PART 3: Politics & US Government/ History
Key World Leaders (Head of Governments) (as of 1/11)
Afganistan: Hamid Karzai, President Australia: Julia Gillard, Prime Minister
Austria: Werner Faymann, Chancellor Belgium: Yves Leterme, Prime Minister
Brazil: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President Bulgaria: Boyko Borisov, Prime Minister
Canada PM: Stephen Harper, Prime Minister Canada PQ: Jean Charest, Quebec Premier
Canada PO: Dalton McGuinty, Ontario Premier China: Hu Jintao, President; Premier Wen Jiabao
Czech Republic: Petr Necas, Prime Minister Denmark: Lars Rasmussen, Prime Minister
France Pr: Nicolas Sarkozy, President France PM: Francois Fillon, Prime Minister
Germany Ch: Angela Merkel, Chancellor Germany Pr: Christian Wulff, President
Greece: George Papandreou, Prime Minister India: Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
Iran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President Iraq: Nouri al-Maliki, Prime Minister
Ireland: Brian Cowen, Prime Minister Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister
Italy: Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister Japan PM: Naoto Kan, Prime Minister
Japan Emp: Akihito, Emperor Jordan: Abdallah II, King
Korea, North: Kim Jong-Il, Chairman Korea, South: Kim Hwang-sik, Prime Minister
Mexico: Felipe Calderon, President Netherlands: Mark Rutte, Prime Minister
Pakistan: Asif Ali Zardari, President Russia: Vladimir Putin, PM; Dimitry Medvedev, President
Saudi Arabia: King Abdullah Spain: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, PM
Sweden: Fredrik Reinfeldt, Prime Minister Turkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pr Minister
Ukraine: Viktor Yanukovych, President UK - PM: David Cameron, Prime Minister (Toray)
United States Political Leadership
Senate/ House
Mitch McConnell (R) Senate Minority Leader Richard Durbin (D): Senate Majority Whip
Harry Reid (D): Senate Majority Leader Jon Kyl (R): Senate Minority Whip
Nancy Pelosi (D): Speaker of the House Eric Cantor (D): House Majority Leader
Kevin McCarthy (D): House Majority Whip John Boehner (R): House Minority Leader
Eric Cantor (R): House Minority Whip
Presidential Succession: 1) VP; 2) Speaker of the House; 3) President Pro Tem (longest serving Maj party);
4) Sec of State; 5) Sec of Treasury; 6) Sec of Defense
Cabinet (15)/ Key Political Figures
White House Chief of Staff: John Steelman (Truman- ’46-’52); Sherman Adams (Ike- ’53-’58); Donald
JFK, LBJ= None Rumsfeld (Ford-’74-’75); Dick Cheney (Ford-’75-’77); James Baker (Reagan- ’81-’85 & ’92-’93); Donald Regan (’85-’87); John Sununu (’89-’91); Leon Panetta (’94-’97); Erskine Bowles (’97-’98); John Podesta (’98-’01); Andrew Card (’01-’06); Josh Bolton (’06-’09); Rahm Emanuel (’09-’10); Pete Rouse (’10-
Senior Advisor: (Asst to Pres) Karl Rove (’01-’09); David Axelrod (’09-
Sec of State: Henry Kissinger (’73-77); Cyrus Vance (’77-’80); Edmund Muskie (’80-’81); Alexander Haig (’81-’82); George Schultz (’82-’89); James Baker (’89-’92); Lawrence Eagleburger (’92-’93); Warren Christopher (’93-’96); Madeleine Albright (’96-’01); Colin Powell (’01-’05); Condoleeza Rice (’05-’09); Hillary Clinton (’09-
Sec of Defense: James Schlesinger (’73-’75); Donald Rumsfeld (’75-’77); Harold Brown (’77-’81); Caspar Weinberger (’81-’87); Frank Carlucci (’87-’89); Dick Cheney (’89-’93);
Les Aspen (’93); William Perry (’93-’94); William Cohen (’94-’01); Donald
Rumsfeld (’01-’06); Robert Gates (’06-
Attorney General: William Smith (’81-’85); Edwin Meese (’85-’88); Richard Thornburgh (’88-’92);
Janet Reno (’93-’01); John Ashcroft (’01-‘05) Alberto Gonzalez (’05-’07); Michael Mukasey (’07-’09); Eric Holder (’09-
National Security Advisor: Henry Kissinger (’69-’75); Brent Scowcroft (’89-’93); Anthony Lake (’93-’97); Sandy Berger (’97-’01); Condoleezza Rice (’01-’05); Stephen Hadley (’05-’09); Tom Donilon (’09-
Sec of Treasury: Donald Regan (’81-’85); James Baker (’85-’88); Nicholas Brady (’88-’93); Lloyd
Bentsen (’93-’95); Robert Rubin (’95-’99); Lawrence Summers (’99-’01);
Paul O’Neill (’01-’02); John Snow (’03-’06); Henry Paulson (’06-’09); Timothy Geithner (’09-
Sec of Homeland Security: Tom Ridge (’03-’05); Michael Chertoff (’05-’09); Janet Napolitano (’09-
Sec of Commerce: Ronald Brown (’93-’96); Mickey Kantor (’96-’97); William Daley (’97-’00);
Norman Mineta (’00-’01); Don Evans (’01-’05); Carlos Gutierrez (’05-’09); Gary
Locke (’09-
Sec of Labor: Robert Reich (’93-’97); Alexis Herman (’97-’01); Elaine Chao (’01-’09); Hilda Solis
(’09-
Sec of Interior: Bruce Babbitt (’93-’01); Gale Norton (’01-’06); Dirk Kempthorne (’06-‘09); Ken
Salazar (’09-
Sec of Health & Human: Donna Shalala (’93-’01); Tommy Thompson (’01-’05); Michael Leavitt (’05-’09);
Tom Daschle (’09-’09); Kathleen Sebelius (’09-
Sec of Education: Richard Riley (’93-’01); Rod Paige (’01-’05); Margaret Spellings (’05-’09); Arne
Duncan (’09-
U.N. Ambassador: John Dimitri Negroponte (’01-’04); John Danforth (’04-’05); John Bolton (’05-’06);
Zalmay Khalilzad (’07-’09); Susan Rice (’09-
Director of CIA (‘47=Began): George HW Bush (’76-’77); Stansfield Turner (’77-’78); William Casey (’81-’87);
William Webster (’87-’91); Robert Gates (’91-’93); James Woolsey (’93-’95);
John Deutch (’95-’96); George Tenet (’97-’04); Porter Goss (’04-’06); Michael
Hayden (’06-’09); Leon Panetta (‘09-
Director of FBI: Stanley Finch (1st) (’08-’12); J. Edgar Hoover (’24-’72); Clarence Kelley (’73-
’78); William Webster (’78-’87); William Sessions (’87-’93); Louis Freeh (’93-
’01); Robert S. Mueller, III (’01-
Supreme Court
John Roberts: Chief Justice; New York (Bush: 2005); Conservative
Antonin Scalia: New Jersey (Reagan: 1986); Very Conservative
Anthony Kennedy: California (Reagan: 1988); Center Right
Clarence Thomas: Georgia (Bush: 1991); Very Conservative
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: New York (Clinton: 1993); Very Liberal
Stephen Breyer: California (Clinton: 1994); Liberal
Samuel Alito New Jersey (Bush: 2006); Conservative
Sonia Sotomayor: New York (Obama: 2009); Liberal
Elena Kagan: New York (Obama: 2010); Liberal
Chief Justices:
John Jay: 1789-1795 John Rutledge: 1795
Oliver Ellsworth: 1796-1800 John Marshall: 1801-1835
Roger Brooke Taney: 1836-1864 Salmon Portland Chase: 1864-1873
Morrison Waite: 1874-1888 Melville Fuller: 1888-1910
Edward Douglas White: 1910-1921 William Howard Taft: 1921-1930
Charles Hughes: 1930-1941 Harlan Stone: 1941-1946
Fred Vinson: 1946-1953 Earl Warren: 1953-1969
Warren Burger: 1969-1986 William Rehnquist: 1986-2005 (appt by Nixon in ’72)
John Roberts 2005-
Milestone Cases in Supreme Court History
1803 Marbury v. Madison was the first instance in which a law passed by Congress was declared unconstitutional. The decision greatly expanded the power of the Court by establishing its right to overturn acts of Congress, a power not explicitly granted by the Constitution. Initially the case involved Secretary of State James Madison, who refused to seat four judicial appointees although they had been confirmed by the Senate.
1819 McCulloch v. Maryland upheld the right of Congress to create a Bank of the United States, ruling that it was a power implied but not enumerated by the Constitution. The case is significant because it advanced the doctrine of implied powers, or a loose construction of the Constitution. The Court, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, would sanction laws reflecting “the letter and spirit” of the Constitution.
1824 Gibbons v. Ogden defined broadly Congress's right to regulate commerce. Aaron Ogden had filed suit in New York against Thomas Gibbons for operating a rival steamboat service between New York and New Jersey ports. Ogden had exclusive rights to operate steamboats in New York under a state law, while Gibbons held a federal license. Gibbons lost the case and appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed the decision. The Court held that the New York law was unconstitutional, since the power to regulate interstate commerce, which extended to the regulation of navigation, belonged exclusively to Congress. In the 20th century, Chief Justice John Marshall's broad definition of commerce was used to uphold civil rights.
1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford was a highly controversial case that intensified the national debate over slavery. The case involved Dred Scott, a slave, who was taken from a slave state to a free territory. Scott filed a lawsuit claiming that because he had lived on free soil he was entitled to his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney disagreed, ruling that blacks were not citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court. Taney further inflamed antislavery forces by declaring that Congress had no right to ban slavery from U.S. territories.
1896 Plessy v. Ferguson was the infamous case that asserted that “equal but separate accommodations” for blacks on railroad cars did not violate the “equal protection under the laws” clause of the 14th Amendment. By defending the constitutionality of racial segregation, the Court paved the way for the repressive Jim Crow laws of the South. The lone dissenter on the Court, Justice John Marshall Harlan, protested, “The thin disguise of ‘equal’ accommodations…will not mislead anyone.”
1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka invalidated racial segregation in schools and led to the unraveling of de jure segregation in all areas of public life. In the unanimous decision spearheaded by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court invalidated the Plessy ruling, declaring “in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place” and contending that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” Future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall was one of the NAACP lawyers who successfully argued the case.
1963 Gideon v. Wainwright guaranteed a defendant's right to legal counsel. The Supreme Court overturned the Florida felony conviction of Clarence Earl Gideon, who had defended himself after having been denied a request for free counsel. The Court held that the state's failure to provide counsel for a defendant charged with a felony violated the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause. Gideon was given another trial, and with a court-appointed lawyer defending him, he was acquitted.
1964 New York Times v. Sullivan extended the protection offered the press by the First Amendment. L.B. Sullivan, a police commissioner in Montgomery, Ala., had filed a libel suit against the New York Times for publishing inaccurate information about certain actions taken by the Montgomery police department. In overturning a lower court's decision, the Supreme Court held that debate on public issues would be inhibited if public officials could sue for inaccuracies that were made by mistake. The ruling made it more difficult for public officials to bring libel charges against the press, since the official had to prove that a harmful untruth was told maliciously and with reckless disregard for truth.
1966 Miranda v. Arizona was another case that helped define the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. At the center of the case was Ernesto Miranda, who had confessed to a crime during police questioning without knowing he had a right to have an attorney present. Based on his confession, Miranda was convicted. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that criminal suspects must be warned of their rights before they are questioned by police. These rights are: the right to remain silent, to have an attorney present, and, if the suspect cannot afford an attorney, to have one appointed by the state. The police must also warn suspects that any statements they make can be used against them in court. Miranda was retried without the confession and convicted.
1973 Roe v. Wade legalized abortion and is at the center of the current controversy between “pro-life” and “pro-choice” advocates. The Court ruled that a woman has the right to an abortion without interference from the government in the first trimester of pregnancy, contending that it is part of her “right to privacy.” The Court maintained that right to privacy is not absolute, however, and granted states the right to intervene in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
1978 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke imposed limitations on affirmative action to ensure that providing greater opportunities for minorities did not come at the expense of the rights of the majority. In other words, affirmative action was unfair if it lead to reverse discrimination. The case involved the University of Calif., Davis, Medical School and Allan Bakke, a white applicant who was rejected twice even though there were minority applicants admitted with significantly lower scores than his. A closely divided Court ruled that while race was a legitimate factor in school admissions, the use of rigid quotas was not permissible.
2003 Grutter v. Bollinger upheld the University of Michigan Law School's consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions. In her majority opinion, Justice O'Connor said that the law school uses a “highly individualized, holistic review of each applicant's file.” Race, she said, is not used in a “mechanical way.” Therefore, the university's program is consistent with the requirement of “individualized consideration” set in 1978's Bakke case. “In order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity,” O'Connor said. However, the court, in Gratz v. Bollinger, ruled that the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions system, which awards 20 points to black, Hispanic, and American-Indian applicants, is “nonindividualized, mechanical,” and thus unconstitutional.
United States Presidents
President *= Died Vice President *= Died
George Washington: 1789-1797; Def: John Adams x2 John Adams
John Adams: 1797-1801; Def: Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson: 1801-1809; D: Aaron Burr & Adams/ Charles Pickney Aaron Burr/ George Clinton
James Madison: 1809-1817; Def: Charles Pickney / De Witt Clinton George Clinton* / Elbridge Gerry*
James Monroe: 1817-1825; Def: Rufus King / J Quincy Adams Daniel Tompkins
John Quincy Adams: 1825-1829; Def: Andrew Jackson John Calhoun
Andrew Jackson: 1829-1837; Def: J Quincy Adams / Henry Clay John Calhoun / Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren: 1837-1841; Def: William H Harrison Richard Mentor Johnson
William H. Harrison*: 1841-1841; Def: Martin Van Buren John Tyler
John Tyler: 1841-1845 None
James K. Polk: 1845-1849; Def: Henry Clay George Dallas
Zachary Taylor*: 1849-1850; Def: Lewis Cass Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore: 1850-1853 None
Franklin Pierce: 1853-1857; Def: Winfield Scott William King*
James Buchanan: 1857-1861; Def: John Fremont John Breckinridge
Abraham Lincoln*: 1861-1865; Def: John Breckinridge Hannibal Hamlin/ Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson: 1865-1869 None
Ulysses S. Grant: 1869-1877; Def: Horatio Seymour / Horace Greeley Schuyler Colfax/ Henry Wilson
Rutherford B. Hayes: 1877-1881; Def: Samuel Tilden William Wheeler
James A. Garfield*: 1881-1881; Def: Winfield Hancock Chester A Arthur
Chester A. Arthur: 1881-1885 None
Grover Cleveland: 1885-1889; Def: James Blaine Thomas Hendricks*
Benjamin Harrison: 1889-1893; Def: Grover Cleveland Levi Morton
Grover Cleveland: 1893-1897; Def: Benjamin Harrison Adlai Stevenson
William McKinley*: 1897-1901; Def: William Bryan x2 Garret Hobart* / Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt: 1901-1909; Def: Alton Parker (in ‘04) Charles Fairbanks
William H. Taft: 1909-1913; Def: William Bryan James Sherman*
Woodrow Wilson: 1913-1921; D: Theodore Roosevelt / Charles Hughes Thomas Marshall
Warren G. Harding*: 1921-1923; Def: James Cox Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge: 1923-1929; Def: John Davis Charles Dawes
Herbert C. Hoover: 1929-1933; Def: Alfred Smith Charles Curtis
Franklin D Roosevelt*: 1933-1945; Def: Herbert Hoover / Alfred Landon / Wendell Willkie / Thomas Dewey Vice Pres’: John Garner/ Henry Wallace/Truman
Harry S. Truman: 1945-1953; Def: Thomas Dewey Alben Barkley
Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953-1961; Def: Adlai Stevenson x2 Richard Nixon
John F. Kennedy*: 1961-1963; Def: Richard Nixon Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson: 1963-1969; Def: Barry Goldwater Hubert Humphrey
Richard M. Nixon: 1969-1974; D: Hubert Humphrey / George McGovern Spiro Agnew/ Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford: 1974-1977 Nelson Rockefeller
Jimmy Carter: 1977-1981; Def: Gerald Ford Walter Mondale
Ronald Reagan: 1981-1989; Def: Jimmy Carter / Walter Mondale George HW Bush
George H. Bush: 1989-1993; Def: Michael Dukakis Dan Quayle
Bill Clinton: 1993-2001; Def: George H. Bush / Bob Dole Al Gore
George W. Bush: 2001-2009; Def: Albert Gore / John Kerry Dick Cheney
Barack Obama: 2009- Def: John McCain Joseph Biden
US HISTORY
Declaration of Independence: 1776
On April 12, 1776, the legislature of North Carolina authorized its delegates to the Continental Congress to join with others in a declaration of separation from Great Britain; the first colony to instruct its delegates to take the actual initiative was Virginia on May 15. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia offered a resolution to the Congress to the effect “that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. . . .” A committee consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman was organized to “prepare a declaration to the effect of the said first resolution.” The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.....Most famous line = “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”
United States Constitution: 1787
The oldest federal constitution in existence was framed by a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen original states in Philadelphia in May 1787, Rhode Island failing to send a delegate. George Washington presided over the session, which lasted until September 17, 1787. The draft (originally a preamble and seven Articles) was submitted to all thirteen states and was to become effective when ratified by nine states. It went into effect on the first Wednesday in March 1789, having been ratified by New Hampshire, the ninth state to approve, on June 21, 1788. Preamble = “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Bill of Rights – 1st 10 Amendments: 1791
Amendment 1: Freedom of religion, speech, of the press, and right of petition.
Amendment 2: Right of people to bear arms not to be infringed.
Amendment 3: No Quartering of troops.
Amendment 4: Persons and houses to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Amendment 5: Trials for crimes; just compensation for private property taken for public use.
Amendment 6: Civil rights in trials for crimes enumerated.
Amendment 7: Civil rights in civil suits.
Amendment 8: Excessive bail, fines, and punishments prohibited.
Amendment 9: Reserved rights of people.
Amendment 10: Powers not delegated, reserved to states and people respectively.
Amendments of the Constitution:
Amendment 11: 1795 - Judicial power of United States not to extend to suits against a state.
Amendment 12: 1804 - Present mode of electing president and vice president by electors.
Amendment 13: 1865 - Slavery prohibited. Congress given power to enforce this article.
Amendment 14: 1868 - Citizenship defined; privileges of citizens. Apportionment of Representatives.
Disqualification for office; removal of disability. Public debt not to be questioned; payment of debts
and claims incurred in aid of rebellion forbidden. Congress given power to enforce this article.
Amendment 15: 1870 - The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by
the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Amendment 16: 1913 - Taxes on income; Congress given power to lay and collect.
Amendment 17: 1913 - Election of U.S. senators; filling of vacancies; qualifications of electors.
Amendment 18: 1920 - Manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, for beverage purposes,
Prohibited. Repealed by 21st Amendment.
Amendment 19: 1920- The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied because of sex. (female suffrage)
Amendment 20: 1933 - Terms of president, vice president, senators, and representatives. Time of assembling
Congress. Filling vacancy in office of president. Power of Congress in presidential succession.
Amendment 21: 1933 - Repeal of Prohibition Amendment (18th).
Amendment 22: 1951 - Limit to number of terms a president may serve.
Amendment 23: 1961 - Electors for the District of Columbia.
Amendment 24: 1964 - Payment of poll tax/ other taxes not to be prerequisite for voting in federal elections.
Amendment 25: 1967 - Succession of vice president to presidency. Vacancy in office of vice president. Vice
president as acting president.
Amendment 26: 1971 - Voting for 18-year-olds.
Amendment 27: 1992 - Congressional raises.
Monroe Doctrine: 1823. President Monroe to Congress....
“In the discussions to which this interest has given rise, and in the arrangements by which they may terminate, the occasion has been deemed proper for asserting as a principle in which rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power. . . . We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the governments who have declared their independence and maintain it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them or controlling in any other manner their destiny by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States.”
The Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln banning slavery speech. Says in part...
“That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free”
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
The Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most noted battles of the Civil War, was fought on July 1–3, 1863. On Nov. 19, 1863, the field was dedicated as a national cemetery by President Lincoln in a two-minute speech that was to become immortal......Says in part: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Truman Doctrine, 1947:
The policy of President Truman, as advocated in his address to Congress on March 12, 1947, to provide military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey and, by extension, to any country threatened by Communism or any totalitarian ideology.
Marshall Plan, 1948:
Marshall Plan or European Recovery Program instituted at the Paris Economic Conference (July, 1947) to foster economic recovery in certain European countries after World War II. The Marshall Plan took form when U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall urged (June 5, 1947) that European countries decide on their economic needs so that material and financial aid from the United States could be integrated on a broad scale. In Apr., 1948, President Truman signed the act establishing the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) to administer the program. The ECA was created to promote European production, to bolster European currency, and to facilitate international trade. Another object was the containment of growing Soviet influence
Martin Luther King: March on Washington Speech, 1963: In part...
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”
The 1964 Civil Rights Act:
An attempt to deal with the increasing demands of blacks for equal rights came in 1964 when President Lyndon Baines Johnson asked for and received the most comprehensive civil-rights act to date; the act specifically prohibited discrimination in voting, education, and the use of public facilities. For the first time since the Supreme Court ruled on segregation in public schools in 1954, the federal government had a means of enforcing desegregation; Title VI of the act barred the use of federal funds for segregated programs and schools.
