him.
Maria Montessori (1870-1952 AD)- Maria Montessori was an eminent educationist of Italy, who propounded a new and innovative method for teaching children. Her new method was named after her as Montessori Method and is now followed by innumerable schools throughout the world. In Montessori Method children are allowed to develop their Physical and mental faculties through fine arts, play and other curricular activities. In schools following Montessori Method, children of the age group between 3 to 6 are given a wide range of materials and equipments, which enable them to learn by themselves.
Mao Tse-tung (1893-1976 AD)- Mao Tse-tung is the founder of the communist China. He transformed the weak and semi-feudal backward country of China into a modern and one of the most powerful countries in the world. He was the Chairman of the Central Committee of China and was also the head of the state. ‘Red Book’, containing his teachings and famous quotes is called the Bible for the Chinese. Mao’s forces defeated the ruling Chinese forces in a civil war in 1948. He proclaimed the People’s Republic of China in 1949.The communist theory of Mao is called ‘Maoism’.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882 AD)-Charles Darwin, the father of ‘Evolutionism’ was born in England. He propounded the revolutionary ‘Theory of Evolution’ and explained that the different living species attained their present forms after a long and gradual process of evolution. Darwin maintained that man descended from ape regarding the origin of human species. In 1831 he sailed around the world in ship for studying different species in different regions. He compared the flowers, fruits, animals, rocks and fossils of different part of the world and returned in 1836 after five years. In 1859, he published his most famous book ‘Origin of Species’ and after twelve years another book ‘Descent of Man’. In these books he proved that man, like other animals, had evolved over millions of years from the same prehistoric ancestors.
Alexander Graham Bell (1847- 1922 A.D)- Graham Bell was the great scientist who invented the telephone in 1876. He was born in Scotland and completed his schooling there. He moved to London for higher studies and then to Berlin, Germany for his PhD. Then he went to U.S.A. where he was appointed as a professor in a university. Bell was ever engaged in making some machines and in 1876; he invented the telephone, which revolutionized human life.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963 A.D.)-John F. Kennedy was one of the most popular President of U.S.A. He was the youngest America n to be elected to the office of the President of U.S.A .in 1960. His remarkable achievements are handling of the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’ and advocacy of civil rights for Negroes.
Sir Donald Bradman (1908-2001A.D.)- Bradman was one of the greatest cricketers of the world. He was a player and the captain of Australian cricket team who holds the world record in batting. In 52 Test matches this greatest batsman collected 5,996 runs at an average of 99.94 runs per innings with 29 centuries.
Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977A.D)-Charlie Chaplin is the most familiar name in world cinema. He was a great comic actor, director, producer and composer. He was a man of stature with the bowler hat, cane, and moustache and turned out feet, which made the audience laugh. His brilliant movies are ‘City Lights’, ‘Modern Times’, Lime Light’ etc. In 1972 he was awarded a special OSCAR for his great achievements.
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931A.D)- He was a great scientist who invented the electric bulb and many other important devices. He was a US born inventor having more than 1300 US and foreign patents to his credit for his inventions; most of them concerned with electricity. Some of his important inventions are –incandescent lamp, carbon telephone transmitters, microphone, phonograph (Gramophone) etc.
Mohammad Ali (1942A.D)- Mohammad Ali is well known name in the field of Boxing. He won the International championship at the age 18. In 1965 he won the world title. He was world heavy weight champion during 1964-67. Mohammad Ali was born as Cassius Clay in a Negro family. But later he embraced Islam and changed his name to Mohammad Ali.
Graham Bell (1847- 1922 AD):- Alexander Graham Bell was a great inventor. He is world famous as the inventor of ‘Telephone’. He was born in Scotland. He was a, teacher of the deaf and dumb. In 1870 he went to Canada and then shifted to USA. There he opened a school for the deaf and dumb children. In 1873, Graham Bell became a professor of vocal physiology at the University of Boston. In 1876 he invented the telephone. By giving us telephone, Bell has made our world a smaller place.