Ten Largest American Native Indian Tribes
1) Cherokee: 730,000 2) Navajo: 300,000
3) Latin American Indian: 180,000 4) Choctaw: 158,000
5) Sioux: 153,000 6) Chippewa: 150,000
7) Apache: 96,000 8) Blackfeet: 85,000
9) Iroquois: 80,000 10) Pueblo: 74,000
Part 4: WONDERS OF THE WORLD
Seven Ancient Wonders of the World
The Pyramids of Egypt are three pyramids at Giza, outside modern Cairo. The largest pyramid, built by Khufu (Cheops), a king of the fourth dynasty, had an original estimated height of 482 ft (now approximately 450 ft). The base has sides 755 ft long. It contains 2,300,000 blocks; the average weight of each is 2.5 tons. Estimated date of completion is 2680 B.C. Of all the Ancient Wonders, the pyramids alone survive.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were supposedly built by Nebuchadnezzar around 600 B.C. to please his queen, Amuhia. They are also associated with the mythical Assyrian queen, Semiramis. Archeologists surmise that the gardens were laid out atop a vaulted building, with provisions for raising water. The terraces were said to rise from 75 to 300 ft.
The Statue of Zeus (Jupiter) at Olympia was made of gold and ivory by the Greek sculptor Phidias (5th century B.C.). Reputed to be 40 ft high, the statue has been lost without a trace, except for reproductions on coins.
The Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus was begun about 350 B.C., in honor of a non-Hellenic goddess who later became identified with the Greek goddess of the same name. The temple, with Ionic columns 60 ft high, was destroyed by invading Goths in A.D. 262.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was erected by Queen Artemisia in memory of her husband, King Mausolus of Caria in Asia Minor, who died in 353 B.C. Some remains of the structure are in the British Museum. This shrine is the source of the modern word “mausoleum.”
The Colossus at Rhodes was a bronze statue of Helios (Apollo), about 105 ft high. The work of the sculptor Chares, who reputedly labored for 12 years before completing it in 280 B.C., it was destroyed during an earthquake in 224 B.C.
The Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria was built by Sostratus of Cnidus during the 3rd century B.C. on the island of Pharos off the coast of Egypt. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 13th century.
Other Wonders: Natural / Forgotten / Modern
NATURAL WONDERS [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]
1) Angel Falls: Venezuela
2) The Bay of Fundy: Nova Scotia/ New Brunswick. Located off the northern coast of Maine and extending into Canada between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, this natural phenomenon is home to 50-foot tides. Contains a fully diverse ecosystem and equally varied geological landscape. The waters of the bay are populated with approximately 8 species of whales, an abundance of dolphins, porpoises, fish, seals, seabirds and more. All this is framed by breathtaking rock cliffs, eroded sandstone statues, dramatic mud flats and awesome marsh plateaus.
3) Grand Canyon: Arizona, USA: The Grand Canyon, created by the Colorado River over a period of 6 million years, is 446 km long, ranges in width from 6 to 29 km and attains a depth of more than 1.6 km. During prehistory, the area was inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements within the canyon and its many caves.
4) Great Barrier Reef: Spanning more than 2000 km along the northeastern coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is home to thousands of species of plants and animals. Few can imagine the biological diversity of the reef. One probably has to realize first that the 2000 km long reef runs predominantly in the North-South direction, therefore spanning a wide range of climates. Rain forests and mountains are predominant in the northern islands, while the southern islands are composed mainly of Coral Cay.
5) Iguacu Falls: Brazil/Argentina: In a horseshoe form, 2,700 meters wide between the two countries, the Iguaçú Falls fill the visitors's view with the spray of 72 meter-high falls - the number of them varies between 150 and 300, depending on the flow of the Iguaçú River. The panorama overwhelms the onlooker with a sensation of fright, fascination and respect for the perfection of nature. A visit to the Falls and the contact with wildlife and the spectacle of the waters awake an emotion that many hope to experience once in a lifetime.
6) Krakatoa Island in Indonesia: On 27 August 1883, the Indonesian island of Rakata almost vanished. It was the most violent volcanic eruption recorded in world history that caused the destruction, and left more than 30,000 dead. Krakatau volcano was located on the island of Rakata, 40 km off the west coast of Java. Since early historic ages, violent volcanic activity has been known to exist in the region. The "great eruption" of Krakatau must have taken place around 416 AD, as reported in ancient Javanese scriptures. The eruption formed three Islands (Rakata, Panjang, and Sertung), and caused a 7 km long caldera (cavity) to form underneath Rakata. When Krakatau erupted again in 1883, the island virtually collapsed into its cavity, 300 m below sea level. So violent was the eruption that volcanic ash and debris reached as far west as Madagascar. Tidal waves resulted in the destruction of more than 150 villages, and were felt in France and England. The ocean floor has been since gradually rising, eventually giving birth in 1927 to a new island, north of what remains of Rakata. Today, Anak Krakatau (Son of Krakatau) rises more than 150 m above sea level and is two km in diameter.
7) Mount Everest in Nepal: Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, with the summit 8,848 meters above sea level. The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Nepal and Tibet, China.
8) Mount Fuji in Japan: Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 meters, and has an exceptionally symmetrical cone. A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1707, it is surrounded by five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
9) Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania: Kilimanjaro with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawensi, and Shira, is an inactive strato-volcano in north-eastern Tanzania. It is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, rising 4,600 m from its base, and includes the highest peak in Africa at 5,895 meters.
10) Niagara Falls in Ontario & NY State: Niagara Falls is a set of massive waterfalls located on the Niagara River, separating the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. The falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the last ice age, and water from the then newly-formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
12) Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe: So vast are the Falls and their setting that it is difficult to grasp their true grandeur and for this reason, they are perhaps best seen from the air. The towering column of spray when the river is high, the thunder of the falling water, the terrifying abyss that separates Zimbabwe from Zambia, the forest - lined, placid, tranquil lagoons upstream in which hippo and deadly crocodiles lurk.
FORGOTTEN WONDERS [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]
1) Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt:
2) Angkor Wat in Cambodia (12th Century): Angkor is the most important monument of the south-east Asian Khmer Empire and the world’s largest sacred temple. Built during the reign of King Suryavaman, at the beginning of the 12th century, Angkor is noted for its intricate ornamentation and striking beauty. With its water moats, concentric walls and magnificent temple mountain in the center, Angkor Wat symbolizes the Hindu cosmos, with its oceans at the periphery and the Meru mountain at the center of its universe.
3) The Aztec Temple in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City):
4) The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines:
5) Borobudur Temple in Indonesia:
6) The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy:
7) The Mayan Temples of Tikal in Northern Guatemala:
8) The Statues of Easter Island, Chile (10th-16th Century): Discovered on Easter Sunday, 1722 by Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen, this collection of 25 meter-high stone sculptures still puzzles historians and archaeologists as to its origins. It is believed that a society of Polynesian origin settled here in the 4th century and established a unique tradition of monumental sculpture. Between the 10th and 16th centuries, they erected the enormous stone figures, known as the Moai, which have long fascinated the entire world and endowed this island with a mythical atmosphere.
9) Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France:
10) The Throne Hall of Persepolis in Iran:
11) The Parthenon in Athens, Greece:
12) The Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar:
13) Stonehenge in England (3000-1600 BC): Construction of Stonehenge took place between ca. 3000 and 1600 B.C. With each stone weighing around 50 tons, it is regarded as a truly amazing feat of engineering. Although it is not clear who built the monument, nor for what purpose, it has been speculated that it was either a temple dedicated to the worship of ancient earth deities, an astronomical observatory or a sacred burial site.
14) The Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico:
15) The Acropolis, Greece (450-330 BC): Built atop what is known as the “Sacred Rock” of Athens, the Acropolis was to radiate power and protection for its citizens. The temples of the Acropolis have become the some of most famous architectural landmarks of ancient and modern history. Today, the Parthenon in particular is an international symbol of Greek civilization.
16) Alhambra, Spain (12th Century): Mohammed I, the first king of the Nasriden – a Moorish dynasty in Granada - converted a 9th-century castle into his private royal residence, and it is this which we now know as the Alhambra. The structure, which covers an area of 13 hectares, is renowned for its stunning frescoes and interior detail. The building is one of the finest examples of Moorish architecture in the world and is among Europe’s most-visited tourist attractions.
17) Hagia Sophia, Turkey (532-537 AD): The Hagia Sophia was erected during the reign of Emperor Justinian (532 - 537 A.D.), when the Byzantine Empire was at the height of its power and influence. The massive dome, which is the prominent architectural feature, has since often been used as a model for the design of Islamic mosques. Indeed, after the fall of Byzantium, the Hagia Sophia was converted into an Ottoman mosque. Today, the monument is a museum serving both Christians and Muslims.
18) Kiyomizu Temple, Japan (794 AD): Laid out in 794 A.D., the palaces and temples of Kyoto were the residences of Japan's emperors and shoguns for more than 1,000 years. The Japanese Emperor is enthroned at the Imperial Palace of Gosho. Among other significant works are the Higashi Nonganji and Nishi Hoganji temple complexes, the Kinkakuji Temple with its 'Golden Pavilion' and the Kiyomizu Temple, the temple of “clear waters.” The Kyoto sites have been destroyed and rebuilt many times throughout history and are today among Asia's greatest cultural heritage sites.
19) Kremlin / St. Basil, Russia (1156-1850 AD): Built as a residence for Ivan I, the Kremlin was the official residence of the Czars until the 1917 Russian Revolution. Today, it still houses the President’s office. In front of the Kremlin is Red Square – an impressive and exuberant plaza which, for many people, is associated with the infamous May Day demonstrations. Rising from the square is St Basil's Cathedral, built in the 1550s to commemorate Ivan the Terrible's capture of the Mongol stronghold of Kazan.
20) Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany (1869-1884): Neuschwanstein Castle was built in a time when castles and fortresses were no longer strategically necessary. Instead, it was born of pure fantasy – a beautiful, romantic composition of towers and walls in the perfect setting of mountains and lakes. The combination of various architectural styles and intrinsic craftwork has inspired generations of adults and children alike.
21) Timbuktu, Mali (12th Century): In the 12th century, Timbuktu was at the crossroads of the four most important caravan paths supplying the Arab world, which then spanned from the Middle East all the way to Spain. The accumulation of wealth made it one of the wealthiest places on earth at the time. This allowed one of the first universities in the history of humankind to be established– the celebrated Islamic university called the Koranic Sankore, where 20,000 students studied law, medicine, rhetoric, etc. Today, it remains with us as a powerful myth and, in this way, resembles another Ancient Wonder, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
MODERN WONDERS: The newly Voted 7 Wonders of the World as of 7/7/07!!
1) Petra, Jordan (9 BC – 40AD): On the edge of the Arabian Desert, Petra was the glittering capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40 A.D.). Masters of water technology, the Nabataeans provided their city with great tunnel constructions and water chambers. A theater, modelled on Greek-Roman prototypes, had space for an audience of 4,000. Today, the Palace Tombs of Petra, with the 42-meter-high Hellenistic temple facade on the El-Deir Monastery, are impressive examples of Middle Eastern culture.
2) Taj Mahal, India (1630 AD): This immense mausoleum was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, the fifth Muslim Mogul emperor, to honor the memory of his beloved late wife. Built out of white marble and standing in formally laid-out walled gardens, the Taj Mahal is regarded as the most perfect jewel of Muslim art in India. The emperor was consequently jailed and, it is said, could then only see the Taj Mahal out of his small cell window.
3) Pyramids at Chichen Itza, Mexico (800AD): Chichén Itzá, the most famous Mayan temple city, served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Its various structures - the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners – can still be seen today and are demonstrative of an extraordinary commitment to architectural space and composition. The pyramid itself was the last, and arguably the greatest, of all Mayan temples.
4) Christ Redeemer, Rio, Brazil (1931): This statue of Jesus stands some 38 meters tall, atop the Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and created by French sculptor Paul Landowski, it is one of the world’s best-known monuments. The statue took five years to construct and was inaugurated on October 12, 1931. It has become a symbol of the city and of the warmth of the Brazilian people, who receive visitors with open arms.
5) The Roman Colosseum, Rome, Italy (70-82 AD): This great amphitheater in the centre of Rome was built to give favors to successful legionnaires and to celebrate the glory of the Roman Empire. Its design concept still stands to this very day, and virtually every modern sports stadium some 2,000 years later still bears the irresistible imprint of the Colosseum's original design. Today, through films and history books, we are even more aware of the cruel fights and games that took place in this arena, all for the joy of the spectators.
6) The Great Wall of China, China (1368-1644 AD): The Great Wall of China was built to link existing fortifications into a united defense system and better keep invading Mongol tribes out of China. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built and it is disputed that it is the only one visible from space. Many thousands of people must have given their lives to build this colossal construction.
7) Machu Picchu, Peru (1460-1470 AD): In the 15th century, the Incan Emperor Pachacútec built a city in the clouds on the mountain known as Machu Picchu ("old mountain"). This extraordinary settlement lies halfway up the Andes Plateau, deep in the Amazon jungle and above the Urubamba River. It was probably abandoned by the Incas because of a smallpox outbreak and, after the Spanish defeated the Incan Empire, the city remained 'lost' for over three centuries. It was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.
PART 5: Biographies of Great People
Jane Addams: 1860-1935; Born to wealth, Addams founded Chicago's Hull House, one of the first settlement houses in North America, in 1889. Two thousand immigrants a week came to eat, to attend classes, to see plays or hear concerts. They used the nursery, gym, dispensary and playground. Known as the mother of social work, Addams was also a pacifist and a suffragette; she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Aeschlus: 525-456BC; Playright, known as the founder of Greek tragedy, born in Athens. Served the Athenian army in the Persian Wars, and was wounded at Marathon. Hew won 13 first prizes in tragic competitions, before being defeated by Sophocles in 468. Out of some 60 plays ascribed to him, only seven survive including the trilogy of the Oresteia- three plays on the fate of Orestes, comprising Agamemnon. His pivotal contribution to the structure of Greek tragedy was the introduction of a 2nd actor, where there had previously been only one.
Howard Aiken: 1900-1973; Mathematician and computer engineer, born in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. He studied at Wisconsin and Chicago Universities, then moved to Harvard (1939-61), where he built the Automatic Sequence-Controlled Calculator (ASCC), or Harvard Mark I, the world's first program-controlled calculator (completed in 1943). An early form of digital computer, it was controlled by both mechanical and electrical devices. Mark II was built in 1947. On retiring from Harvard he taught at the University of Miami (1961-73).
Akbar: 1542-1605; Tolerant and wise, Akbar was the greatest of India's Mughal emperors. This Muslim leader realized that India's Hindus were too powerful to subjugate, and during his 50 years of rule he allowed the princes to keep their lands in return for allegiance. He offered their subjects careers, along with religious toleration. At his glittering court in Agra, Akbar savored learned discussions. He fostered architecture that melded Mughal and Hindu traditions and that culminated in the building of the Taj Mahal, which was completed by 1650 and was the vision of his grandson Shah Jahan.
Alexander the Great: 356-323BC; King of Macedonia. Born at Pella in 356 B.C. to the first wife of King Philip II of Macedonia. At age 20, Alexander became the king of Macedon, the leader of the Corinthian League, and the conqueror of Persia. He succeeded in forging the largest Western empire of the ancient world. As a teenager, Alexander was educated by the Athenian philosopher Aristotle. By the year 337 B.C. all of the Greek city-states had been conquered or forced into an alliance by King Philip II. He was planning to lead their joint forces in an invasion of the Persian Empire when he was assassinated in 336 B.C. at the wedding of Alexander's sister to the king of one his vassal states. Alexander succeeded to the throne of Macedonia at the age of 19. The unhappy Greeks immediately revolted but were quickly put down by Alexander who quickly showed his genius as a military leader. Having subdued all of Greece, he picked up his father's plan and headed east to fight the Persians.
Alexander's army crossed the Hellespont--now called the Dardanelles--in the spring of 334 B.C. He stopped at the site of the ancient Greek city of Troy, scene of Homer's Iliad. He met the Persians in battle for the first time on the Granicus River. Alexander encountered Darius at Issos in October 333 B.C. Alexander's army attacked while the Persians were trying to retreat to the sea in order to escape. He cut them off and inflicted a crushing defeat with an enormous number of Persian dead. Darius fled. During the siege, Alexander received an offer of peace from Darius. The terms were seemingly so favorable that Alexander's second-in-command, Parmenio, is said to have said that he would accept them if he were Alexander. "That," replied Alexander, "is what I should do were I Parmenio."
Alexander then turned south and took the fortress of Gaza, with a Persian garrison inside, after a siege of two months. He crossed over into Egypt, where he was welcomed as a liberator from the hated Persians. He founded the port city of Alexandria in place of the old Greek trading port of Naukratis. This was the largest of the 70 cities that Alexander founded during the course of his conquests. Alexander left Egypt with an army of 400,000 foot soldiers and 7,000 cavalry. He crossed the Euphrates and entered Mesopotamia where in 331 B.C. he met the Persian king once more at Gaugamela, east of the Tigris River. In spite of the fact that his army was smaller than that of the Persians, Alexander's superior tactics won the field, and Darius was forced to flee again. At the death of the Persian king, Alexander adopted the title of Lord of Asia--as the ruler of the Persian Empire was called. He seems to have had plans to conquer Arabia as well. All of these projects were abandoned, however, when Alexander became ill at a banquet on June 1, 323 B.C. He died on June 13 at the age of 32, possibly as a result of having been poisoned.
Dante Alighiere: 1265-1321; The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri's epic masterpiece, is an allegorical and literary triumph, a walk through the cultural, political and religious landscape of 13th century Italy. Dante's writing influenced poets from Chaucer to Byron. But his vivid depiction of the nine circles of hell terrified centuries of ordinary readers as well with its descriptions of horrendous punishments after death. "Dante and Shakespeare divide the modern world between them," T.S. Eliot said. "There is no third."
Al-Khwarizmi: 800-850; Arab scholar, who wrote in Baghdad on astronomy, geography, and mathematics. His writings in Latin translation were so influential in mediaeval Europe that the methods of arithmetic based on the Hindu (or so-called Arabic) system of numeration became known in mediaeval Latin, by corruption of his name, as algorismus, from which comes the English algorithm. The word algebra is derived from the word al-jabr in the title of his book on the subject.
Susan B. Anthony: 1820-1906; Her tireless campaign for women's suffrage made her a leader in the first wave of American feminism. The daughter of Quaker abolitionists, Susan B. Anthony was incensed that women were barred from speaking at temperance meetings. She barnstormed for equality and was insulted, vilified, even pelted with rotten eggs for her trouble. After brazenly casting a vote in 1872, she was arrested and fined $100 (which she never paid). The ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920, 14 years after her death, finally confirmed her credo, "Failure is impossible."
St. Thomas Aquinas: 1225-1274; Scholars at Europe's universities in the 13th century were arguing about the Greek texts being translated back into Latin from Arabic. Was Christian dogma correct or was the world explainable by the rationalism of Aristotelian science? Both were right, said Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican priest from Italy. Synthesizing the two traditions, he asserted that faith and reason did not conflict, that man is rational but that his highest happiness can be found in the contemplation of God. Aquinas taught in Naples and Paris, advised popes and wrote the unfinished Summa theologiae, a dominant influence on Roman Catholic theology.
Archimedes: 287-212 BC; Greek mathematician, born in Syracuse. He probably visited Egypt and studied at Alexandria. In popular tradition he is remembered for the construction of siege-engines against the Romans, the Archimedes' screw still used for raising water, and his cry of eureka (‘I have found it’) when he discovered the principle of the upthrust on a floating body. His real importance in mathematics, however, lies in his discovery of formulae for the areas and volumes of spheres, cylinders, parabolas, and other plane and solid figures. He founded the science of hydrostatics, but his astronomical work is lost. He was killed at the siege of Syracuse by a Roman soldier whose challenge he ignored while immersed in a mathematical problem.
Guido of Arezzo: c.991-c.1033; Musical theorist and teacher Guido of Arezzo solved two practical problems. Choirboys were learning new chants by listening, then--not always accurately--imitating. Guido devised a system of musical notation--what has evolved into today's five-line staff--that enabled certainty of pitch. He also used the syllables that began six lines of a popular hymn (Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La), along with the notes on which they were sung, to perfect a method of teaching sight-singing still in use today.
Aristotle: 384-322 BC; Greek philosopher, scientist, and physician, one of the greatest figures in the history of Western thought, born in Stagira, Macedonia. In 367 he went to Athens, where he was associated with Plato's Academy until Plato's death in 347 BC. In 342 BC he was invited by Philip of Macedon to educate his son, Alexander (later, the Great). He returned to Athens (335 BC) and opened a school (the Lyceum); his followers were called Peripatetics, supposedly from his practice of walking up and down restlessly during his lectures. Aristotle's writings represented an enormous, encyclopedic output over virtually every field of knowledge: logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, rhetoric, poetry, biology, zoology, physics, and psychology. The bulk of the work that survives actually consists of unpublished material in the form of lecture notes or students' textbooks; but even this incomplete corpus is extraordinary for its range, originality, systematization, and sophistication, and his work exerted an enormous influence on mediaeval philosophy (especially through St Thomas Aquinas), Islamic philosophy (especially through Averroës), and indeed on the whole Western intellectual and scientific tradition. The works most read today include the Metaphysics (the book written ‘after the Physics’), Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, Poetics, De anima, and the Organon (treatises on logic).
Richard Arkwright: 1732-1792; His 1769 invention of a water-powered spinning frame meant that all-cotton cloth could, for the first time, be made in England. But because his creation had to be housed in a large room with a water supply at the ready, Richard Arkwright inadvertently became the founder of the modern factory system, a system in which specialized workers, using specialized machinery, work together in one place--very quickly.
Louis Armstrong: 1900-1971; Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong's improvisational verve and technical virtuosity defined jazz. An orphan who learned the trumpet on the streets of New Orleans, he popularized the idea of the featured soloist. His trademark "scatting"--singing nonsense syllables to mimic a horn solo--was widely imitated. And his engaging personality and ever-present grin made him a natural as the international ambassador of jazz, America's greatest musical contribution to the world.
Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi: 1207-1273; A 13th century Sufi mystic, Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi composed passionate love poems while turning in a circle to the beat of drums or the music of rushing water. The poems found Allah outside the Koran--in people, nature and the commonalities of everyday life. Recorded in Persian by a disciple, they helped spread Islam to a wider audience. Rumi is still read today, and his followers, whirling dervishes (holy men), still perform their elegant, hypnotic dances to express the idea that God can be experienced in manifold ways.
Asoka: 3rd BC; King of India (c.264-238 BC), the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty. After his invasion of the Kaliṅga country, he renounced armed conquest and became a convert to Buddhism, which subsequently spread throughout India and beyond. He adopted a policy called dharma (principles of right life), advocating toleration, honesty, and kindness, and had his teachings engraved on rocks and pillars at certain sites. With his death the Mauryan empire declined and his work was discontinued.
Attila the Hun: 406-453; Attila was a fifth-century warrior, who helped unite the Hun kingdom, in an area that is now Hungary. He led his Huns on a series of conquests, looting and pillaging wherever he went. Atilla acquired a vast empire, that stretched through parts of what is now Germany, Russia, Poland, and much of south-eastern Europe. Attila invaded the eastern half of the Roman empire in the 440's, forcing Theodosius II to negotiate a peace treaty of an annual fee of 660 pounds of gold in 434. However, an unsuccessful campaign in Persia prompted a second invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire in 441, the success of which emboldened Attila to invade the West. He passed unhindered through Austria and Germany, across the Rhine and into Gaul. Plundering and devastating all in his path, with a ferocity unparalleled in the records of barbarian invasions, Attila compelled those he overcame to augment his mighty army. In 450, he attacked Gaul of the Western Empire, and the west is where he focused much of his attention in his final years. He came to be known as the "Scourge of God", because of the devastation he brought on the Roman Empire, but his empire crumbled soon after his death
St. Augustine: 354-430; The greatest of the Latin Fathers of the Church, born in Tagaste, Numidia (modern Algeria). His father was a pagan, but he was brought up a Christian by his devout mother, Monica. He became deeply involved in Manicheanism, which seemed to offer a solution to the problem of evil, a theme which was to preoccupy him throughout his life. In 383 he moved to teach at Rome, then at Milan, and became influenced by Scepticism and then by Neoplatonism. After the dramatic spiritual crises described in his autobiography, he finally became converted to Christianity and was baptized (together with his son) by St Ambrose in 386. He returned to N Africa and became Bishop of Hippo in 396, where he was a relentless antagonist of the heretical schools of Donatists, Pelagians, and Manicheans. The Confessions (400) is a classic of world literature and a spiritual autobiography, as well as an original work of philosophy. The City of God (412-27) is a work of 22 books presenting human history in terms of the conflict between the spiritual and the temporal. Feast day 28 August.
Charles Babbage: 1791-1871; Mathematician and inventor, born in London, UK. He studied at Cambridge, where he became professor of mathematics (1828-39), and spent most of his life attempting to build two calculating machines. His assistant was Byron's daughter, Augusta Ada, Lady Lovelace. His ‘difference engine’ was intended for the calculation of tables of logarithms and similar functions by repeated addition performed by trains of gear wheels. An unfinished portion of the machine is now in the Science Museum, London. His ‘analytical engine’ was designed to perform many different computations, using punched cards. The idea was too ambitious to be realized by the mechanical devices available at the time, but can now be seen to be the essential germ of the electronic computer of today, and Babbage is thus regarded as the pioneer of modern computers.
Johann Sebastian Bach: 1685-1750; Composer, one of the world's greatest musicians, born in Germany. He was orphaned by the age of 10, and brought up by his elder brother who taught him the organ and clavier. In 1707 he married a cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, and left to become organist at Mühlhausen. In 1708 he transferred to the ducal court at Weimar, and in 1711 became Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen, where he wrote mainly instrumental music, including the ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos (1721) and The Well-tempered Clavier (1722). Widowed in 1720, and left with four children, he married in 1721 Anna Magdalena Wilcke, and had 13 children by her, of whom six survived. In 1723 he was appointed cantor of the Thomasschule in Leipzig, where his works included perhaps c.300 church cantatas, the St Matthew Passion (1727), and the Mass in B Minor. One of his main achievements was his remarkable development of polyphony. Known to his contemporaries mainly as an organist, his genius as a composer was not fully recognized until the following century.
Roger Bannister: 1929- ; The elements were elemental: one mile, four minutes. For the longest time, perhaps forever, man could not run a mile in under four minutes. It was one of those perplexing barriers. Then, on May 6, 1954, an Englishman who was just finishing his medical studies was paced by teammates at a dual meet in Oxford, crossing the line in 3:59.4. Why did the world stand hypnotized for so long before a wall that didn't exist? Hard to say. But when Roger Gilbert Bannister showed us it can be done, dreams were encouraged, and human potential was suddenly seen as limitless. Bannister made us question and then redefine our concepts of human possibility.
Phineas T. Barnum: 1810-1891; The patron saint of promoters, he had a flair for the spectacular that was--and perhaps still is--unmatched. Through shameless hucksterism, his American Museum, a menagerie of freaks and curiosities, attracted millions a year. One outrage: He bought a slave and passed her off as 161 years old. A more legitimate P.T. Barnum enterprise, the circus he dubbed the Greatest Show on Earth, plus a stunt that involved moving an elephant named Jumbo from the London Zoo to the U.S., sealed his reputation as the consummate showman.
Ibn Battuta: 1304-c.1377; In 1325 Ibn Battuta left Morocco for a pilgrimage to Mecca. Three decades and 75,000 miles later, medieval Islam's most extraordinary traveler had covered nearly the entire Muslim world. For the sheer adventure of it, Battuta traipsed from Spain to the east coast of China. His book of travels paints an invaluable picture of the 14th century.
Ludwig van Beethoven: 1770-1827; Arguably Western music's greatest composer, Ludwig van Beethoven was also one of its prime disruptors. Achieving early success in the classical forms perfected by Haydn and Mozart, inspired by the French Revolution's ideals and afflicted with encroaching deafness and romantic sorrows, he expanded the traditional sonata, quartet, concerto and symphony into personal expressions both sublime and profound. To a doubting contemporary, he replied, "They are not for you, but for a later age."
Alexander Graham Bell: 1847-1922; When Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876, he was certain he could transmit sounds between two distant places, but he hadn't yet been able to relay human speech. The legend goes: Three days after the patent was issued, he spilled battery acid on his clothes while working near a transmitter in his lab. His shout for help to his assistant became the first phone transmission of voice. The Scottish-born Bell left the development of his invention to others and refocused his energies on another passion: creating helpful devices for the deaf, including his wife, Mabel.
St. Benedict of Nursia: 480-543; The founder of western monasticism. (monks) Many of those monastic men and women belong to a Christian religious order named in his honor, the Order of Saint Benedict. The fruits of Benedict's experience appear in the Rule of St. Benedict (in Latin), which became the chief rule in Western monasticism under the Carolingians. The Cistercians also follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. The Rule's 73 chapters are full of a spirit of moderation and common sense. They set forth the central ideas of Benedictine monasticism.
Osama Bin Laden: 1957 -; Born in 1957, into a wealthy family, at school and university he joined the Muslim Brotherhood. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, he collected money and supplies for the Afghan resistance, the mujahideen. He organized a guesthouse and camps, naming them al-Qaeda. The Afghan jihad against the Soviet army was backed with American dollars, and supported by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. But after the Soviet withdrawal, Bin Laden became disillusioned by the lack of recognition for his achievements. Half a million US soldiers were invited onto Saudi soil, a historic betrayal in Bin Laden's eyes. Bin Laden began to direct his efforts against the US and its allies in the Middle East. By the mid-1990s, he was calling for a global war against all Americans and Jews and, in 1998, he issued his famous fatwa (religious ruling), amounting to a declaration of war against the US. He has been accused of masterminding the bombing of US embassies, the World Trade Centre destruction, and other attacks. He was thought to be in Afghanistan after 11th September 2001.
Otto von Bismarck: 1815-1898; It took Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck nine years, three wars and his legendary cunning to unify his homeland with other German states into a single powerful nation. As Iron Chancellor, he instituted a social-welfare system while crushing the social-democracy movement. Remembered by some as a moderate, he's seen by others as a ruthless conservative who set the stage for fascism.
Niels Bohr: 1885-1962; The world of Niels Bohr is a strange one: Particles act like waves; looking at something is like giving it a shove; electrons are only probably where they ought to be. Stranger yet, his world is ours. Bohr's elucidation of quantum theory changed how we understand the smallest components of matter and energy, replacing the concrete predictability of classical mechanics with the mathematical complexity and chance of the quantum. Physics and philosophy collided in Bohr, who mentored generations of physicists; the echoes of that collision are with us still.
Simon Bolivar: 1783-1830; El Libertador devoted his life to fighting for the independence of northern South America. In 1819 Bolivar chased the Spanish out of what is now Colombia by staging one of the most daring attacks in military history. He led 2,500 men over terrain so rough the Spanish thought it was impassable, then surprised the imperialists in the Battle of Boyaca. Military leader, statesman, dictator, Simon Bolivar was also the emancipator of Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Napoleon Bonaparte: 1769-1821; The most famous Frenchman in history was born at Ajaccio, Corsica on 15 August, 1769. Between 1790 and 1791 Napoleon spent 18 months in his homeland of Corsica, helping to consolidate French rule. In 1793, he rejoined his regiment who were stationed in Italy. He was here given his first military command at the siege of Toulon. In 3 days Napoleon bombarded the city into submission, gaining control of this important harbor city . He was rewarded by a speedy promotion to brigadier-general and an appointment as commander of planning for the army of Italy. In 1795 he was recalled to Paris to help quell mobs under royalist leadership that were preparing to storm the Tuileries. This act established Napoleon as a hero of the Revolution and gained him entrance into Parisian society. Through such connections he met Josephine de Beauharnias. On March 9, 1796 the two were married.
His bride’s connections were evident two days later when Napoleon became commander of the Army of Italy. In quick succession Napoleon achieved victories over the Italians, Austrians and Sardinians. In February 1797 he marched across the Alps toward Vienna. The Austrians sued for an Armistice before a single shot was fired. His return to France was triumphant. At just 28 years of age Napoleon had established himself as the greatest French general of all time. On June 10, 1798 his forces took the island fortress of Malta. Three weeks later they seized Alexandria. Within days the entire Nile Delta was in French hands. Napoleon’s first defeat, however, came on August 1 when his entire naval fleet was destroyed by the British navy. When he arrived back in Paris, a coup d’etat was executed on 10 November 1799. The directors were forced to resign and the Directory was abolished. A new Government was established consisting of three consuls. Napoleon Bonaparte was meant to be one of the three equal members of this consul but it didn’t take long for him to assert himself as de facto dictator of France.
Napoleon set about reforming local and national government, education and legislature, proving himself a brilliant statesman and administrator. In 1802 Napoleon was voted consul for life. This, however, was not enough for him, and he set about paving the way for himself to be crowned Emperor of the French. In May, 1804 he got his wish.
In 1803 the British declared war on France once more. In August, 1805 Napoleon invaded Germany. French victories followed at Ulm, and Austerlitz. Napoleon was crowned king of Italy. His relations were made kings of Naples and Holland. In 1806 Prussia declared war on France and was soundly defeated. Napoleon now introduced ‘The Continental System’ which forbade all European nations trading with his age old enemy, Britain. In June, 1807 he gained victory over the Russians at the Battle of Friedland. A year later Charles IV ceded his rights in Spain to Napoleon.
The beginning of the end came in December, 1810 when the Russians announced that they would no longer observe the Continental System. Napoleon’s response was to invade Russia. Making it to Moscow the French forces were decimated by a massive fire. The Russian winter then took its toll on the French. More than half a million men had been reduced to less than 10,000. Napoleon retreated to Paris. Europe now believed that France could be beaten. In 1813 the Prussians joined forces with Russia in an alliance against France. When Austria joined the alliance, Napoleon knowing he couldn’t prevail, sued for an armistice. He soon reneged on the conditions, however and an allied invasion of France was put in motion. By January, 1814 France was under attack from all sides. In March, 1814 Paris fell to the allies. On 6 April, 1814 Napoleon Bonaparte announced his abdication. Under the Treaty of Fontainebleau he was exiled to the island of Elba. Just a year later, however, he returned to Paris and, with the masses rallying around him, was reinstated as head of state. The allies, of course, retaliated by marching once more on France. Initially Napoleon’s forces gained the victory but the final defeat came when the British forces, reinforced by the Prussians, met the French at Waterloo. Napoleon had fought his last battle. For a second time the Emperor abdicated. Deciding what to do with him, the allies finally decided on exile to the rocky island of St. Helena in the south Atlantic.
Buddha: 563-483BC; The title of Prince Gautama Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism, born the son of the rajah of the Sakya tribe ruling in Kapilavastu, Nepal. When about 30 years old he left the luxuries of the court, his beautiful wife, and all earthly ambitions for the life of an ascetic; after six years of austerity and mortification he saw in the contemplative life the perfect way to self-enlightenment. According to tradition, he achieved enlightenment when sitting beneath a peepul tree near Buddh Gaya, Bihar. For the next 40 years he taught, gaining many disciples and followers, and died at the age of about 80 in Kusinagara, Oudh. His teaching is summarized in the Four Noble Truths, the last of which affirms the existence of a path leading to deliverance from the universal human experience of suffering. The goal is Nirvana, which means ‘the blowing out’ of the fires of all desires, and the absorption of the self into the infinite.
Augustus Caesar: 63-14AD; Founder of the Roman Empire, the son of Gaius Octavius, senator and praetor, and great nephew (through his mother, Atia) of Julius Caesar. On Caesar's assassination (44 BC), he abandoned student life in Illyricum and returned to Italy where, using Caesar's money and name (he had acquired both under his will), he raised an army, defeated Antony, and extorted a wholly unconstitutional consulship from the Senate (43 BC). When Antony returned in force from Gaul later that year with Lepidus, Octavian made a deal with his former enemies, joining the so-called Second Triumvirate with them, and taking Africa, Sardinia, and Sicily as his province. A later redivision of power gave him the entire western half of the Roman world, and Antony the eastern. While Antony was distracted there by his military schemes against Parthia, and his liaison with Cleopatra, Octavian consistently undermined him at home. Matters came to a head in 31 BC, and the Battle of Actium followed, Octavian emerging victorious as the sole ruler of the Roman world. Though taking the inoffensive title princeps (‘first citizen’), he was in all but name an absolute monarch. His new name, Augustus (‘exalted’), had historical and religious overtones, and was deliberately chosen to enhance his prestige. His long reign (27 BC-AD 14) was a time of peace and reconstruction at home, sound administration and steady conquest abroad. In gratitude the Romans awarded him the title Pater Patriae (‘Father of his Country’) in 2 BC, and on his death made him a god (divus Augustus).
Julius Caesar: 101-44BC; Roman politician of patrician origins but slender means, whose military genius, as displayed in the Gallic Wars (58-50 BC), enabled Rome to extend her empire permanently to the Atlantic seaboard, but whose ruthless ambition led to the breakdown of the Republican system of government at home. Never one to allow himself to be blocked by constitutional niceties, in 60 BC he joined with Pompey and Crassus (the so-called First Triumvirate) to protect his interests in the state, and in 49 BC, to avoid being humbled by his enemies at Rome, he led his army across the R Rubicon into Italy and plunged the state into civil war. Victory over the Pompeian forces at Pharsalus (48 BC), Zela (47 BC), Thapsus (46 BC), and Munda (45 BC) left him in sole control at Rome. He did not disguise his absolute power, taking the title ‘Dictator for Life’ in 44 BC, and allowing himself to be paid extravagant honors which suggested he was aiming at regal and even divine status. This was too much for many Republican-minded Romans, and under the leadership of Brutus and Cassius they conspired to murder him. His brief period of power left him with little time to carry through the many reforms, social, economic, and administrative, that he had intended. It was left to his great-nephew and heir, Octavian (the future Emperor Augustus) to reap where he had sown, and also to learn from his mistakes.
Santiago Ramon y Cajal: 1852-1934; At the end of the 19th century most scientists still thought brain fibers were fused together to form a continuous net. But Spaniard Santiago Ramon y Cajal showed that the brain was made up of distinct nerve cells. His work helped point the way to the understanding that these cells, or neurons, communicated with each other. Ramon y Cajal's work is the basis for modern neuroscience, the study of everything from the biological basis of psychology to how a person learns, remembers, smells, sees, walks and talks--in essence, how the brain makes us what we are.
John Calvin: 1509-1564; French-born theologian John Calvin wrote one of the most significant works of the Reformation and trained ministers who spread Protestant faith through Europe and North America. His teachings shaped political and social customs in 16th century Europe and in Puritan New England--and they continue to influence Reform theology to this day. Calvin became a Reformation leader in Geneva, but theological conflicts and the severe penalties he espoused for gambling, drinking and dancing prompted riots that drove him from the city. He returned in 1541, eventually creating a refuge for persecuted Protestants. There was born the Calvinist movement, which included the concept of elected, representative church government.
Charlemagne: 742-814; King of the Franks (joint ruler with his brother from 768; sole ruler, 771-814), and emperor of the West (800-14), the eldest son of Pepin the Short. He defeated the Saxons (772-804) and the Lombards (773-4), fought the Arabs in Spain, and took control of most of Christian W Europe. In 800 he was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III. In his later years he consolidated his vast empire, building palaces and churches, and promoting Christianity, education and learning, agriculture, the arts, manufacture, and commerce, so much so that the period has become known as the Carolingian Renaissance. His reign was an attempt to consolidate order and Christian culture among the nations of the West, but his empire did not long survive his death, for his sons lacked both his vision and authority.
Cheops: 26th cBC; King of Memphis in Egypt, second ruler of the fourth dynasty. He is famous as the builder of the Great Pyramid. The Ship of Cheops is a funeral ship found dismantled at Giza in 1954 in one of five boat pits around the pyramid.
Jesus Christ: The central figure of the Christian faith, whose nature as "Son of God' and whose redemptive work are traditionally considered fundamental beliefs for adherents of Christianity. "Christ' became attached to the name "Jesus' in Christian circles in view of the conviction that he was the Jewish Messiah ("Christ').
Jesus of Nazareth is described as the son of Mary and Joseph, and is credited with a miraculous conception by the Spirit of God in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. He was apparently born in Bethlehem c. 6-5 BC (before the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC), but began his ministry in Nazareth. After having been baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan, he gathered a group of 12 close followers or apostles, the number perhaps being symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel and indicative of an aim to reform the Jewish religion of his day.
The main records of his ministry are the New Testament Gospels, which show him proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God, and in particular the acceptance of the oppressed and the poor into the kingdom. He was apparently active in the villages and country of Galilee rather than in towns and cities, and was credited in the Gospel records with many miraculous healings, exorcisms, and some "nature' miracles, such as the calming of the storm. These records also depict conflicts with the Pharisees over his exercise of an independent "prophetic' authority, and especially over his pronouncing forgiveness of sins; but his arrest by the Jewish priestly hierarchy appears to have resulted more directly from his action against the Temple in Jerusalem. The duration of his public ministry is uncertain, but it is from John's Gospel that one gets the impression of a 3-year period of teaching. He was executed by crucifixion under the order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator, perhaps because of the unrest Jesus' activities were causing. The date of death is uncertain, but is usually considered to be in 30 or 33. Accounts of his resurrection from the dead are preserved in the Gospels, Pauline writings, and Acts of the Apostles; Acts also refers to his subsequent ascension into heaven.
Winston Churchill: 1874-1965; In 1924, he became chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government, where he vigorously condemned the trade unions during the 1926 general strike. But Baldwin, and later, Chamberlain, disliked his opposition to self-government for India, and insistence on the need for rearmament, and he was excluded. Churchill succeeded Chamberlain as prime minister on May 10, 1940. He urged the British to conduct themselves so that, "if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'" By collaboration with President Roosevelt, he secured military support from the US. After the Soviet Union and the US entered the war in 1941, Churchill established close ties with leaders of what he called the "Grand Alliance." He also helped to shape the map of post-war Europe, his reputation disguising the fact that Britain's military role had become secondary. Refusing social reform, however, Churchill was defeated by the Labour Party in 1945. He was knighted in 1953, and became prime minister again from 1951 to 1955.
Christopher Columbus: 1451-1506; He failed four times to find a route westward from Europe to the Orient, but the Italian explorer stumbled upon two giant continents rich in raw materials and agricultural products that changed the economy of Europe. Christopher Columbus is often criticized--principally for cruelty toward and enslavement of Caribbean natives--but his delivery on a promise to "discover islands and mainland in the Ocean Sea," however inadvertent, has never been surpassed.
Confucius: 551-479BC; Confucius lived during the turbulent times of the Chou dynasty (c.1027 BC-256 BC). Confucius urged a system of morality and statecraft to bring about peace, stability, and just government. Confucius was of the view that both the governed and those who governed were to be principled and virtuous; and that the first order of business for government was to instill in the population, as a whole, such virtues as to make good government easy. This was a system where one treated both inferiors and superiors with propriety. Confucianism laid down practical social concepts. Confucianism is not forced; it is not dogmatic: it is less a religion then it is an ethic by which people live. Confucius preserved elements of China's ancient religion of ancestor-worship, collating and refining the words of earlier, forgotten thinkers. His teachings have survived for a staggering twenty-five centuries and have shaped over a quarter of the world's population - his image appears not only in temples across China, but also above the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court.
William the Conqueror: 1027-1087; England as we know it began when William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the Channel and went on to win the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Eager to increase his power as king, he dispossessed Anglo-Saxon nobles and divided their lands among his followers. The Norman influence was felt in every pursuit from language to architecture to warfare. William spent his 21-year reign successfully fending off enemies, and no one has invaded England since.