Rousseau (1712 - 1778 AD):- Jean Jacques Rousseau was a great revolutionary philosopher of France. His writings were one of the principal reasons of French Revolution. Rousseau’s thoughts so influenced the people of France that it paved the way for the revolution. Rousseau was born in Geneva of Switzerland. Later he moved to France. There he started writing articles on social and political subjects in 1742 AD. His dictum that “Man is born free, but every where he is in chains”, was a revolutionary concept. The most known books of Roseau are ‘A Treatise on Social Contract’, ‘A Discourse upon the Origin and Foundation of the Inequalities of Man’, ‘Introduction to Political Economy’ etc. He advocated liberalism and was in favour of Democracy.
Aristotle (384 BC- 322 BC):- Aristotle is one of the greatest philosophers of ancient Greece. He was a profound scholar like his teacher Plato. After completing biological studies, he joined Plato’s Academy at the age of 17 to study Philosophy. By his extraordinary studies and researches he has made great contribution to many disciplines. He is called as the ‘Father of Political Science’. He was the tutor of the world’s greatest hero Alexander- the Great. He had established his own school of philosophy called the ‘Lyceum Academy’. He was the author of 400 works. The well-known works of Aristotle are in politics, metaphysics, physics, ethics, economics, histories of animals etc.
Walt Disney (1901 AD- 1966 AD):- Walt Disney is a very familiar name in all parts of the world as the creator of ‘Disneyland’. He was a great artist who gave wonderful and very amusing comic characters to the world like ‘Mickey Mouse, and ‘Donald Duck’. He was also a popular writer, actor and film producer too. He had won 4 Oscar awards for his contribution to Hollywood cinemas. However, the greatest and the most memorable gift of Walt Disney is the ‘Disneyland’ in the state of California, USA. Again, another great and ever remembering contribution of Disney is that he is the first to make the animated cartoon film. In 1928, he produced a cartoon film ‘Steamboat Willie’ with ‘Mickey Mouse’ in lead role. The film was much appreciated by the people and since that Mickey Mouse became great favourites for children. His cartoon series, ‘Mickey Mouse’ and ‘Donald Duck’ are tremendously popular throughout world including our India too.
Antoine L. Lavoisier- Lavoisier, a great scientist is known as the father of Modern Chemistry. He was the first person who stated that air contains two gases:- oxygen and nitrogen. He demonstrated that matter is indestructible and also proved that chemical reaction could be expressed in terms of a chemical combination. Lavoisier was born on August 26, 1743 in Paris, France. For twenty years he worked as a government scientist. But after the French Revolution the revolutionaries arrested him and guillotined him in 1794 because of his earlier political link.
Florence Nightingale- Florence Nightingale, who is better known throughout the world as ‘Lady with the Lamp’, laid the foundation of modern nursing. Rejecting the comforts and luxuries of homely life, she dedicated herself to the selfless service of the sick and wounded with a missionary zeal. During the Crimean War (1854-1856), she came to British Army hospital at Scutari in Turkey from Italy as a member of the 40 member nursing team. She improved the condition of the hospital by spending her own money. By her dedicated service of the patients in the hospital, she brought a new ray of hope to them. While visiting the patients at night, she used to hold a lamp in her hand and so came to be known as ‘The Lady with a Lamp’. She founded a nursing school at London’s St. Thomas Hospital and encouraged women to join this profession. Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy in 1820 and died in London in 1910 at the age of 90.
Leonardo da vinci (1452-1519 AD) : - A great Italian painter, sculptor and architect. His masterpiece ‘Monalisa’ made him world famous. He also excelled as an inventor, mathematician, engineer and anatomist. He has been described as a universal genius of Renaissance.
Sir Garfield Sobers (1936 AD)- Sir Garfield Sobers holds a position pre-eminence among all the greatest cricket all-rounder. He was the captain of the west Indies Cricket team and is one of the most successful captains in the cricket history. Sobers has scored 8032 runs in 93 test matches with 26 centuries and claimed 235 wickets. His highest test run is 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958.