Constantine the Great: 274-337; Roman emperor, born in Naissus, Moesia, the eldest son of Constantius Chlorus. Though proclaimed emperor by the army at York on his father's death in 306, it was not until his defeat of Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge in Rome (312) that he became emperor of the West; and only with his victory over Licinius, the emperor of the East, that he became sole emperor (324). Believing that his victory in 312 was the work of the Christian God, he became the first emperor to promote Christianity, from which came the byname ‘Great’. His Edict of Milan (313), issued jointly with Licinius, brought toleration to Christians throughout the empire, and his new capital at Constantinople, founded on the strategically important site of Byzantium (324), was from the outset a Christian city.
Nicolaus Copernicus: 1473-1543; The Earth was the fixed center of the universe until 16th century Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus ventured the idea that the sun is the center of the solar system, with the earth and the planets revolving around it. Copernicus, a systematic student of mathematics and astronomy, began to amass evidence disputing Aristotle and Ptolemy's geocentric universe. But he was also a cautious man--one might say a wise man--at a time when heretics were put to death. Copernicus didn't publish On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, which revolutionized our concept of the world, until 1543, when he was on his deathbed.
Hernando Cortes: 1485-1547; Eager for fame and riches, Hernan Cortes set out in 1519 for Mexico, where gold was said to be abundant. There was no turning back for the few hundred men who landed with him at Vera Cruz: Cortes ordered them to burn the ships. Exploiting local resentment against the Aztecs, who used prisoners of war for human sacrifice, Cortes negotiated alliances as he headed inland toward Tenochtitlan, seat of the Aztec emperor Montezuma. The conquistadors gained the capital, leveled buildings and seized vast amounts of gold before being driven out. Returning in 1521, this time with a new force and a new strategy, Cortes laid siege to Tenochtitlan, conquered the city and finished destroying the Aztecs' most splendid jewel. He thus planted seeds of domination that would continue to grow for the next three centuries.
Jacques Cousteau: 1910-1997; Whenever Jacques-Yves Cousteau donned his red knit cap and sailed off on the Calypso, he brought along millions of television viewers drawn by his motto, "We must go and see for ourselves." An inventor of scuba-diving equipment, the French author and adventurer popularized exploration of the two thirds of the earth's surface covered by water. Through him we got up close and personal with long-lost shipwrecks, giant octopuses, killer sharks. In 1957 Cousteau won the first of his three Academy Awards, for The Silent World. Not a scientist, but nonetheless an early critic of water pollution, he also founded the Cousteau Society to promote marine conservation.
Oliver Cromwell: 1599-1658; English soldier and statesman, Educated at Huntingdon and Cambridge, he studied law in London. A convinced Puritan, he sat in both the Short and the Long Parliaments (1640), and when war broke out (1642) fought for the parliament at Edgehill. He formed his unconquerable Ironsides, combining rigid discipline with strict morality, and it was his cavalry that secured the victory at Marston Moor (1644), while under Fairfax he led the New Model Army to decisive success at Naseby (1645). He ruthlessly quelled insurrection in Wales in support of Charles I, and defeated the invading army of Hamilton. He then brought the king to trial, and was one of the signatories of his death warrant (1649). Having established the Commonwealth, Cromwell suppressed the Levellers, Ireland (1649-50), and routed the Scots (under Charles II) at Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651). In Ireland, he was responsible for widespread and harsh repression, culminating in massacres following the siege of the Drogheda and Wexford garrisons (1649). He then initiated a policy of systematic dispossession of the Irish, transferring their lands to English landlords. He dissolved the Rump of the Long Parliament (1653), and after the failure of his Barebone's Parliament, established a Protectorate (1653). Although in effect a dictator, he refused the offer of the crown in 1657. At home he reorganized the national Protestant Church, and gave Scotland and Ireland parliamentary representation at Westminister. He was succeeded by his son Richard Cromwell (1626-1712), who was forced into French exile in 1659.
Marie Curie: 1867-1934; The first woman to win a Nobel Prize, Marie Curie experimented with radioactivity (she coined the word) and opened a new territory in physics: the interior of the atom. Curie shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics with her husband, Pierre and another scientist for their work with radioactivity, and won the 1911 award in chemistry for her isolation of radium. The Polish scientist, who suffered exhaustion, burns and cataracts from radiation exposure, collected gas from radium for cancer treatments and established a Radium Institute in France, which became a center for nuclear research.
Vasco da Gama: 1460-1524; His mission for the king of Portugal was to break up the Muslim, Venetian and Genoese monopolies that controlled the lucrative trade route between Europe and Asia. In time he would achieve this goal, but it was on his first voyage, in 1497, that Vasco da Gama rounded Africa's Cape of Good Hope--the first European to do so--and sailed to India, opening an all-water route from Europe to Asia.
Leonardo da Vinci: 1452-1519; Renaissance man--one who knows much and can do more, whose interests are broad and deep, whose zest for inquiry is indefatigable--was born in Vinci, Italy, in 1452 and named Leonardo. As an apprentice he quickly showed painting and sculptural talents. Soon after came projects in engineering, anatomy, architecture, scientific illustration, mapmaking, mathematics, optics. While his finished works--notably Mona Lisa and The Last Supper--are few, his copious and disorderly notebooks continue to enthrall us. Regarded as the greatest of great amateurs, this enduring icon of the Renaissance set a mark unequaled by any who came after.
Louis Daguerre: 1789-1851; In 1826, the Frenchman Joseph-Nicephore Niepce took a picture (a heliograph, he called it) of a barn. The image, the result of an eight-hour exposure, was the world's first photograph. In 1839, his associate Louis Daguerre devised a way to permanently reproduce an image, and his picture, a daguerreotype, needed just 20 minutes' exposure. (This would soon shorten to less than a minute.) A practical process of photography was born. Portrait studios and, eventually, photo snapping by the masses would follow.
John Dalton: 1766-1844; Chemist. Born in England. In 1787 he commenced a meteorological journal that he continued all his life, recording over 200,000 observations about the atmosphere. In 1793 he was appointed professor of mathematics and science in New College, Manchester. One of the leading early scientists, his contributions to the field are numerous. Because he and his brother both were afflicted with color blindness, he was the first to describe the condition--which came to be known as Daltonism--in 1794. His chief physical researches were focused on mixed gases, the force of steam, the elasticity of vapors, and the expansion of gases by heat. Named for him, Dalton's Law was established following his study of partial pressures. In chemistry he worked on the absorption of gases, and his atomic theory interpreted the laws of chemical combination and the conservation of mass, establishing a new basis for all quantitative chemistry.
Charles Darwin: 1809-1882; A child of wealth and an undistinguished student, Charles Darwin leapt at the chance to serve as an unpaid naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. In the course of his five-year adventure, he realized his genius: Though he returned a semi-invalid, he proceeded to father 10 children--and to work out the implications of what he had seen in the Galapagos Islands and atolls of the Pacific. His theories of evolution and natural selection, published in 1859, still excite us today.
Simone de Beauvoir: 1908-1986; She developed existentialist philosophy in novels and nonfiction, protested for countless causes and wrote the most influential feminist book of the 20th century. In The Second Sex (1949) French writer Simone de Beauvoir argued that women have been forced into an inferior position, not by biology or psychology but by male-dominated society. Although her own 50-year relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre often put her in an inferior position, she inspired women around the globe.
Catherine de Medicis: 1519-1589; The Italian-born queen of France and mother of three French kings, Catherine de Medicis engaged in such ruthless political maneuvering that she was called Madame la serpente. She also had a touch of elegance, introducing the fork to France and, in 1581, commissioning the first court ballet. The Paris performance of Circe included specially written music, elaborate costumes and scenery, choreography and a single dramatic theme. The five-hour extravaganza, costing more than three million francs, marked the birth of a new art form.
Rene Descartes: 1596-1650; A mathematician, scientist and philosopher, Rene Descartes introduced groundbreaking concepts in each of these disciplines. Called the inventor of analytic geometry and a founder of modern philosophy, the Frenchman also made ad-vances in the fields of optics and physiology. He introduced what came to be called the Cartesian method: beginning inquiry with universal doubt, as opposed to medieval philosophy, in which faith played a prominent role. He also identified a split between mind and body, a dualism that remains an issue in philosophy today. But he is best remembered for a simple phrase: "I think, therefore I am."
Walt Disney: 1901-1966; Entertainment was more than child's play to Walt Disney. A gifted animator and motion picture producer, he created a stable of unforgettable cartoon characters, starting with Mickey Mouse, that provided comic relief to men, women and children alike during the Depression, and later charmed audiences all over the world. A multimedia visionary, Disney produced the first feature-length animated film, Snow White, opened a theme park, adapted popular children's books into movies and produced a weekly TV series in color, all with the Disney moniker. Today his name is synonymous with family fun.
Frederick Douglass: 1818-1895; The fate of African people in America rested not on his shoulders but on his mind. The son of a slave woman and an unknown father, Frederick Douglass escaped the master's whip in 1838 when, disguised as a sailor, he fled north. A self-made intellectual, he decried the ignorance and bigotry of a slave society. Criss-crossing the Union, he testified about the bonds that held his people's bodies and souls. He was attacked after some speeches, but won adherents as well. His first autobiography was an overnight success; his North Star newspaper was, like Douglass himself, a never-to-be-ignored beacon of morality.
Thomas Edison: 1847-1931; Because of him, the millennium will end in a wash of brilliant light rather than in torchlit darkness as it began. In 1879, Thomas Edison gave humans the power to create light without fire, by inventing a long-lasting, affordable incandescent lamp. Among life's many conveniences we can take for granted, thanks in part to him: copiers, radio, movies, TV, phones (he improved Bell's). On the night after his funeral, Americans dimmed their lights for the man who lit up the world.
Albert Einstein: 1879-1955; Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Württemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. In 1914 he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute and Professor in the University of Berlin. At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light.
In his early days in Berlin, Einstein postulated that the correct interpretation of the special theory of relativity must also furnish a theory of gravitation and in 1916 he published his paper on the general theory of relativity. During this time he also contributed to the problems of the theory of radiation & statistical mechanics. In the 1920s, Einstein embarked on the construction of unified field theories, although he continued to work on the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory. He contributed to statistical mechanics by his development of the quantum theory of a monatomic gas and he has also accomplished valuable work in connection with atomic transition probabilities and relativistic cosmology. Einstein's researches are, of course, well chronicled and his more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity, General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938).
Dwight Eisenhower: 1890-1969; US statesman and 34th president (1953-61), born in Denison, Texas, USA. He trained at West Point (1915) and undertook further military studies. A fast-rising staff officer in Washington, DC, he was appointed an assistant to General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines (1935-9). As World War 2 progressed, he continued to rise in rank and responsibilities, and was assigned to command the Allied forces during their invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy (1942-3). His talent for both strategic planning and staff co-ordination led him (Dec 1943) to be named supreme commander of the Allied invasion of Normandy, and he directed the campaign from D-Day (6 Jun 1944) to the surrender of Germany (May 1945). After commanding the US occupation forces in Germany, he returned to the USA to serve as army chief-of-staff (1946-8) before retiring from active duty. He served as president of Columbia University (1948-50) and head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1951-2) before the Republicans drafted him as their presidential candidate in 1952. Under the motto ‘I like Ike’ he won by a landslide over Adlai Stevenson, and did the same in 1956. His record as president was mixed, but in the following years his low-profile approach came to seem more attractive. He established a truce in the floundering Korean War in 1953, but still maintained American presence as the main bar to Communist expansionism.
Queen Elizabeth Tudor I: 1533-1603; Daughter of Henry VIII, Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558. A supremely skilled diplomat, the Virgin Queen--she never married--fended off suitors as cleverly as she manipulated foreign negotiators and domestic factions. She was pragmatic: Although she disliked waging war, she built up England's navy and in 1588 defeated Spain's Armada, not only staving off invasion but laying the basis for empire. She was visionary: She supported Shakespeare, the poet Edmund Spenser and Walter Raleigh, who dispatched settlers to Virginia, a colony named in her honor. The Elizabethan era: a 45-year span of stability, growth and achievement.
-http://www.elizabethi.org/uk/biography.html
Euclid: 4th-3rd BC; Greek mathematician who taught in Alexandria c.300 BC, and who was probably the founder of its mathematical school. His chief extant work is the 13-volume Elements, which became the most widely known mathematical book of Classical antiquity, and is still much used in geometry. The approach which obeys his axioms became known as Euclidean geometry.
Leonhard Euler: 1707-1783; Mathematician, born in Basel, Switzerland. In 1741 he moved to Berlin as director of mathematics and physics in the Berlin Academy, but returned to St Petersburg in 1766, soon afterwards losing the sight of his other eye. He was a giant figure in 18th-c mathematics, publishing over 800 different books and papers, on every aspect of pure and applied mathematics, physics and astronomy. His Introductio in analysin infinitorum (1748) and later treatises on differential and integral calculus and algebra remained standard textbooks for a century and his notations, such as e and π have been used ever since. He had a prodigious memory, which enabled him to continue mathematical work and to compute complex calculations in his head when he was totally blind. He is without equal in the use of algorithms to solve problems. Several important notions in mathematics are named after him.
Michael Faraday: 1791-1867; Although Michael Faraday specialized in chemistry, he laid the groundwork for the electrical age. His discoveries and inventions dealing with magnetic fields and electric currents showed there was promise in power; his original model of a generator and his design of an electric motor are prototypes of those that light the planet and drive everything from subways to vacuum cleaners. Faraday was a humble man who declined many honors in life, including a knighthood.
Enrico Fermi: 1901-1954; Physicist, born on September 29, 1901 in Rome. In 1926, while a lecturer at the University of Florence, he developed a new form of statistical mechanics to explain the theoretical behavior of atomic particles. Fermi also developed the theory of beta decay, which introduced the last of the four basic forces known to nature, the nuclear “weak force.”. At the University of Rome, he and his colleagues unwittingly split the nuclei of uranium atoms by bombarding them with neutrons, thus producing the first artificial radioactive substances. The same experiment yielded Fermi’s most notable discovery: that slowing neutrons by passing them through a light-element “moderator” increased their effectiveness. This “slowing” process later allowed for the release of nuclear energy in a reactor. In 1939, he and Leo Szilard designed the first nuclear reactor, which Fermi euphemistically called a “nuclear pile.” They moved this work to the University of Chicago in 1942, joining the Manhattan Project, the American-led effort to build the first atomic bomb, paving the way for the 1945 invention of the plutonium-based atomic bomb. Fermi moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1944 and attended the detonation of the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Test Site in the New Mexican desert. He estimated the force of the explosion by simply dropping scraps of paper in the wind and comparing their displacement before and during the blast. Despite his immeasurable contribution to the atomic bomb, Fermi opposed the development of the more powerful hydrogen bomb, calling it a “weapon which in its practical effect is almost one of genocide.”
Alexander Fleming: 1881-1955; Scientist, discoverer of penicillin. Born August 6, 1881, at Lochfield, Scotland. "Had my laboratory been as up to date and as sterile as those that I have visited [in the United States], it is possible that I would have never run across penicillin." Thus did Alexander Fleming modestly downplay his own role in the discovery of a substance that even the most cautious scientists of his day enthusiastically referred to as a "wonder drug" for its ability to cure a wide range of often-fatal bacterial illnesses. Although more than 10 years passed between the time he first identified penicillin and another team of researchers successfully purified, tested, and produced it in mass quantities, Fleming conducted the initial experiments that served as the basis for all of their work.
Henry Ford: 1863-1947; When Henry Ford set up shop in Detroit in 1903, all he wanted to do was make and sell cars. For 19 years he sold only one kind, the Model T, but he sold 15.5 million of them, half the auto output in the world. His revolutionary assembly line enabled him to sell his cars at a price the average American family could afford, and to double his workers' wages while cutting hours. What had been a toy of the rich fast became a necessity of life, spawning gas stations, superhighways and traffic jams around the world.
Benjamin Franklin: 1706-1790; US statesman, printer, writer, and scientist, born in Boston, Massachusetts. The 15th child in his family, he went to work at age 10 in his father's chandlery, then in a brother's printing house. In 1732 he began compiling and publishing the annual Poor Richard's Almanac. With its pithy sayings espousing industry, frugality, and other homely virtues, it attracted a large readership and made Franklin's name a household word. Active in the community, he founded a discussion group that evolved into the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a city deputy postmaster (1737-53), and then, as joint deputy postmaster for the colonies (1753-74), he improved postal efficiency and made the postal service solvent. By 1748 his business had expanded and flourished and he retired, turning it over to his foreman in return for a regular stipend, thus gaining more time for scientific pursuits. In the early 1740s he had developed the fuel-efficient Franklin open stove. Later he conducted a series of experiments, described in his Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1751-3), which brought him international recognition as a scientist. In 1752 he conducted his famous kite experiment, demonstrating that lightning is an electrical discharge, and he announced his invention of the lightning rod. Later well-known inventions include the bifocal lens (1760). In 1754 he represented Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress, called in response to the French and Indian Wars. He then pursued diplomatic activities in England (1757-62, 1764-75), obtaining permission for Pennsylvania to tax the estates of its proprietors, securing repeal of the Stamp Act, and representing the interests of several colonies. He associated with eminent Britons, and wrote political satires and pamphlets on public affairs. In 1776 he went to France to help negotiate treaties of commerce and alliance, signed in 1778. Lionized there, he remained as plenipotentiary, won financial aid for the American Revolution, and helped negotiate a peace treaty with Great Britain, signed in Paris (1783). Returning to the USA (1785), he was a conciliating presence at the later Constitutional Convention (1787). In his last years he corresponded widely, received many visitors, and invented a device for lifting books from high shelves. His posthumously published Autobiography, written for his son William Franklin, became a classic.
Sigmund Freud: 1856-1939; Hearing about a colleague's successful use of hypnosis to cure hysterics, Sigmund Freud developed free association, in which his patients simply said whatever came into their minds. He used this technique, along with dream analysis and other methods, to help patients express their hidden wishes and repressed experiences. Freud's emphasis on the power of the unconscious to influence behavior broadened our view of human nature and sexuality, and gave rise to the age of psychotherapy.
Galileo Galilei: 1564-1642; By challenging views of the natural world that had prevailed for 1,500 years, Italian astronomer, physicist and mathematician Galileo Galilei changed the way we think. By inventing a mathematical approach to everyday experience, he discovered the laws of inertia, falling bodies and the pendulum. With a telescope he built, he also made astronomical discoveries that convinced him of the heliocentric view of the universe, which Copernicus had formulated earlier but had been hesitant to publish. Galileo took the chance but was forced to recant his findings before a Catholic Church tribunal in 1633. Nonetheless, his beliefs and discoveries lived on, opening the door for modern physics and a new approach to scientific thought.
Mohandas Gandhi: 1869-1948; "The candle of non-violence should be able to burn even when the cyclone of violence surrounds it." Mohandas Gandhi was explaining his philosophy, a philosophy that drove India to independence in 1947 after nearly two centuries of British domination. Gandhi's powerful strategy, called satyagraha, involved non-violent non-cooperation, boycotts of all things British, civil disobedience, marches and fasts. It has been adopted by protest movements throughout the world.
Carl Friedrich Gauss: 1777-1855; Mathematician, born in Germany. A prodigy in mental calculation, he conceived most of his mathematical theories by the age of 17, and was sent to study at Brunswick and Göttingen. He wrote the first modern book on number theory, in which he proved the law of quadratic reciprocity, and discovered the intrinsic differential geometry of surfaces. He also discovered, but did not publish, a theory of elliptic and complex functions, and pioneered the application of mathematics to such areas as gravitation, magnetism, and electricity. In 1807 he became professor of mathematics and director of the observatory at Göttingen, and in 1821 was appointed to conduct the trigonometrical survey of Hanover, for which he invented a heliograph.
Mikhail Gorbachev: 1931 -: Mikhail Gorbachev became a member of the Communist Party in 1952. In 1961, he became a delegate to the 22nd Party Congress and accepted a position as Party organizer of one of the 16 territorial-production agricultural units in Stavropol krai. In 1977, Gorbachev received the honor of being appointed to the editorial commission responsible for the final draft of the new Soviet Constitution. By January of 1979, as Secretary of Central Committee in charge of Agriculture following Kulakov's death, Gorbachev was 28th in the Party Hierarchy.
Andropov died in February 1984. Gorbachev moved up to second in command behind Chernenko. This post did not last long due to Chernenko's death in 1985. In March, Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee and takes control of the Union. The most noteworthy of Gorbachev's actions as head of the USSR were his broad agricultural reforms and, of course, Perestroika, a broad "restructuring" of the Soviet socialist system. Gorbachev's new policy of glasnost, meaning 'openness' and his willingness to reduce nuclear arms in the Soviet Union impressed Western officials and Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1990.
Pope Gregory the Great: 540-604; Pope who basically formed the political role of the papacy in Europe for a 1000+ years. Previously a government official who had sold all of his property in order to become a Benedictine monk, he was elected pope after the death of Pelagius II. One of his most important achievements was to break the power of the Lombards and thereby putting much of Italy under direct papal rule. The lands now controlled by the church became known as the Patrimony of Saint Peter. With these lands providing revenue and power, the office of the pope became the most powerful position in Italy - and one of the most powerful in Europe.
Religiously, Gregory increased his control over other bishops - although he did not specifically promote papal primacy, he did promote administrative rules which had the same effect. A particular aspect of this was his expansion of the power of religious orders. The later popularity of religious relics owes a lot to Gregory's efforts because he really believed that they were effective for healing of conferring spiritual powers. Other accomplishments of his included important aspects of the liturgy - for example, he is thought responsible for arranging the "Gregorian" chants which became central pieces of music in religious services.
Johann Gutenberg: 1400-1468; Printer; regarded as the inventor of movable-type mechanical printing in Europe. Born in Mainz, Germany. It was in Strasbourg that Gutenberg most likely began the work that would eventually make him famous, as the father of the printing press and one of the most influential people in the history of Western society. He realized that the traditional methods of handwriting manuscripts or even the early printing techniques of xylography (printing from woodcarvings) could not satisfy the great demand for printed material. For his method of mechanical printing, Gutenberg eventually combined features of such existing technologies as wine presses and textile and papermaking devices with a system of movable metal type, which consisted of over 300 characters. Each character was carved in soft metal, molded, and cast in a molten alloy of lead, antimony, and tin. This method of printing from movable type was used, without significant change, until the twentieth century.
Hannibal: 247-182BC; Carthaginian general and statesman, the son of Hamilcar Barca. As a child, his father made him swear eternal enmity to Rome. He served in Spain under Hamilcar and Hasdrubal (his brother-in-law), and as general brought most of S Spain under his authority (221-219 BC). In the Second Punic War (218-202 BC), he completely wrong-footed the Romans by his bold and unexpected invasion of Italy from the N (with elephants), and thus inflicted a series of heavy defeats on them - at the Ticinus, the R Trebia (218 BC), L Trasimene (217 BC), and Cannae (216 BC). Failure to win over Rome's allies in Italy, plus lack of support from Carthage, severely hampered him, and Rome was still undefeated when he was recalled to Africa in 203 BC to face the invading army of Scipio. Decisively defeated at Zama (202 BC), he turned in the post-war years to political reform; but this raised such opposition that he voluntarily exiled himself, first to Syria, then Crete and finally Bithynia, where he committed suicide to avoid Roman capture.
John Harrison: 1693-1776; Scientists scoffed when clockmaker John Harrison presented his marine chronometer, a device that allowed seamen to calculate their longitude. But in the 1760s the chronometer's reliability was established, and in 1775 Capt. James Cook used one to chart the South Sea Islands, a feat achieved with the aid, he wrote, of "our never failing guide, the Watch."
William Harvey: 1578-1657; Physician who discovered the circulation of the blood, born in Folkestone, Kent, SE England, UK. He studied at Cambridge and Padua, and settled in London as a physician, holding appointments at St Bartholomew's Hospital (1609-43) and from 1615 at the College of Physicians. He was also appointed physician to James I and Charles I. His celebrated treatise, De motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus (On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals), in which the circulation of the blood was first described, was published in 1628.
Werner Heisenberg: 1901-1976; Theoretical physicist, born in Würzburg, Germany. He studied at Munich and Göttingen. After a brief period working with Max Born (1923) and Niels Bohr (1924-7), he became professor of physics at Leipzig (1927-41), director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin (1941-5), and director of the Max Planck Institute at Göttingen (and from 1958 at Munich). He developed a method of expressing quantum mechanics in matrices (1925), and formulated his revolutionary principle of indeterminacy (the uncertainty principle) in 1927. He was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Theodor Herzl: 1860-1904; Although he did not invent Zionism, Theodor Herzl is considered the father of the movement that eventually led to the founding of a Jewish state. No stranger to anti-Semitism in his native Austria-Hungary, he was shocked to find it flourishing in Paris when he moved there as a journalist in 1891. Herzl's belief that Jews must organize and emigrate to their homeland displeased assimilationists. But it resonated with nationalistic Jews (in turn heightening nationalist aspirations among Arabs). Herzl organized a world congress in 1897 and later wrote in his diary: "At Basel I founded the Jewish state. If I said this aloud today, I would be greeted by universal laughter. Perhaps in five years, and certainly in fifty, everyone will agree." Almost precisely a half century after Herzl's declaration of a Jewish nation, Israel was born.
Hippocrates: 460-377BC; Physician, known as ‘the father of medicine’, and associated with the medical profession's Hippocratic oath, born on the island of Cos, Greece. The most celebrated physician of antiquity, he gathered together all that was sound in the previous history of medicine. A collection of 70 works, the Hippocratic corpus, has been ascribed to him, but very few were written by him, it being more likely that they formed a library at a medical school.
Adolf Hitler: 1889-1945; A failed artist who was gassed and wounded during World War I, Adolf Hitler embarked on a vicious campaign of global domination. He almost succeeded. Along with his mastery of propaganda, his ideology of racial purity and his ruthless political skills, Hitler possessed a diabolical personal magnetism. He secured the chancellorship of Germany in 1933, declared war on the world in 1939, and set about systematically exterminating Jews and other "undesirables." By the time Hitler was defeated in 1945, as many as 77 million had died, making him responsible for more human destruction than any other man in the history of the world. As the Allies were closing in on Berlin, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker.
Hokusai: 1760-1849; At the age of 74, Hokusai, one of the greatest artists of the millennium, bemoaned his lack of talent. "Of all I drew prior to the age of 70 there is truly nothing of any great note," he wrote, predicting that "at 100 I shall have become truly marvelous." The master painter, illustrator and printmaker of the Japanese Ukiyo-e school of art didn't make it to his century mark, but he did create thousands of treasured images--of landscapes, flora, fauna, historical scenes--including the print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. His work influenced the French Impressionists, especially Paul Gauguin.
Homer: c.850 BC; Greek poet, to whom are attributed the great epics, the Iliad, the story of the siege of Troy, and the Odyssey, the tale of Ulysses's wanderings. The place of his birth is doubtful, probably a Greek colony on the coast of Asia Minor, and his date, once put as far back as 1200 BC, from the style of the poems attributed to him, is now thought to be much later. Arguments have long raged over whether his works are in fact by the same hand, or have their origins in the lays of Homer and his followers (Homeridae), and there seems little doubt that the works were originally based on current ballads which were much modified and extended. Like much orally transmitted poetry, they are characterized by much use of repeated phrases, lines, epithets, and even paragraphs. Of the true Homer, nothing is positively known. The so-called Homeric hymns are certainly of a later age.
Edwin Hubble: 1889-1953; Edwin Hubble's 1924 discovery that the Andromeda nebula is located beyond the known boundaries of the Milky Way forced other astronomers to revise their thinking: The existence of multiple galaxies meant the universe was far larger than imagined. Next, Hubble determined that all galaxies are receding from each other--hence, the universe is expanding. Today, as it orbits the earth, the Hubble Space Telescope, named in his honor, searches deep into the galaxies whose existence he proved.
Ibn-Khaldun: 1332-1406; Shuttling between both Mediterranean coasts, Tunisian diplomat Ibn-Khaldun may qualify as the 14th century's most frequent flee-er; he was surely one of its most brilliant minds. In and out of favor, and prison, he scrutinized human nature. When he wrote a history of the Muslim world, his stunning array of ideas included the importance of a group's social cohesion in attaining its goals, as well as history's cyclical nature. Five centuries later, historian Arnold Toynbee described Khaldun's pioneering work as "undoubtedly the greatest of its kind that has ever yet been created by any mind in any time or place."
Abdullah Ibn-Sina: 980-1037; Islam's most renowned philosopher-scientist, Ibn-Sina outgrew his teachers as a teenager and educated himself in law, medicine and metaphysics. His intellect served him well: As a court physician in Persia, he encountered intrigue and imprisonment but wrote two of history's greatest works, The Book of Healing, a compendium of science and philosophy, and The Canon of Medicine, an encyclopedia based on the teachings of Greek physicians. The latter was widely used in the West, where Ibn-Sina, known as Avicenna, was called the "prince of physicians."
Pope Innocent III: 1160-1216; Lotario di Segni was only 38 years old when he was elected Pope Innocent III in 1198; his 18-year reign dominated the Middle Ages. Claiming the right to guide the Holy Roman Empire, he launched two crusades to assert the church's power. Meanwhile, he embraced the poor and saw the church's rolls swell. His Fourth Lateran Council shaped the Catholic Church that we recognize today.
Queen Isabella I: 1451-1504; Queen of Castile (1474-1504), born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, WC Spain, the daughter of John II, King of Castile and León. In 1469 she married Ferdinand V of Aragón, with whom she ruled jointly from 1479. During her reign, the Inquisition was introduced (1478), the reconquest of Granada completed (1482-92), and the Jews expelled (1492). She sponsored the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World.
Thomas Jefferson: 1743-1826; Were it not for his mind and his pen, the world might have witnessed one more bloody revolution signifying nothing. A lawyer by trade, a pioneer of American architecture, a president who spurred westward expansion, a slave owner who opposed slavery, Thomas Jefferson embodied many of the aspirations of a newborn nation. It was a self-evident truth, wrote the 33-year-old Virginian, "that all Men are created equal." Natural law, the right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," became the New World blueprint. It remains an alluring goal for democracies around the world.
Edward Jenner: 1749-1823; Physician, the discoverer of the vaccination for smallpox, born in Berkeley, England, UK. After an apprenticeship with a local surgeon, he studied under John Hunter in London, then returned to practise in Berkeley (1773), while remaining a firm friend of Hunter. Having observed how an infection of the mild disease cowpox prevented later attacks of smallpox, in 1796 he inoculated a child with cowpox, then two months later with smallpox, and the child failed to develop the disease. His discovery was violently opposed at first, but within five years vaccination was being practised throughout the civilized world.
Joan of Arc: 1412-1431; A young peasant who believed she was guided by the voices of saints, Joan of Arc led the French to crucial victories in the Hundred Years War and became a surpassing hero for her countrymen and her fellow Catholics. The teenager who dressed in men's clothing defeated the English at Orleans in 1429; her triumph at Reims not only earned her the nation's adulation but paved the way for the coronation of King Charles VII. On a campaign to free Paris, she was captured, tried for heresy and burned at the stake. Named a saint in 1920, she has been the subject of hundreds of movies, books and plays, including Shaw's classic Saint Joan.
Justinian I: 482-565; Roman emperor (527-65), the protégé of his uncle, the Byzantine emperor, Justin (reigned 518-27). At first co-emperor with Justin, on his death he became sole ruler. Along with his wife Theodora, he presided over the most brilliant period in the history of the late Roman empire. Through his generals, Belisarius and Narses, he recovered N Africa, Spain, and Italy, and carried out a major codification of the Roman law (begun 529).
Chiang Kai-Shek: 1887-1975; The contest for leadership of China after Sun Yat-sen's death had several contenders but one clear favorite: Chiang Kai-shek. With the first tremors of revolution in 1911, Chiang returned to China and joined the Kuomintang. When he succeeded Sun at its helm in 1926, the Manchus had been toppled, but China was plagued by factionalism and organized crime. Chiang, sustained by the Soviet aid Sun had arranged, built the party's first viable army and crushed the warlords. By the time the Kuomintang marched into Beijing in 1928, the communists had been purged from its ranks. Meanwhile, high-level Kuomintang officers were growing complacent--and corrupt--with an influx of Western money and military aid. Chiang sought to increase his party's strength with ties to China's wealthy landlords, alienating the peasants who represented more than 90% of the population. By the end of World War II, the communists, with their large numbers and relatively coherent ideology, were formidable rivals. After four years of civil war, Chiang and the nationalists were forced to flee to the island of Taiwan. Like Sun Yat-sen, Chiang left an incomplete legacy. Like Sun, he tried and failed to unify a divided nation. But unlike his predecessor, Chiang Kai-shek left behind a prosperous economy that grew into a genuine democracy.
Genghis Kahn: 1165-1227; Genghis was the son of the chief of the Yakka Mongols. When he was 10, his father was poisoned and he became chief. However, the tribe deserted him, and he was forced to live alone, and survived by digging roots for food and keeping sheep. Three years later he was able to form alliances and organize an army. He became famous for his strict discipline and training, and for the superiority of his army. Genghis’ armies took over neighbouring tribes, and he was soon ruler of Mongolia. He then set out to conquer China. China was made up of three main empires, Xi Xia, the Qin, and Na-Chung. To defeat the Qin Empire it was necessary to break through the Great Wall of China, and to defeat the Qin’s mercenaries, Muhammad and his armies of Khwarazmains. Genghis’ next battle was against Beijing, capital of the Qin Empire. He demolished much of the city and beheaded its ruler, Guchluk. Genghis then moved his armies North, defeating the Russian army. When he returned to China he began his greatest challenge, conquering the Empire of Na-Chung. It took three years, and over 60,000 casualties, but he was eventually victorious. Genghis Khan’s Empire was the largest ever established, extending from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan, with over 700 tribes and cities under his rule.
Immanuel Kant: 1724-1804; His entire life was spent in Konigsberg, East Prussia, and it is said that he was never out of earshot of the town's church bells. But Immanuel Kant made up for his lack of adventure by traveling far in his mind. In the Critique of Pure Reason he examined the nature and limits of human knowledge. He wrote on aesthetics and ethics, and established the direction of modern philosophy.
Helen Keller: 1880-1968; An illness when she was 19 months old left her deaf, blind and mute. But there was an exceptional mind--and a strong will--trapped within the tiny girl's body. With the help of a teacher named Anne Sullivan--"the miracle worker"--Helen Keller learned to understand language (by having words finger-spelled onto her palm), read (by feeling raised letters and Braille), write (by following the movements of a writer's hand), hear (by placing her fingers against a speaker's nose, lips and larynx) and speak (usually with sign language and occasionally with her voice). Keller went on to graduate with honors from Radcliffe in 1904 and then became a renowned author, antiwar activist and advocate for the rights of workers and women, as well as the deaf and blind. She remains proof to the world that disability does not mean inability.
John F. Kennedy: 1917-1963; Statesman and 35th U.S. president (1961-63), born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts; the second of Joseph and Rose Kennedy's nine children. Kennedy was the youngest man elected president of the United States, dying from an assassin’s bullet after serving less than one term in office. In 1947, he became a Democratic Congressman from Boston, and in 1952, successfully campaigned against Henry Cabot Lodge in Massachusetts to advance to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953, and the couple had two children, Caroline Bouvier (born 1957) and John Fitzgerald (born 1960). At the risk of all-out nuclear war, Kennedy engaged in a showdown with the Soviet Union over its missile installations in Cuba, which were ultimately withdrawn by the Soviets in October, 1962.
Johannes Kepler: 1571-1630; Astronomer, born in Germany. He studied at Tübingen, and in 1593 was appointed professor of mathematics at Graz. In c.1596 he commenced a correspondence with Tycho Brahe, who was then in Prague, and from 1600-1 worked with him, showing that planetary motions were far simpler than had been imagined. He announced his first and second laws of planetary motion in Astronomia nova (1609, New Astronomy), which formed the groundwork of Isaac Newton's discoveries. His third law was promulgated in Harmonice mundi (1619, Harmony of the World). He succeeded Brahe as court astronomer to Emperor Rudolf II, and in 1628 became astrologer to Albrecht von Wallenstein at Zagan in Silesia.
Kublai Khan: 1215-1294; Ruler of the Mongols from 1260, Kublai Khan completed the conquest of China that had been started by his grandfather Genghis. In 1271 he became the first emperor of the Yuan dynasty. Establishing Beijing as his capital, Khan boosted agriculture and business, fostered scholarship, encouraged the arts, retained many Chinese institutions, promoted religious tolerance and oversaw generally prosperous times. The splendor of his court stirred the imagination of Western travelers, including that most famous Italian venturer Marco Polo.
Martin Luther King, Jr.: 1929-1968; Born into the segregated society of America's South, the Baptist preacher from Atlanta walked a Gandhian path of nonviolence, and the Civil Rights movement followed. Martin Luther King Jr.'s march for equality started with a protest of the bus system in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955, and peaked in the nation's capital. "One day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed," he dreamed aloud during the August 28, 1963, March on Washington, "that all men are created equal." Five years later, at the age of 39, he fell to a sniper's bullet. He was honored in his time and posthumously: King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and in 1986 he became only the second American whose birthday is observed as a national holiday (the first was George Washington). More important, King was such a force that three decades later, his call to "let freedom ring" still inspires.
Fan Kuan: c.990-c 1030; A Taoist recluse, Fan Kuan is best known as the painter of Travelers Amid Streams and Mountains, the greatest single example of the monumental landscape style of painting and a model for all Chinese artists. The painting, nearly seven feet tall, is based on the Taoist principle of becoming one with nature. Fan's style--reducing human figures to minute proportions and dramatizing the awesome power of nature--has led critics to compare his creative powers with those of nature itself.
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier: 1743-1794; Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, the founder of modern chemistry, demonstrated that combustion results from a burning substance combining with oxygen, and stated the law of the conservation of matter: The weight of the products of combustion equals the weight of the original materials. The French chemist clarified the distinction between elements and compounds and was instrumental in devising the modern system of chemical nomenclature. He also had a career as a tax collector, for which he was guillotined during the French Revolution.
Vladimir Lenin: 1870-1924; Marx was theory, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (pseudonym, Lenin)--a Russian revolutionary who revered Marx's ideas--was action. Along with Leon Trotsky he led the 1917 revolution that, with its bold assault on the Winter Palace on October 25, brought the Bolsheviks to power and started the worldwide spread of the Soviet form of communism--a form that, though it deviated from Marx's, was nonetheless attractive to many Marxists. Leninists called their regime a "dictatorship of the proletariat," but in reality it was a dictatorship of Lenin and his party. The brutal repression Russians had known under the Czar was replaced by Bolshevik repression. This is a central irony of Lenin's life: A fighter against authoritarian injustice laid the foundation for decades of tyrannical, murderous Soviet totalitarianism. Nevertheless, Lenin built an economic engine that would eventually propel the Soviet Union as a great world power--politically, technologically, militarily. He died in 1924, but the state he founded helped stop Hitler in World War II, forced the cold war with the U.S. and initiated the space race--and then it finally collapsed in 1989. Before FDR, before Churchill, before Stalin and before Hitler, Lenin shaped the 20th century.
Abraham Lincoln: 1809-1865; When Abraham Lincoln took his first oath of office in 1861, he faced the greatest crisis in his nation's history. The fabric of the American experiment, "a more perfect Union," was being torn apart. But before an assassin's bullet brought him down in 1865, this son of a poor Kentucky farmer led his countrymen--South as well as North--back to union, and to an eventual understanding that "a new birth of freedom" must be rooted in democracy. The fabric was made whole again, this time without slavery.
Carolus Linnaeus: 1707-1778; His 18th century contemporaries called Carl von Linne bold, even salacious, when he used sexuality as the starting point for his botanical classification system. He described calyxes as "nuptial beds," corollas as their "curtains," but by using the number and length of stamens to group plants into classes, and pistils to subdivide these into orders, he enabled students in the field to identify a specimen quickly and simply, by counting. The Swedish physician, writing in Latin as Linnaeus, also devised the system of naming the genus and species of plants--and, later, animals. His work was adopted by naturalists worldwide in his time and is evident everywhere in ours.
Joseph Lister: 1827-1912; Seeking to cut the postoperative mortality rate in his Glasgow hospital, Lister revolutionized surgery. Inspired by Pasteur, he reasoned that if microbes could cause infection, they could be killed before reaching the open wound. His method, employing carbolic acid as an antiseptic on dressings and instruments as well as on surgeons and patients, resulted in stunning statistics. The mortality rate among his amputee cases fell from 45 percent to 15 percent. Lister's simple discovery enabled millions to undergo surgery with far less risk.
John Locke: 1632-1704; Enlightenment philosopher John Locke was noted for his writing on education, science and religious freedom. But the Englishman's ideas about politics--that people by nature have certain rights, including life, liberty and property, and that their consent is the only legitimate basis of government--had a more profound effect. His proposals for legislative representation and free speech influenced the Constitution.
Louis XIV: 1638-1715; His egocentrism, which would only grow, was bestowed upon him: As an infant he was given the title the Most Attractive. In 1643, a few months shy of his fifth birthday, he was crowned king of France. He survived a revolt by the nobility and emerged to declare himself a divine monarch--the Sun King. Louis XIV was an absolutist: A passport could not be issued without his permission. He raised a mighty army, fought wars against England, Holland and the Holy Roman Empire--and France's own Protestants--and constructed the sprawling palace of Versailles, where he moved the royal court from Paris. There he lived and ruled, surrounded by indulgence, spectacle and sycophancy. Louis is credited with making France a leading power and blamed for precipitating its decline.
Ts'ai Lun: c.70-115; The inventor of paper. In or about the year 105 A.D., he presented Emperor Han Ho Ti with samples of paper. Chinese records do mention and credit Tsai, Lun with the invention of paper. His name is well known in China. He was promoted by the Emperor for his invention and became wealthy. Later he got involved in palace intrigue, which led to his downfall. Finally he ended his life drinking poison. Today, paper is the most commonly used materials in human life, not just as a medium of communication. Tsai, Lun's contribution to civilization is priceless.
Martin Luther: 1483-1546; When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a Wittenberg, Germany, church in 1517 "for the purpose of eliciting truth," he began the Reformation that transformed political and religious alliances for centuries. While some later writings were marked by anti-Semitism, his early works stressed salvation by God's grace and Christian spirituality. He argued against papal authority in affairs of state, and when he refused to recant was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1521--an act that gave rise to all Protestant churches.
Nicoli Machiavelli: 1469-1527; Italian statesman, writer, and political theorist. Born May 3, 1469 in Florence into an aristocratic family. His writings prove him to have been a very assiduous sifter of the classics, especially the historical works of Livy and Tacitus; in all probability he knew the Greek classics only in translation. In 1510 Machiavelli, inspired by his reading of Roman history, was instrumental in organizing a citizen militia of the Florentine Republic. In all likelihood Machiavelli interrupted the writing of his Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius to write the brief treatise on which his fame rests, II Principe (1513; The Prince). Other works followed: The Art of War and The Life of Castruccio Castracani (1520); three extant plays, Mandragola (1518; The Mandrake), Clizia, and Andria; the Istorie fiorentine (1526; History of Florence); a short story, Belfagor; and several minor works in verse and prose.