Winston Churchill (1876-1965 AD) Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was one of the most famous personalities of the 20th century. He was the Prime Minister of Britain during 1940-45 and 1951-52. His fame was mainly because of his heroic and successful leadership of the Allied Countries during the World War II against Hitler of Germany. After six years of fierce fighting, trials and hardships, Churchill led the Allied Countries to the ultimate victory. He was also a great writer. He was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
Karl Marx (1818 AD-1883 AD):- Marx, the father of communism was born in Germany of Jewish parents. For expounding his revolutionary philosophy of communism he was expelled from Germany. He settled in England where he published the ‘Communist Manifesto’. In 1867, was published Marx’s epoch making work ‘Das Capital’ suggesting for the need of a communist revolution in Europe.
Ho Chi Minh (1880-1969 AD)- Ho Chi Minh was a great patriot and prominent leader who lighted the torch of freedom for his country- Vietnam. He made Vietnam free from the tyrannical rule of France. He is called as the father of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was a teacher but went to France as a cook. In France, he established an organization and wrote about the problems of Vietnam in a paper edited by him. Because of French oppressors, he had to remain in exile for most of the time. He suffered untold torture in French prison. But he floated many organizations to fight for Vietnam’s liberation. At last the French people were forced to leave Vietnam and Vietnam got its independence in 1941. Ho Chi Minh became the first President of the Republic of Vietnam.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963 A.D.)-John F. Kennedy was one of the most popular President of U.S.A. He was the youngest American to be elected to the office of the President of U.S.A in 1960. His remarkable achievements are handling of the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’ and advocacy of civil rights for Negroes.
Plato (428 B.C. to 347 B.C.):- Plato who was born in Athens in Greece, is considered as the father of western Political Philosophy. He set out his political ideas in his famous book, ‘The Republic’. His book contains the concepts like justice, the ideal state, theory of communism, Laws, Statesman, etc.
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931A.D):- He was a great scientist who invented the electric bulb and many other important devices. He was a US born inventor having more than 1300 US and foreign patents to his credit for his inventions, most of them concerned with electricity. Some of his important inventions are– incandescent lamp, carbon telephone transmitters, microphone, phonograph (Gramophone) etc.
T. S. Eliot (1888-1965):- A great poet and eminent writer, his book ‘The wasteland’ published in 1922, earned him fame. ‘Murder in a cathedral’ is his world famous play. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1948. Eliot was born in America but lived in England.
George Washington (1732-1799 AD)- George Washington is revered by all Americans as the father of the country. He was the hero of the American War of Indepen- dence. He was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the combined armies of the 13 colonies that fought against the Britishers to make America free from British rule. After nine years of long war, the American armies under the leadership of Washington achieved a decisive victory. American Colonies attained independence from British rule in 1783. In 1789, George Washington was elected as the first President of America, by unanimous choice, where he remained upto 1797. His grateful countrymen named their capital ‘Washington’ as a mark of honour to him.
Rousseau (1712 - 1778 AD):- Jean Jacques Rousseau was a great revolutionary philosopher of France. His writings were one of the principal reasons of French Revolution. Rousseau’s thoughts so influenced the people of France that it paved the way for the revolution. Rousseau was born in Geneva of Switzerland. Later he moved to France. There he started writing articles on social and political subjects in 1742 AD. His dictum that “Man is born free, but every where he is in chains”, was a revolutionary concept. The most known books of Rousseau are ‘A Treatise on Social Contract’, ‘A Discourse upon the Origin and Foundation of the Inequalities of Man’, ‘Introduction to Political Economy’ etc. He advocated liberalism and was in favour of Democracy.
Christopher Columbus- Columbus was a great navigator of Europe. The Europeans were anxious to discover the sea route to Asia, particularly to India. Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. At the age of 14, he became a sailor and dreamt of reaching Asia after crossing the Atlantic Ocean. In 1476-77 , he sailed to England and then to Portugal where he married. He convinced Queen Isabella of Spain who helped him for his voyage. On August 3, 1492, Columbus sailed from Spain in a fleet with 100 sailors in three small ships Santa Maria, Nina and Pinta. After sailing three weeks on October 12, his ship anchored at Bahamas Island in South America. So, for coming to India , he reached America. In 1498, he also set out another expedition. Again, in 1502 Columbus sailed and reached Panama. He discovered many new islands and lands. After returning Spain, Columbus died in 1506 with the belief that he had in fact reached India.