When he wrote The Prince he envisioned such a possibility while the restored Medici ruled both Florence and the papacy. Preceding political writers, from Plato and Aristotle in ancient times and through the Middle Ages and the 15th-century humanists had all concurred in treating politics as a branch of morals. Machiavelli's chief innovation was to break with this long tradition and to confer autonomy upon politics. Like Galileo in astronomy at the end of the 16th century, Machiavelli in politics chooses to describe the world as it is, rather than as people are taught that it should be.
James Madison: 1751-1836; Before he served as the nation's fourth President, James Madison was already called the father of the Constitution. He supported checks and balances among the government's branches, and clear divisions between federal and state authority. The Virginian who once considered becoming a minister also drafted the Bill of Rights, which prohibited the establishment of a national religion.
Ferdinand Magellan: 1480-1521; When Ferdinand Magellan headed west across the Atlantic in 1519, people already understood the world to be round. But this expedition, under his brave command, provided proof. The Portuguese captain, sailing for Spain, found the strait off South America's tip to be treacherous in the extreme, but he made it through. Having survived mutiny, desertion and shipwreck, Magellan and his crew faced starvation as they headed into the Pacific. Magellan died in the Philippines, but a small band of his men eventually reached home, having sailed around the world.
Thomas Malthus: 1766-1834; Economist, born near Dorking, Surrey, SE England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, and was ordained in 1797. In 1798 he published anonymously his Essay on the Principle of Population, which argued that the population has a natural tendency to increase faster than the means of subsistence, and that efforts should be made to cut the birth rate, either by self-restraint or birth control - a view which later was widely misrepresented under the name of Malthusianism. In 1805 he became professor of political economy in the East India College at Haileybury, where he wrote Principles of Political Economy (1820) and other works.
Nelson Mandela: 1918- ; He roused South Africa's black majority--and sympathizers abroad--to rebel against the system of racial tyranny known as apartheid. Originally a proponent of nonviolence, he started a military wing of the African National Congress after watching police brutalize unarmed protesters in 1960. He languished in prison for a quarter century before his release in 1990. Nelson Mandela's courage and resolve earned him a Nobel Peace Prize, the presidency of his country and the admiration of millions.
Mani: 215-276; Religious leader, born in Ecbatana, Persia. He was the founder of Manichaeism, a dualistic religion which offered salvation through the acquisition of special knowledge of spiritual truth (‘illumination’). In c.245 he began to proclaim his new religion at the court of the Persian king, Sapor (Shahpur) I. He traveled widely, but eventually King Bahram I abandoned him to his Zoroastrian enemies, who crucified him.
Guglielmo Marconi: 1874-1937; In the early days of telephones and telegraphs, the thought of sending messages through thin air (sans wires) was all but inconceivable. Then, in a bold leap of faith, a young Italian proved it could be done. Guglielmo Marconi's transmission of a signal--the Morse Code letter S--across the Atlantic in 1901 was a worldwide sensation. It opened the airwaves for today's complex network of global communications--from radio to radar to orbiting satellites. Interglobal, too, as NASA now pulls in daily messages from the rover puttering across the surface of Mars.
Karl Marx: 1818-1883; Marx was a revolutionary who advocated "merciless criticism of everything existing" and was the co-originator of the theories of "Communism." Though not one of the working-class proletarians about whom he wrote, Karl Marx followed his own advice and renounced his bourgeois roots. Hounded from Germany to France to England, living hand-to-mouth, he devoted his life to political journalism, supported by his patron and writing partner, Friedrich Engels. Marx's vision of a postcapitalist world where the working class owns the means of production has not come to pass, but his critique of the class system inspired millions. Marx and Engels were both active in various revolutionary groups and together worked out the theory and tactics of "Revolutionary Proletarian Socialism" or "Communism." They authored the "Communist Manifesto," which outlines the theory of the class struggle, and of the revolutionary role of the proletariat. The first volume of "Das Kapital," Marx's most important work, appeared in 1867.
Hiram Maxim: 1840-1916; He changed the way we wage war. In 1884, Hiram Maxim, an American-born British inventor, developed a recoil mechanism that made it possible to load and eject cartridges from a machine gun without using a hand crank. The fully automatic magazine discharged up to 600 rounds of ammunition per minute. Recognizing its advantages, the British army and royal navy were among the first to adopt the new weaponry--in 1889 and 1892 respectively. Other nations soon followed, to such an extent that World War I came to be called the "machine gun war."
James Clerk Maxwell: 1831-1879; Physicist, born in Edinburgh, EC Scotland, UK. He studied at Edinburgh and Cambridge, became professor at Aberdeen (1856) and London (1860), and was the first professor of experimental physics at Cambridge (1871), where he organized the Cavendish Laboratory. In 1873 he published his great Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, which gives a mathematical treatment to Faraday's theory of electrical and magnetic forces. He also contributed to the study of colour vision, and to the kinetic theory of gases, but his greatest work was his theory of electromagnetic radiation, which established him as the leading theoretical physicist of the century.
Mencius: 371-289BC; Philosopher and sage, born in Shantung, E China. He founded a school modelled on that of Confucius, and traveled China for some 20 years searching for a ruler to implement Confucian moral and political ideals. The search was unsuccessful, but his conversations with rulers, disciples, and others are recorded in a book of sayings compiled after his death (Book of Meng-tzu). His ethical system was based on the belief that human beings are innately and instinctively good, but require the proper conditions and support for moral growth. He also made many practical recommendations about taxes, road maintenance, and poor law.
Gregor Mendel: 1822-1884; He could not pass the test to be certified as a biology teacher, but Gregor Mendel, a 19th century monk, discovered a basic principle of biology. Cross-breeding peas in the garden of his monastery in Austria, he learned how to predict the features of the hybrids. Knowing he had achieved a scientific breakthrough, he presented his work to the Natural Science Society in Brunn and published his results, but his research was ignored. Not until 16 years after his death was he recognized for having discovered the fundamentals of genetics.
Michelangelo: 1475-1564; He lived to the age of 88, and all he had was his work, but the world is full of Michelangelo's "children." He is considered the greatest sculptor of all time (David, the Pieta); his paintings still take one's breath away (the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel); his designs for St. Peter's Basilica and the Campidoglio foreshadowed the Baroques. In other words, he was a man of prodigious gifts and achievement. His unfinished work, the half-carved stone, the unfulfilled plans, the sculpture he broke, dismayed by its imperfection, remind us that, though his ambitions were divine, he was only human.
Claudio Monteverdi: 1567-1643; Claudio Monteverdi was already known outside Italy for his madrigals and church works when he became interested in opera, an experimental form joining storytelling and dialogue with music. His Orfeo of 1607, employing theatrical music effects, a climactic aria and orchestral interludes, was the first work to show opera's potential. In The Coronation of Poppea, a far more complex work performed 35 years later, he conveyed, far in advance of his time, the expression of character and emotion through music.
Samuel F.B. Morse: 1791-1872; While returning from a European sojourn to study art, Samuel F.B. Morse fell into a shipboard conversation about the electromagnet. Voila, the idea for his first telegraph machine. Five years later, in 1837, he staged a demonstration, transmitting signals over 1,700 feet of wire. By 1844, when he wired (in Morse Code) the biblical verse "What hath God wrought!" from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, there was no question that Morse--an influential painter and publisher as well as an inventor--had wrought a revolutionary way to communicate.
William T.G. Morton: 1819-1868; Dentist and anaesthetist, born in Charlton, Massachusetts, USA. He studied dentistry in Baltimore and practised in Connecticut before setting up a dental practice in Boston (1842), in partnership with Horace Wells, who had been experimenting with nitrous oxide (‘laughing gas’) as an anaesthesia while removing teeth. But in 1844, at the suggestion of his landlord, Professor Charles T Jackson, Morton first used sulphuric ether to anaesthetize a patient before drilling a tooth. After experiments on himself, a goldfish, and his dog, he used it during a tooth extraction (Sep 1846). The subsequent newspaper report caught the attention of a Massachusetts General Hospital surgeon, Dr John Warren, who sponsored several surgical demonstrations with Morton as anaesthetist. At first he tried to keep secret the nature of his anaesthesia, calling it ‘letheon’, but to receive a patent he was forced to describe it in a medical journal. Morton soon found himself in conflict with not only Wells and Jackson but also Crawford W Long of Georgia over the issue of priority, and he would spend the rest of his life trying to establish himself as the discoverer of ether and in trying to profit from its use. He died a poor man, but he came to be recognized as the first to introduce ether into general use as an anaesthetic.
Moses: c. 13th BC; Major character of Israelite history, portrayed in the Book of Exodus as the leader of the deliverance of Hebrew slaves from Egypt and the recipient of the Ten Commandments at Mt Sinai. In Exodus, stories about his early life depict his escape from death as an infant by being hidden in the bulrushes, his upbringing in the Egyptian court, his flight to Midian, and his divine call to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. Stories of this deliverance describe Moses predicting a series of miraculous plagues designed to persuade the Pharaoh to release the Hebrews, the Passover narrative, and the miraculous escape led by Moses through the ‘sea of reeds’. Traditions then describe Moses' leadership of the Israelites during their 40 years of wilderness wandering, and his death E of the Jordan R before the Hebrews entered Canaan, the Promised Land. He was traditionally considered the author of the five books of the Law, the Pentateuch of the Hebrew Bible, but this is doubted by modern scholars.
Wolfgang A. Mozart: 1756-1791: Probably the greatest genius in Western musical history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, Jan. 27, 1756. Wolfgang began composing minuets at the age of 5 and symphonies at 9. Mozart excelled in every form in which he composed. His contemporaries found the restless ambivalence and complicated emotional content of his music difficult to understand. Accustomed to the light, superficial style of rococo music, his aristocratic audiences could not accept the music's complexity and depth. Yet, with Josef Haydn, Mozart perfected the grand forms of symphony, opera, string quartet, and concerto that marked the classical period in music. In his operas Mozart's uncanny psychological insight is unique in musical history. His music informed the work of the later Haydn and of the next generation of composers, most notably Beethoven. The brilliance of his work continued until the end, although darker themes of poignancy and isolation grew more marked in his last years, and his compositions continue to exert a particular fascination for musicians and music lovers.
Muhammad: 570-632: When he was 40, Muhammad felt himself selected by God to be the Arab prophet of true religion. The Arabs, unlike other nations, had hitherto had no prophet. In the cave of Mt. Hira, N of Mecca, he had a vision in which he was commanded to preach. Thereafter throughout his life he continued to have revelations, many of which were collected and recorded in the Qur'an. His fundamental teachings were: there is one God; people must in all things submit to Him; in this world nations have been amply punished for rejecting God's prophets, and heaven and hell are waiting for the present generation; the world will come to an end with a great judgment. He included as religious duties frequent prayer and almsgiving, and he forbade usury.
At Medina he built his model theocratic state and from there ruled his rapidly growing empire. Muhammad's lawgiving at Medina is at least theoretically the law of Islam, and in its evolution over the next 10 years the history of the community at Medina is seen. He believed firmly in his position as last of the prophets and as successor of Jesus, Muhammad His renown increased, and in 629 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca without interference. There he won valuable converts, including Amr and Khalid (who had fought him at Uhud). In 630 he marched against Mecca, which fell without a fight. Arabia was won. Muhammad's private life—the fact that he had nine wives—has received a vast, and perhaps disproportionate, amount of attention. His third wife, Aishah, was able and devoted; he died in her arms June 8, 632. Islam has enshrouded Muhammad's life with a mass of legends and traditions (contained in the Hadith). Islamic dogma stresses his exclusively human nature, while presenting him as infallible on matters of prophecy. Muhammad is still perceived as the ultimate subject of emulation.
Isaac Newton: 1642-1727; A passionately religious man in a time of great scientific discovery, Isaac Newton wanted to know how God's universe worked. His quest for answers gave us the law of universal gravitation, calculus, a new theory of color and light, and the three laws of motion that form the basis of modern mechanics. Brilliant and creative, the English physicist and mathematician synthesized the discoveries of Galileo, Kepler and others, formalizing and transforming physical science. Yet, looking back, Newton said, "I seem to have been only like a boy, playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself, in now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."
Florence Nightingale: 1820-1910; She became a nurse in spite of her wealthy family's opposition. A true angel of mercy, Florence Nightingale served with the British army during the Crimean War, turning filthy, vermin-infested camps where the wounded were brought to die into clean wards where they could heal. She returned a hero but refused to participate in any public celebration. Rather, she used her stature to gain Queen Victoria's support for health-care reform in the military. Nightingale then worked for improved conditions in hospitals and workhouses, and established the first school for nurses. She accomplished all this despite spending the last 40 years of her life as an invalid.
Kwame Nkruma: 1909-1972; Kwame Nkrumah's radical push for Ghanaian self-governance in the 1950s triggered decolonization throughout Africa, which led to the end of European domination. Inspired by Marx and Marcus Garvey, Nkrumah's "positive action" campaign of nonviolent protest won Ghana its independence from Britain by 1960. Nkrumah was a better revolutionary than a president, and civil unrest led to a coup in 1966. African nations continue to grapple with the upheaval he began.
Alfred Nobel: 1833-1896; Chemist, inventor of dynamite, and founder of the Nobel Prizes. Born October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1863, Alfred rejoined his father, and in that year he succeeded in exploding nitroglycerin at will by initiating the detonation with a gunpowder charge. In 1865 he introduced the mercury fulminate detonator, the key to all the later high explosives. Nobel patented his invention and set about exploiting it. Works for the manufacture of nitroglycerin were established near Stockholm and Hamburg, and the explosive oil was shipped the world over. In 1866, Nobel visited the United States and erected factories in New York and San Francisco. This was dynamite, patented in 1867. The new invention was vigorously exploited and a worldwide industry established. In 1875 came gelignite, a mixture of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin; and in 1887 ballistite, similar to gelignite, was produced in response to the military demand for a smokeless, slow-burning projectile propellant. This was Nobel's last major invention, but throughout his life he improved on them all in detail, patented them, and left them to his companies, with which he had as little formal contact as possible. Nobel's will directed that the bulk of his estate, over 33 million kronor, should endow annual prizes for those who, in the preceding year, had most benefited mankind in five specified subjects: physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, or peace. His will was proved within four years and the Nobel Foundation created. A Nobel Prize is one of the highest honors that an individual can receive.
Hideyo Noguchi: 1876-1928; Bacteriologist and immunologist, born in Inawashiro, Japan. From a poor family, he served as an apprentice to a surgeon and graduated from Tokyo Medical College (1897). He emigrated to the USA (1899) and worked with Simon Flexner at the University of Pennsylvania, where his exhaustive research made him the authority on the action of snake venom. He went to the Rockefeller Institute (1904-28), where he made a number of crucial contributions to medical research: he developed the methods for growing pure cultures of spiral organisms such as the syphilis spirochete; he demonstrated the presence of the syphilis parasite, Treponema pallidum, in the cerebral cortex of deceased patients, identifying it as the cause of certain diseases; and he contributed to the study of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, poliomyelitis, and trachoma. Regarded as the major microbiologist of his generation, he died prematurely from the African yellow fever he was studying.
Nikolaus August Otto: 1832-1891; Bacteriologist and immunologist, born in Inawashiro, Japan. From a poor family, he served as an apprentice to a surgeon and graduated from Tokyo Medical College (1897). He emigrated to the USA (1899) and worked with Simon Flexner at the University of Pennsylvania, where his exhaustive research made him the authority on the action of snake venom. He went to the Rockefeller Institute (1904-28), where he made a number of crucial contributions to medical research: he developed the methods for growing pure cultures of spiral organisms such as the syphilis spirochete; he demonstrated the presence of the syphilis parasite, Treponema pallidum, in the cerebral cortex of deceased patients, identifying it as the cause of certain diseases; and he contributed to the study of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, poliomyelitis, and trachoma. Regarded as the major microbiologist of his generation, he died prematurely from the African yellow fever he was studying.
Andrea Palladio: 1508-1580
The man who is probably history's most imitated architect began work in a guild of masons and stonecarvers. A Vicenza scholar gave Andrea Palladio his classical name and education. His use of elements from Greco-Roman temples--most notably the portico, or roofed porch, supported by columns, and topped with a pediment--was one legacy. Another was his Four Books of Architecture, still a bible to builders. His emulators included Thomas Jefferson.
Louis Pasteur: 1822-1895; Eulogized as "the most perfect man who has ever entered the kingdom of Science," Louis Pasteur was both practical problem-solver and theoretical genius. The French chemist discovered that heat would kill the unwanted microorganisms that turned wine bitter. Soon, the process of "pasteurization" was applied to many foods and beverages. Finding and eliminating a microbe that was attacking silkworm eggs, Pasteur is credited with saving the French silk industry. Realizing that most diseases are caused by microorganisms, he helped establish the germ theory. And using weakened microbes in vaccines to develop immunities to anthrax and other diseases, Pasteur saved countless lives and advanced the science of immunology.
St. Paul: 10-64; Apostle to the Gentiles and important theologian of the early Christian Church, born of Jewish parents at Tarsus, Cilicia. He reputedly trained as a rabbi in Jerusalem, becoming fervent persecutor of Christians. On his way to Damascus (AD c.34), he was converted to Christianity by a vision of Christ, and after several months in Nabatea began to preach the Christian message and undertake missionary journeys, first in Cyprus, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Around 49-51, he had to address an apostolic conference in Jerusalem on the disputed issue of how Gentiles and Jews were to be admitted to the Church, and a form of resolution was apparently reached which allowed him to continue his mission to the Gentiles, although a later dispute with Peter did arise in Antioch. The precise chronology of his missionary activities is confused (beginning c.46), but other journeys took Paul, with Silvanus (Silas), to Asia Minor and through Galatia and Phrygia to Macedonia and Achaia, where in Corinth he was especially successful. An extensive mission was also undertaken in Ephesus, amid many difficulties, leading eventually to a final visit to Macedonia and Corinth. On his return to Jerusalem, he was apparently imprisoned for two years, following disturbances against him by the Jews. He was transferred to Caesarea and to Rome after appealing to Caesar; and according to later tradition, he was executed by Nero c.64 (although some traditions suggest that he was released and went to Spain). Thirteen New Testament letters are traditionally attributed to him.
Linus C. Pauling: 1901-1994; Chemist, born in Portland, Oregon, USA. After taking his PhD at the California Institute of Technology (1925) and then two years of study abroad, he returned to that institution for most of his professional career (1927-63). His early research used X-ray crystallography to study the nature of chemical bonding. In 1928 he published his resonance theory of bonding, and his work on molecule structure opened up new areas to modern chemistry. This work won him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954. In the 1930s he turned his attention to biochemistry, and among other achievements, he correctly postulated that the shapes of antigens and their antibodies are complementary. His pioneering work on complex organic molecules, such as proteins, also led to his discovery that sickle-cell anaemia resulted from a hereditary defect in blood haemoglobin. As the arms race between the USA and the Soviet Union led to tests of atomic weapons (1950s), Pauling and other scientists became increasingly concerned about the potential genetic damage from radioactive fallout. In 1957 he drew up an appeal, eventually signed by more than 11 000 scientists in 49 countries, to halt the tests. His efforts led to a temporary moratorium (beginning in 1958) and then to a treaty banning above-ground testing (1963), and for this effort he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1962), thereby becoming the first person to win two unshared Nobel prizes. In the late 1960s he became interested in the biological effects of vitamin C, which led him to his controversial theory of orthomolecular medicine with its claim that massive doses of vitamin C could prevent or cure various diseases.
Pericles: 495-429BC; Political orator and genius. General and statesman, of the aristocratic Alcmaeonid family, who presided over the ‘Golden Age’ of Athens, and was virtually its uncrowned king from 443-429. Politically a radical, he helped push through the constitutional reforms that brought about full Athenian democracy c. 462. A staunch opponent of Sparta, it was his unremitting hostility to her and her allies that brought about the Peloponnesian War (431-404). Renowned for his oratory, his ‘Funeral Speech c 431 as recorded by Thucydides, is an impassioned apologia for Athens’ democratic principles and system of government.
Peter the Great: 1672-1725; Peter the Great willed Russia to be a modern world power. He made Russian men shave their beards and replace ancient costumes with Western clothing. He built roads, canals, schools, new industries, a navy. (He battled for warm-water Baltic ports so he could use his fleet.) But he was as repressive as he was forward-thinking, forcing serfs to work in his factories, executing his son Alexis for opposing him. Peter was a great reformer, and a great despot as well.
Pablo Picasso: 1881-1973; Pablo Picasso dominated 20th century art. He helped create Cubism, pioneered innovations in sculpture and lithography, experimented with new media and captivated imaginations around the world with his powerful personality and boundless energy. The prolific Spaniard, who painted subjects ranging from the women he lived with to the devastating effects of war, had a career that spanned 70 years--and an influence that spans generations and cultures.
Gregory Pincus: 1903-1967; Endocrinologist, born in Woodbine, New Jersey, USA. He taught at four Massachusetts universities, Harvard (1931-8), Clark (1938-45), Tufts (1946-50), and Boston (1950-67). In 1944 he co-founded the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, one of the first laboratories set up expressly to channel scientific discoveries directly into commercial development. He concentrated on studying hormones and other factors in mammalian reproduction and, with financial support brought in thanks to Margaret Sanger, he became one of the prime developers of an oral contraceptive pill (1951). Among his books and scientific papers, he published The Eggs of Mammals (1936) and The Control of Fertility (1965).
Francisco Pizarro: 1478-1541; Conquistador, born in Trujillo, WC Spain. He served in Italy, and with the expedition which discovered the Pacific (1513). In 1526 he and Almagro sailed for Peru, and in 1531 began the conquest of the Incas. He killed the Inca king, Atahualpa, then worked to consolidate the new empire, founding Lima (1535) and other cities. In 1537, dissension with Almagro over the control of Cuzco led to conflict. Too old to take the field himself, Pizarro entrusted the command of his forces to his brothers, who defeated and executed Almagro soon afterwards. In revenge Almagro's followers assassinated Pizarro.
Max Planck: 1858-1947; Theoretical physicist, born in Kiel, N Germany. He studied at Munich and Berlin, where he became professor of theoretical physics (1889-1926). His work on thermodynamics and black body radiation led him to abandon classical principles and introduce the quantum theory (1900), for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918. Several research institutes now carry his name.
Plato: 427-347 BC: Plato's teachings have been among the most influential in the history of Western civilization.
Life. After pursuing the liberal studies of his day, he became in 407 B.C. a pupil and friend of Socrates. From about 388 B.C. he lived for a time at the court of Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse. On his return to Athens, Plato founded a school, the Academy, where he taught mathematics and philosophy until his death.
Plato was a superb writer, and his works are part of the world's great literature. His extant work is in the form of dialogues and epistles. The earliest group of dialogues, called Socratic, include chiefly the Apology, which presents the defense of Socrates; the Meno, which asks whether virtue can be taught; and the Gorgias, which concerns the absolute nature of right and wrong. Each dialogue treats a particular problem without necessarily resolving the issues raised.
His goal was to show the rational relationship between the soul, the state, and the cosmos. This is the general theme of the great dialogues of his middle years: the Republic, Phaedo, Symposium, Phaedrus, Timaeus, and Philebus. In the Republic he shows how the operation of justice within the individual can best be understood through the analogy of the operation of justice within the state, which Plato proceeds to set out in his conception of the ideal state. However, justice cannot be understood fully unless seen in relation to the Idea of the Good, which is the supreme principle of order and truth. Ideas or Forms are the immutable archetypes of all temporal phenomena, and only these Ideas are completely real; the physical world possesses only relative reality.
Marco Polo: 1254-1324; Merchant and traveller, born in Venice, NE Italy. After a previous visit to Kublai Khan in China (1260-9), his father and uncle made a second journey (1271-5), taking Marco with them. He became an envoy in Kublai Khan's service, and served as Governor of Yangzhou. He left China in 1292, returned to Venice (1295), and fought against the Genoese, but was captured. During his imprisonment, he compiled an account of his travels, Il milione (trans The Travels of Marco Polo), which became widely read. The book gives a vivid description of Kublai Khan and his palace, Chinese daily life, the Grand Canal and Yangtze, and many cities, including the unfinished Beijing. The historicity of his account has been questioned - he failed to mention several important features (such as the Great Wall), and there is in fact no record in Chinese archives of his presence or governorship there. His details could have come from Arab merchants.
Elvis Presley: 1935-1977; Elvis Aaron Presley grew up an only child in a poor family. On his eleventh birthday, Elvis received his first guitar from his mother. Two years later, the Presleys moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Presley hired Colonel Tom Parker as his manager, and they negotiated an agreement with RCA Records that would bring him stardom. Elvis was drafted into the army at the height of his popularity, but two years later he was discharged after the death of his mother. His music borrowed from black roll and roll, but also from country. It mixed these influences with white popular music, and gained a mainstream audience. Elvis had the most Top Forty Hits, Top Ten Hits, and the most weeks at number one of all time.
In year 1956, his first performance with 'Heartbreak Hotel' on The Milton Berle Show successfully put Elvis on the top list of the superstars and the nationwide 'Elvis Craze' was started. Elvis became the Prince who ruled hearts of his millions of friends. For next seven years from 1956 to 1963, Elvis was the only superstar who ruled the box office and pop-music charts. Elvis created a history, many of his records where on the top position for about a whole year. All of his albums were sold millions of records and were huge hits. Elvis paved the base of his new musical genre 'Rock-n-Roll', which helped him write his name in the history of music with golden ink. Every youth in the country was crazy after the Rock-n-Roll of Elvis Presley. It is next to impossible to measure the level of popularity he had reached in his career. Elvis Presley had more than 100 records on the billboard charts and out of which, about 18 records were on number one position on the charts. During his lifetime, he worked in about 31 movies; all of them were huge success.
Raphael: 1483-1520; Italian art soared in the early 1500s for three major reasons. One of them was Raphael. And it is he--more than Leonardo or Michelangelo--who has influenced artists ever since. Raphael's portraits were at once serene and incisive, human and sublime. During his final 12 years, spent in Rome, he produced a series of masterpieces, including perhaps his greatest work, The School of Athens, a Vatican fresco showing Plato and Aristotle surrounded by philosophers past and present that perfectly embodies the Renaissance spirit.
Ronald Reagan: 1911-2004; At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction the achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution, which aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to restore "the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism."
A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next two decades he appeared in 53 films. From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress, and they had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott. As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan became embroiled in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He toured the country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California by a margin of a million votes; he was re-elected in 1970.
Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 and chose as his running mate former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George Bush. Voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement of Americans in Iran swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter. On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar. Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit.
A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and Bush win a second term with an unprecedented number of electoral votes. In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. At the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression. In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve "peace through strength." During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism, sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub. Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp.
Matteo Ricci: 1552-1610; When he moved to China in 1582, little did Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci realize conversion worked both ways. The Chinese were fascinated by Ricci's possessions: clocks, maps, Western works on science. After his death, Ricci's manuscript on China was widely read in Europe; Enlightenment thinkers, inspired by the concept of a state ruled by Confucian values, used those ideas to challenge their own state and religion.
John D. Rockefeller: 1839-1937; He was worth more than a billion dollars when a billion dollars meant something. In fact, John Davison Rockefeller was the country's very first billionaire, building his pile on the monolithic Standard Oil Co. A fierce conniver, he slashed costs and dodged anti-trust rulings. Then, at age 58, after three decades as an oilman, the religious robber baron turned to charity. In his lifetime he spent $540 million--the equivalent of $5.6 billion today--on projects primarily in medical research and education. He died at 97, having never smoked a cigar or drunk a glass of champagne, leaving behind a still active fortune and a family active in many spheres--business, politics and, of course, philanthropy.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen: 1845-1923; Physicist, born in Lennep, W Germany. He studied at Zürich, and became professor of physics at Strasbourg (1876-9), Giessen (1879-88), Würzburg (1888-1900), and Munich (1900-20). In 1895 he discovered the electromagnetic rays which he called X-rays, for which he received the first Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: 1882- 1945; Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Born in 1882 at Hyde Park, New York--now a national historic site--he attended Harvard University and Columbia Law School. On St. Patrick's Day, 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt.
Following the example of his fifth cousin, President Theodore Roosevelt, whom he greatly admired, Franklin D. Roosevelt entered public service through politics, but as a Democrat. He won election to the New York Senate in 1910. President Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920.
In the summer of 1921, when he was 39, disaster hit-he was stricken with poliomyelitis. Demonstrating indomitable courage, he fought to regain the use of his legs, particularly through swimming. At the 1924 Democratic Convention he dramatically appeared on crutches to nominate Alfred E. Smith as "the Happy Warrior." In 1928 Roosevelt became Governor of New York.
He was elected President in November 1932, to the first of four terms. By March there were 13,000,000 unemployed, and almost every bank was closed. In his first "hundred days," he proposed, and Congress enacted, a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of losing farms and homes, and reform, especially through the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
By 1935 the Nation had achieved some measure of recovery, but businessmen and bankers were turning more and more against Roosevelt's New Deal program. They feared his experiments, were appalled because he had taken the Nation off the gold standard and allowed deficits in the budget, and disliked the concessions to labor. Roosevelt responded with a new program of reform: Social Security, heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public utilities, and an enormous work relief program for the unemployed.
In 1936 he was re-elected by a top-heavy margin. Feeling he was armed with a popular mandate, he sought legislation to enlarge the Supreme Court, which had been invalidating key New Deal measures. Roosevelt lost the Supreme Court battle, but a revolution in constitutional law took place. Thereafter the Government could legally regulate the economy.
Roosevelt had pledged the United States to the "good neighbor" policy, transforming the Monroe Doctrine from a unilateral American manifesto into arrangements for mutual action against aggressors. He also sought through neutrality legislation to keep the United States out of the war in Europe, yet at the same time to strengthen nations threatened or attacked. When France fell and England came under siege in 1940, he began to send Great Britain all possible aid short of actual military involvement.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt directed organization of the Nation's manpower and resources for global war. Feeling that the future peace of the world would depend upon relations between the United States and Russia, he devoted much thought to the planning of a United Nations, in which, he hoped, international difficulties could be settled. As the war drew to a close, Roosevelt's health deteriorated, and on April 12, 1945, while at Warm Springs, Georgia, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: 1712-1778; An educational theorist who ranked emotional development and experience above book learning, Jean-Jacques Rousseau abandoned his own five children at a Paris foundling hospital. A believer in living in "a state of nature," where compassion and honesty could flourish, he also wrote that a good society could improve people if they would submit their own desires to the General Will. Both totalitarians and democrats look to the Geneva-born polemicist as their prophet.
Ernest Rutherford: 1871-1937; Physicist, a pioneer of subatomic physics, born near Nelson, New Zealand. He studied at Christchurch University, moved to Cambridge, UK (1895), and in 1898 became professor of physics at McGill, Canada, where with Frederick Soddy he proposed that radioactivity results from the disintegration of atoms (1903). In 1907 he became professor at Manchester, developing the modern concept of the atom, and in 1911 propounded his theory of atomic structure. In 1919 he became professor at Cambridge and director of the Cavendish Laboratory. He received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1908, was knighted in 1914, and made a peer in 1931.
Jonas Salk: 1914-1995; Immunologist, born in New York City, New York, USA. He began his path-breaking studies on viruses and immunization by starting with the influenza virus while at the University of Michigan (1942-7). At the University of Pittsburgh (1947-63), he developed the first vaccination against poliomyelitis, a killed-virus vaccine, introduced to the public in 1953. By 1961, and after some resistance, Albert Sabin's simpler and stronger live-virus oral vaccine had supplanted Salk's injectable vaccine in the USA, and Salk's vaccine is now used only in a few countries around the world. He was the founder and director (1963) of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, CA and was on the board of directors of the Immune Response Corp, pursuing treatment for AIDS and other diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Among his writings are Man Unfolding (1972) and Anatomy of Reality: Merging of Intuition and Reason (1983). Widely honoured, he held the French Legion of Honour (1955) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977).
William Shakespeare: 1564-1616; William Shakespeare's masterful use of the English language has captivated audiences for 400 years. He penned 38 plays and 154 sonnets that explored the complexities of the human soul with unprecedented emotional range. His subject matter, from romantic comedies to moving tragedies, was equally diverse. But what all his work demonstrates is a facility for wordplay unrivaled by any writer before or since. Shakespeare's ubiquity on world stages, on film, in textbooks and in our everyday vernacular is a testament to his achievement.
Shih Huang Ti: 259-210 BC; First true emperor of China, who forcibly unified much of modern China following the decline of the Zhou dynasty. His achievements in unifying, centralizing and bureaucratizing China may have been influenced by those of Darius I of Persia, and followed precepts laid out by the legalist philosopher Xunzi. He consolidated north defenses into a Great Wall and drove the Huns from south of the yellow river. He conquered the south, built canals and roads, divided China into 36 military prefectures, destroyed feudalism, and disarmed nobles. He also standardized Chinese script, and harmonized axle lengths, weights, measures and laws.
Adam Smith: 1723-1790; Scottish economist Adam Smith advocated open competition and freedom from government regulation, principles that would become the bedrock of modern capitalism. In his 1776 book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Smith argued that the free market is self-regulating and that by pursuing their own interests individuals would produce the types of goods most needed by society. He saw labor--not land or money--as a thing of primary value. His ideas spurred the study of economics. Smith laid the intellectual framework that explained the free market and still holds true today.
Socrates: 469-399BC; His friend Chaerephon asked the oracle at Delphi whether there was any wiser man than Socrates. The oracle responded "none". Socrates was perplexed by this as he thought he was not wise in any subject. This inspired him to approach poets, politicians and artists who were thought wise by themselves and others. He questioned them closely via, what is now known as, a Socratic dialogue. Thereby, he found they had no great wisdom. He gathered from this that his, perhaps, greater wisdom might be due to his being fully conscious of his own ignorance. He determined to interrogate all men until he revealed their own ignorance, & thereby became wiser.
He lived the humblest life, partaking of the cheapest food and drink. He had no shirt or shoes and wore the same cloak summer and winter. But this gave him independence to do as he wished, and what he wished was to help himself and others come to greater knowledge and peace of mind. No Socrates biography would be complete without mentioning his fame, in the council of Athens, for arguing for his convictions, irrespective of the will of the people or the rulers. Eventually, this led him to trial for not believing in the gods and corrupting the youth of the city. His speech for his own defense is recorded in the Apology (Gk. apologia, 'defence') by Plato.
Socrates biography was never an autobiography; he wrote no books and we are dependent on Plato for our knowledge of his philosophy. The combined impact of Plato and Socrates is unequalled in intellectual history. Socrates' greatest passion was ethics. He wanted to know the difference between true knowledge and opinion, and relentlessly applied the Socratic method in seeking it. The person being cross-examined was left helpless, but at least knowing the extent of his ignorance. It is likely that politicians, finding themselves ridiculed by this process, were instrumental in condemning Socrates. Socrates' maturity was set against the background of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) between Athens and Sparta, which dragged in every other Greek city-state.
Sophocles: 495-405BC; One of the great playwrights of the golden age of Greek Drama. He studied all of the arts. In his first competition, in 468 B.C, Sophocles took first prize, defeating none other than Aeschylus himself. More than 120 plays were to follow. In addition to his theatrical duties, Sophocles served for many years as an ordained priest of Alcon and Asclepius, the god of medicine. He also served on the Board of Generals, a committee that administered civil and military affairs in Athens, and for a time he was director of the Treasury, controlling the funds of the association of states known as the Delian Confederacy.
One of the great innovators of the theatre, he was the first to add a third actor. He also abolished the trilogic form in which Aeschylus, for example, had used three tragedies to tell a single story. Sophocles chose to make each tragedy a complete entity in itself as a result of which he had to pack all of his action into the shorter form, and this clearly offered greater dramatic possibilities. Of Sophocles' more than 120 plays, only seven have survived in their entirety. Of these, Oedipus the King is generally considered his greatest work. This tragedy of fate explores the depths of modern psycho-analysis as Oedipus unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother in an attempt to avoid the very prophecy he ultimately fulfills. A masterful work of plot and suspense, Oedipus the King is often heralded as a "perfectly structured" play.
Another masterpiece, Antigone, is the story of a passionate young woman who refuses to submit to earthly authority when it forbids a proper burial for her brother. Illustrating the rival claims of the state and the individual conscience, Antigone is an excellent example for the modern social dramatist.In The Women of Trachis, Sophocles presents another well-rounded female character--Deianira, the wife of Heracles. His greatest character drama, however, is probably Electra.
Joseph Stalin: 1879-1953; Georgian Marxist revolutionary and later virtual dictator of the USSR (1928-53), born in Georgia, the son of a cobbler and ex-serf. He studied at Tiflis Orthodox Theological Seminary, from which he was expelled in 1899. After joining a Georgian Social Democratic organization (1898), he became active in the revolutionary underground, and was twice exiled to Siberia (1902, 1913). As a leading Bolshevik he played an active role in the October Revolution (1917), and became people's commissar for nationalities in the first Soviet government and a member of the Communist Party Politburo. In 1922 he became general secretary of the Party Central Committee, a post he held until his death, and also occupied other key positions which enabled him to build up enormous personal power in the party and government apparatus. After Lenin's death (1924) he pursued a policy of building ‘socialism in one country’, and gradually isolated and disgraced his political rivals, notably Trotsky. In 1928 he launched the campaign for the collectivization of agriculture during which millions of peasants perished, and the first 5-year plan for the forced industrialization of the economy. Between 1934 and 1938 he inaugurated a massive purge of the party, government, armed forces, and intelligentsia in which millions of so-called ‘enemies of the people’ were imprisoned, exiled, or shot. In 1938 he signed the Non-Aggression Pact with Hitler which bought the Soviet Union two years respite from involvement in World War 2. After the German invasion (1941), the USSR became a member of the Grand Alliance, and Stalin, as war leader, assumed the title of generalissimo. He took part in the conferences of Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam which resulted in Soviet military and political control over the liberated countries of post-war E and C Europe. From 1945 until his death he resumed his repressive measures at home, and conducted foreign policies which contributed to the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West. While many regard Stalin as a brutal dictator possibly equaled only by Hitler in the scale of the terror he wreaked, others question whether the Soviet Union would have survived to win victories in World War 2 under a more liberal leader.
Sui Wen Ti: 541AD – 604AD. “The Sui” 589-618. Sui Wen Ti was the founder of the Sui dynasty, which brought about the second unification of China after more than 300 years of division. The chaos of the Three Kingdoms finally came to an end under hand of Sui Wen-ti. He reunified the northern kingdoms, centralized the government, reformed the taxation structure, and conquered the south--all in a single lifetime. The government he established was remarkably stable during his lifetime, and he began ambitious building and economic projects. However, unlike the founders of the Han dynasties, Sui Wen-ti did not adopt Confucianism as the state philosophy, but rather embraced Buddhism and Taoism, both of which had spread so rapidly during the Three Kingdoms period. Sui Wen-ti employed a cadre of Buddhist advisors in his program to unify the country, and Buddhism would become the government philosophy until the founding the Sung dynasty several centuries later.
Suleyman the Magnificent: 1494-1566; Greatest sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Suleyman I undertook bold military campaigns that expanded his realm and generated tremendous riches. Also known as the Lawgiver, Suleyman imposed cohesion on a government that linked three continents. He built fortresses, bridges, aqueducts and mosques, including Istanbul's grand Suleymaniye Mosque. The art and literature that flowered during his reign are still renowned
Nikola Tesla: 1856-1943; He may be second only to his ex-boss Thomas Edison as the most farsighted inventor of the electric age. His work on the rotating magnetic field and alternating current (AC, as in AC/DC, the patents for which he sold to George Westinghouse in 1885) helped electrify the world by enabling power to travel over wires to customers great distances away. A tireless and eccentric inventor, Nikola Tesla came up with some things--for instance, a "death ray" to shoot down attacking aircraft--that don't seem nearly as farfetched now as they must have in his day.
Leo Tolstoy: 1828-1910; The son of a Russian nobleman, Leo Tolstoy began wrestling with questions about the purpose of life while writing Anna Karenina. He rejected the divinity of Jesus, renounced violence, condemned private property and tried to live simply, working in the fields on the estate he shared with his wife and 13 children. Excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church, the author of War and Peace attracted admirers from around the world, including a fellow believer in nonviolence, Mohandas Gandhi.
Alan Turing: 1912-1954; At Cambridge University Turing delved deep into the burgeoning world of quantum mechanics. It was there that he developed the proof which states that automatic computation cannot solve all mathematical problems. This concept, also known as the Turing Machine, is considered the basis for the modern theory of computation.
He received his PhD from Princeton University and returned to England in 1938. During World War Two, he played a vital role in helping to decipher the messages encrypted by the German Enigma machine. From 1939 to 1940, along with others, he designed a machine known as the 'Bomba' that successfully decoded German messages and provided pivotal intelligence to the Allies. For his contribution Turing was awarded the Order of the British Empire.
After the war, he turned his thoughts to the development of a machine that would logically process information. He worked first for the National Physical Laboratory (1945-48), where he was asked to develop a computer. Turing's plans were dismissed by his colleagues and the lab lost out on being the first to design a digital computer. It is thought that Turing's blueprint would have secured them the honour, as his machine was capable of computation speeds higher than the others. Soon after, he left for Manchester University where he directed the computing laboratory and developed a body of work that helped to form the basis for the field of artificial intelligence.
Lao Tzu: 570-490 BC; 6th cent. B.C., Chinese philosopher, reputedly the founder of Taoism. It is uncertain that Lao Tzu is historical. His biography in Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Records of the Historian (1st cent. B.C.) says he was a contemporary of Confucius and served as curator of the dynastic archives until retiring to the mythical K’un-lun mountains. He allegedly transmitted his teachings to a border guard who subsequently compiled the Lao Tzu, also titled the Tao-te ching [Classic of the Way and Virtue]. Scholars date the work in the 4th–2d cent. B.C., with some strata perhaps as old as the 6th cent. B.C. Its parables and verse, written in incantatory language, advocate passive and intuitive behavior in natural harmony with the Tao, a cosmic unity underlying all phenomena. It emphasizes the value of wu-wei, “nonstriving” or “non-purposeful action,” by which one returns to a primitive state closer to the Tao, a stage of creative possibility symbolized by the child or an uncarved block. It also promotes a laissez-faire approach to government.
Pope Urban II: 1042-1099; Pope (1088-99), born in Châtillon-sur-Marne, NE France. A Benedictine monk at Cluny, he was sent to Germany by Pope Gregory VII, and was made Cardinal Bishop of Ostia in 1078. He was elected pope in 1088 but had to contend with antipope Clemente III and only managed to gain control in 1094. He strengthened papal authority and introduced ecclesiastical reforms. He maintained a good relationship with the Normans in S Italy and other European kings, and launched the first Crusade. He was beatified in 1881.
Voltaire: 1694-1778; Writer, the embodiment of the 18th-c Enlightenment, born in Paris, France. Educated by the Jesuits in Paris, he studied law, then turned to writing. For lampooning the Duc d'Orléans he was imprisoned in the Bastille (1717-18), where he rewrote his tragedy Oedipe. This brought him fame, but he gained enemies at court, and was forced to go into exile in England (1726-9). Back in France, he wrote plays, poetry, historical and scientific treatises, and his Lettres philosophiques (1733, Philosophical Letters). He regained favour at court, becoming royal historiographer, then moved to Berlin at the invitation of Frederick the Great (1750-3). In 1755 he settled near Geneva, where he wrote the satirical short story, Candide (1759). From 1762 he produced a range of anti-religious writings and the Dictionnaire philosophique (1764). Always concerned over cases of injustice, he took a particular interest in the affair of Jean Calas, whose innocence he helped to establish. In 1778 he returned as a celebrity to Paris. His ideas were an important influence on the intellectual climate leading to the French Revolution.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: 1749-1832; German poet, dramatist, novelist, and scientist, b. Frankfurt. One of the great masters of world literature, his genius embraced most fields of human endeavor; his art and thought are epitomized in his great dramatic poem Faust. His most enduring work, indeed, one of the peaks of world literature, is the dramatic poem Faust. The first part was published in 1808, the second shortly after Goethe’s death. Goethe recast the traditional Faust legend and made it one of the greatest poetic and philosophic creations the world possesses. His main departure from the original is no doubt the salvation of Faust, the erring seeker, in the mystic last scene of the second part.
John von Neumann: 1903-1957; One obituary of von Neumann referred to him as "the greatest mathematician of his time." Perhaps: He was a vital contributor to the development of both the hydrogen bomb and the digital computer. Von Neumann's intellect was dizzying--he worked on problems ranging from the minutiae of quantum mechanical calculations to the real-world applicability of game theory--but he was always able to explain his most complicated explorations to the uninitiated.
George Washington: 1732-1799; US statesman and first president (1789-97), born in Virginia. Having studied military science on his own, in 1753 he began several years' service with the Virginia militia in the French and Indian Wars, taking command of all Virginia forces (1755) and participating in several dangerous actions. Commissioned as aide-de-camp by General Edward Braddock in 1755, he barely escaped with his life in the battle that took Braddock's life. He resigned his commission in 1758, following his election to the Virginia House of Burgesses (1759-74). When he married wealthy widow Martha Custis, Washington's fortune and social position was secured. He participated in the First Continental Congress (1774) and took command of the Virginia militia, and the next year the Second Congress, impressed with his military experience and commanding personality, made him commander-in-chief of the Continental army. With remarkable skill, patience, and courage, he led the American forces through the Revolution, struggling not only with the British but with the awkward Continental Congress - and also on occasion with resentful fellow officers. Notable among his achievements were his bold crossing of the Delaware to rout enemy forces at Trenton on Christmas night of 1776, and his holding the army together during the terrible winter encampment at Valley Forge (1777-8). His victory over the British at Yorktown (1781) effectively ended the war, but for almost two more years he had to strive to keep the colonists from splintering into selfish enterprises. He returned to Mount Vernon (1783), but maintained his presence in the debate over the country's future; he solidified that role when he chaired the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787. In 1789 the first electors unanimously voted Washington as president (re-elected 1793). A natural leader rather than a thinker or orator, he had great difficulty coping with an unruly new government, futilely resisting the growing factionalism that resolved into the forming of Hamilton's Federalist Party - to which Washington finally gravitated - and Jefferson's liberal Democratic-Republican Party. In 1796 Washington announced he would not run again (thus setting a precedent for only two terms) and retired from office the next year.
Watson & Crick: 1928- / 1916-2004; In 1953, Watson and Crick sparked a revolution with their discovery of the helical structure of the DNA molecule. Watson was only 25 years old when their findings were published. And he was only 34 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize. The X-ray crystallography experiments of Franklin and Wilkins provided much information about DNA - in particular that DNA was a molecule in which two "strands" formed a tightly linked pair. Crick and Watson made the intuitive leap: in 1953, they proposed that the structure of DNA was a winding helix in which pairs of bases (adenine paired with thymine and guanine paired with cytosine) held the two strands together. The Watson-Crick model of the DNA double helix provided enormous impetus for research in the emerging fields of molecular genetics and biochemistry.
James Watt: 1736-1819; Inventor, born in Greenock, Inverclyde, WC Scotland, UK. He went to Glasgow in 1754 to learn the trade of mathematical-instrument maker, and there, after a year in London, he set up in business. He was employed on surveys for several canals, improved harbours and rivers, and by 1759 was studying steam as a motive force. In 1763-4, in the course of repairing a working model of the Newcomen engine, he found he could greatly improve its efficiency by using a separate steam condenser. After other improvements, he went into partnership with Matthew Boulton, and the new engine was manufactured at Birmingham in 1774. Several other inventions followed, including the double-acting engine, parallel motion linkage, the centrifugal governor for automatic speed control, and the pressure gauge. The term horse-power was first used by him, and the SI unit of power is named after him.
Mary Wollstonecraft: 1759-1797; A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, British author Mary Wollstonecraft's landmark plea for women's equality, was published in 1792, at a time when French citizens were demanding reforms and overthrowing their monarchy. Inspired by those democratic principles, Wollstonecraft challenged Rousseau and others, arguing for equal education and employment for women and urging national legislation to guarantee women's rights. Wollstonecraft, who gave birth to her first child while unmarried (her second, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, wrote Frankenstein), was criticized for a lifestyle that defied convention, but her work influenced generations of feminists.
Orville and Wilbur Wright: 1871-1948 & 1867-1912; The Wright brothers, who designed and made bicycles for a living, were so distressed after hearing that the German scientist Otto Lilienthal had died in a gliding experiment, that they determined to pursue his dream of flight. For eight years the brothers studied flying buzzards, tested wing models in a homemade wind tunnel, built engines, and launched gliders, most of them doomed, on the windy bluffs of Kitty Hawk, N.C. Finally, in 1903, Orville and Wilbur succeeded in flying the first powered airplane. Flight time: 12 seconds. By 1908, the Wrights were making warplanes. Mankind's view of the world--and of its own power--had changed forever.
Deng Xiaoping: 1904-1997; Leader of the Chinese Communist Party, after 1978 the dominant figure in Chinese politics, born in Sichuan province, C China. He studied in France, where he joined the Communist Party, and in the Soviet Union, and became associated with Mao Zedong during the period of the Jiangxi Soviet (1928-34). In 1954 he became secretary-general of the Chinese Communist Party, but reacted strongly against the excesses of the Great Leap Forward (1958-9). When Mao launched the Cultural Revolution (1966), Deng was criticized and purged along with Liu Shaoqi, but retained the confidence of Premier Zhou Enlai and was restored to power in 1974. Again dismissed in 1976, after the death of Mao he was restored once more to power, and from 1978 had taken China through a rapid course of pragmatic reforms. His prestige was severely damaged by his role in the repression of the mass protests on Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Cao Xueqin: 1715-1763; When Story of the Stone was published anonymously around 1765, it caught the attention of the best writers in Beijing. Later, the author was identified as Cao Xueqin, the grandson of a once wealthy minister. The book, eventually expanded and republished as Dream of the Red Chamber, tells the story of the rise and fall of a powerful Chinese family. Its panoramic representations of intricate human relationships and everyday experiences have earned it a reputation as the greatest novel written in vernacular Chinese, and its influence on later art forms, including Chinese opera, has been enormous.
Mao Zedong: 1893-1976; In 1921, when Mao Zedong was one of a dozen men forming the outlaw Chinese Communist Party, few foresaw him as leader of modern China. It was a Long March indeed for Mao's Red Army, from resistance against the Japanese to defeat of the Nationalists and the rise, in 1949, of the People's Republic. A brilliant warrior, Mao was a despotic dictator. His economic Great Leap Forward failed at a cost of 30 million peasant lives. His Cultural Revolution led to more injustice and death. Mao cast a shadow on the world, a darker one on his own people.
Zheng He: 1371-c.1435; In the early decades of the 15th century, the seas off Asia were dominated by the huge Chinese treasure ships of Admiral Zheng He--each one of them five times as large as a typical European caravel. Zheng, a court eunuch turned diplomat, led seven naval expeditions for Ming emperor Yongle between 1405 and 1433. His assignment was to extend China's political sway overseas. His first entourage included 62 ships and 27,800 men; the others were of similar scale, making them the most fantastic naval ventures the world had yet seen. His journeys took him to the east coast of Africa, to Mecca and to India. Zheng always brought back exotic souvenirs as proof of his exploits, including, once, an African giraffe.
Zhu Xi: 1130-1200; One of China's most influential philosophers, Zhu Xi recast Confucius's teachings by writing more than 100 works, including commentaries on most of the Confucian classics. His teachings--emphasizing morality and logic, condemning popular religion and denying the existence of a personal deity--were a challenge to the spread of Buddhism in China. Zhu's neo-Confucian writings had such a wide influence they became required reading for China's civil service exams for the next 600 years.
Zoroaster: 6th-c BC; Iranian prophet and founder of the ancient Parsee religion which bears his name. He had visions of Ahura Mazda, which led him to preach against polytheism. He appears as a historical person only in the earliest portion of the Avesta. As the centre of a group of chieftains, he carried on a struggle for the establishment of a holy agricultural state against Turanian and Vedic aggressors.
ADD: Pope John Paul II; Bill Gates
PART 6: RELIGION
Religion Members Percentage
Christianity 1.9 billion 33.0%
Islam 1.1 billion 20.0
Hinduism 781 million 13.0
Buddhism 324 million 6.0
Sikhism 19 million 0.4
Judaism 14 million 0.2
Baha'ism 6.1 million 0.1
Confucianism 5.3 million 0.1
Jainism 4.9 million 0.1
Shintoism 2.8 million 0.0
Summary of the Big 5 Religions
Christianity:
Founder: Jesus Christ, who was crucified around A.D. 30 in Jerusalem.
Gods: One
Holy Writings: The Bible is the main sacred text of Christianity.
Beliefs: Jesus taught love of God and neighbor and a concern for justice.
Types: In 1054 Christians separated into the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. In the early 1500s the major Protestant groups (Luthern, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian) came into being. A variety of other groups have since developed.
Where: Through its missionary activity Christianity has spread to most parts of the globe.
Islam:
Founder: Muhammad, who was born in A.D. 570 at Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.
Gods: One
Holy Writings: The Koran is the sacred book of Islam.
Beliefs: The Five Pillars, or main duties, are: profession of faith; prayer; charitable giving; fasting during the month of Ramadan; and pilgrimage to Mecca at least once.
Types: Almost 90% of Muslims are Sunnis. Shiites are the second-largest group. The Shiites split from the Sunnis in 632 when Muhammad died.
Where: Islam is the main religion of the Middle East, Asia, and the north of Africa.
Hinduism:
Founder: Hinduism has no founder. The oldest religion, it may date to prehistoric times.
Gods: Many
Holy Writings: The most ancient are the four Vedas.
Beliefs: Reincarnation states that all living things are caught in a cycle of death and rebirth. Life is ruled by the laws of karma, in which rebirth depends on moral behavior.
Types: No single belief system unites Hindus. A Hindu can believe in only one god, in many, or in none.
Where: Hinduism is practiced by more than 80% of India's population.
Buddhism:
Founder: Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha, in the 4th or 5th century B.C. in India.
Gods: None, but there are enlightened beings (Buddhas)
Holy Writings: The most important are the Tripitaka, the Mahayana Sutras, Tantra, and Zen texts.
Beliefs: The Four Noble Truths: (1) all beings suffer; (2) desire—for possessions, power, and so on—causes suffering; (3) desire can be overcome; & (4) the path that leads away from desire is the Eightfold Path (Middle Way).
Types: Theravada (Way of the Elders) and Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) are the two main types.
Where: Buddhism is the main religion in many Asian countries.
Judaism:
Founder: Hebrew leader Abraham founded Judaism around 2000 BC Moses gave Jews the Torah c.1250 BC
Gods: One
Holy Writings: The most important are the Torah, or the first five books of Moses. Others include Judaism's oral tradition, the written form of which is known as the Talmud.
Beliefs: Jews believe in the laws of God and the words of the prophets. In Judaism, however, actions are more important than beliefs.
Types: The three main types are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Conservative Jews follow most traditional practices, but less strictly than the Orthodox. Reform Jews are the least traditional.
Where: There are large Jewish populations in Israel and the U.S.
Details on the Major Religions
Christianity:
Christianity is a monotheistic religion founded by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, a Jew, was born in about 7 B.C. and assumed his public life, probably after his 30th year, in Galilee. The New Testament Gospels describe Jesus as a teacher and miracle worker. He proclaimed the kingdom of God, a future reality that is at the same time already present. Jesus set the requirements for participation in the kingdom of God as a change of heart and repentance for sins, love of God and neighbor, and concern for justice. Circa A.D. 30 he was executed on a cross in Jerusalem, a brutal form of punishment for those considered a political threat to the Roman Empire.
After his death his followers came to believe in him as the Christ, the Messiah. The Gospels report his resurrection and how the risen Jesus was witnessed by many of his followers. The apostle Paul helped spread the new faith in his missionary travels. Historically, Christianity arose out of Judaism and claims that Jesus fulfilled many of the promises of the Hebrew Scripture (often referred to as the Old Testament).
The new religion spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. In its first two centuries, Christianity began to take shape as an organization, developing distinctive doctrine, liturgy, and ministry. By the fourth century the Christian church had taken root in countries stretching from Spain in the West to Persia and India in the East. Christians had been subject to persecution by the Roman state, but gained tolerance under Constantine the Great (A.D. 313). The church became favored under his successors, and in 380 the emperor Theodosius proclaimed Christianity the state religion. Other religions were suppressed.
Because differences in doctrine threatened to divide the church, a standard Christian creed was formulated by bishops at successive ecumenical councils, the first of which was held in A.D. 325 (Nicaea). Important doctrines were defined concerning the Trinity—in other words, that there is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Constantinople, A.D. 381), and the nature of Christ as both divine and human (Chalcedon, A.D. 541). Christians came to accept both Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament as authoritative. The New Testament comprises four Gospels (narratives of Jesus' life), 21 Epistles, The Acts of the Apostles, and Revelation.
Because of differences between Christians of the East and West, the unity of the church was broken in 1054. The religious center for the Eastern Orthodox Church was Constantinople, and the Roman Catholic Church defined doctrine and practice for Christians in the West. In 1517 the Reformation began, which ultimately caused a schism in the Western church. Reformers wished to correct certain practices within the Roman church, but they also came to view the Christian faith in a distinctly new way. The major Protestant denominations (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed, and Anglican [Episcopalian]) thus came into being. Over the centuries, numerous denominations have broken with these major traditions, resulting in a spectrum of Christian expression.
In the 21st century, many Christians hope to regain a sense of unity through dialogue and cooperation among different traditions. The ecumenical movement led to the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948 (Amsterdam), which has since been joined by many denominations.
A. Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy comprises the faith and practices stemming from ancient churches in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. It encompasses Orthodox churches in communion with the see of Constantinople.
The Orthodox, Catholic, Apostolic Church is the direct descendant of the Byzantine state church and consists of independent national churches that are united by doctrine, liturgy, and hierarchical organization (church leaders include deacons and priests, who may either be married or be monks before ordination, and bishops, who must be celibates). The heads of these churches are called patriarchs or metropolitans. Rivalry between the pope of Rome and the patriarch of Constantinople, as well as differences that existed for centuries between the eastern and western parts of the empire, led to a schism in 1054. The mutual excommunication pronounced in that year was lifted in 1965, however, and a climate of better understanding has ensued. Orthodox churches belong to the World Council of Churches.
The Eastern Orthodox churches recognize only the canons of the seven ecumenical councils (325–787) as binding for faith, and they reject doctrines that have been added in the West.
The central worship service is called the Liturgy, which is understood as representing God's acts of salvation. Its center is the celebration of the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper. Icons (sacred pictures) have a special place in Orthodox worship. The mother of Christ, angels, and saints are venerated. The Orthodox Church and the Western Catholic Church recognize the same number of sacraments.
Orthodox churches are found in Greece, Turkey, Russia, the Balkans, and other parts of the former Soviet Union. In this century Orthodox faith has spread to western Europe and other parts of the world, particularly North America.
B. Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism comprises the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. It stands under the authority of the bishop of Rome, the pope, and is led by him and bishops who are held to be, through ordination, successors of Peter and the apostles. Doctrine and sacraments are administered by the hierarchy of archbishops, bishops, priests, and deacons. As successor to Peter, the pope is considered the Vicar of Christ. Roman Catholics believe their church to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, possessing all the properties of the one, true church of Christ.
The faith of the church is understood to be identical with that taught by Christ and his apostles and contained in the Bible and tradition. New definitions of doctrines, such as the Immaculate Conception of Mary (1854) and the bodily Assumption of Mary (1950), have been declared by popes, however. At Vatican Council I (1870) the pope was proclaimed “endowed with infallibility, ex cathedra, in other words, when exercising the office of pastor and teacher of all Christians.”
The center of Roman Catholic worship is the celebration of the Mass, the Eucharist, which is the commemoration of Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection. Other sacraments are baptism, confirmation, penance, matrimony, anointing of the sick (formerly known as extreme unction), and holy orders. The Virgin Mary and the other saints, and their relics, are venerated, and prayers are made to them to intercede with God, in whose presence they are believed to dwell.
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian organization in the world, found in most countries.
Vatican Council II (1962–1965) sought to “update” the church, bringing about changes in practice and more deeply involving the laity. The immensely popular Pope John Paul II (1978–) has taken a more conservative course and has reached out to Catholics worldwide through his extensive travels.
The Catholic clergy is organized in a strict, sometimes overlapping hierarchy:
Pope: Head of the church, he is based at the Vatican. The pope is infallible in defining matters of faith and morals.
Cardinal: Appointed by the pope, 178 cardinals worldwide, including 13 in the U.S., make up the College of Cardinals. As a body,k it advises the pope and, on his death, elects a new pope.
Archbishop: An archbishop is a bishop of a main or metropolitan diocese, also called an archdiocese. A cardinal can concurrently hold the title. The U.S. has 45 archbishops.
Bishop: A bishop, like a priest, is ordained to this station. He is a teacher of church doctrine, a priest of sacred worship, and a minister of church government. The U.S. has 290 active bishops, 194 head dioceses.
Priest: An ordained minister who can administer most of the sacraments, including the Eucharist, baptism, and marriage. He can be with a particular religious order or committed to serving a congregation.
Deacon: A transitional deacon is a seminarian studying for the priesthood. A permanent deacon can be married and assists a priest by performing some of the sacraments.
C. Protestantism
Protestantism encompasses the Christian churches that separated from Rome during the Reformation in the 16th century. This movement was initiated by an Augustinian monk, Martin Luther. The term Protestant was originally applied to followers of Luther, who protested at the Diet of Spires (1529) against the decree that prohibited all further ecclesiastical reforms. Other influential reformers included John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Knox. Protestantism rejected attempts to tie God's revelation to earthly institutions and strictly adhered to the Word of God as sole authority in matters of faith and practice (sola scriptura). Central in the reformers' understanding of the biblical message is the justification of the sinner by faith alone. The church is understood as a fellowship, and the priesthood of all believers is stressed.
The Augsburg Confession (1530) was the principal statement of Lutheran faith and practice. It became a model for other Protestant confessions of faith. Major Protestant denominations include the Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist), Presbyterian, and Anglican (Episcopalian). Innumerable sects and denominations sprang from these roots, including Quakers, Baptists, Pentecostals, Congregationalists, Methodists, and nondenominational assemblies.
Since the latter part of the 19th century, national councils of churches have been established in many countries, for example, the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America in 1908. Churches of a particular denomination have joined in federations and world alliances, beginning with the Anglican Lambeth Conference in 1867.
Protestant missionary activity, particularly strong in the 19th century, resulted in the founding of many churches in Asia and Africa. The ecumenical movement, which originated with Protestant missions, aims at unity among Christians and churches.
Judaism
Judaism is the oldest of the monotheistic faiths. It affirms the existence of one God, Yahweh, who entered into covenant with the descendants of Abraham, God's chosen people. Judaism's holy writings reveal how God has been present with them throughout their history. These writings are known as the Torah, specifically the five books of Moses, but most broadly conceived as the Hebrew Scriptures (traditionally called the Old Testament by Christians) and the compilation of oral tradition known as the Talmud (which includes the Mishnah, the oral law).
According to Scripture, the Hebrew patriarch Abraham (20th century? B.C.) founded the faith that would become known as Judaism. He obeyed the call of God to depart northern Mesopotamia and travel to Canaan. God promised to bless his descendants if they remained faithful in worship. Abraham's line descended through Isaac, then Jacob (also called Israel; his descendants came to be called Israelites). According to Scripture, 12 families that descended from Jacob migrated to Egypt, where they were enslaved. They were led out of bondage (13th century? B.C.) by Moses, who united them in the worship of Yahweh. The Hebrews returned to Canaan after a 40-year sojourn in the desert, conquering from the local peoples the “promised land” that God had provided for them.
The 12 tribes of Israel lived in a covenant association during the period of the judges (1200?–1000? B.C.), leaders known for wisdom and heroism. Saul first established a monarchy (r. 1025?–1005? B.C.); his successor, David (r. 1005?–965? B.C.), unified the land of Israel and made Jerusalem its religious and political center. Under his son, Solomon (r. 968?–928? B.C.), a golden era culminated in the building of a temple, replacing the portable sanctuary in use until that time. Following Solomon's death, the kingdom was split into Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Political conflicts resulted in the conquest of Israel by Assyria (721 B.C.) and the defeat of Judah by Babylon (586 B.C.). Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed, and many Judeans were exiled to Babylon.
During the era of the kings, the prophets were active in Israel and Judah. Their writings emphasize faith in Yahweh as God of Israel and of the entire universe, and they warn of the dangers of worshiping other gods. They also cry out for social justice.
The Judeans were permitted to return in 539 B.C. to Judea, where they were ruled as a Persian province. Though temple and cult were restored in Jerusalem, during the exile a new class of religious leaders had emerged—the scribes. They became rivals to the temple hierarchy and would eventually evolve into the party known as the Pharisees.
Persian rule ended when Alexander the Great conquered Palestine in 332 B.C. After his death, rule of Judea alternated between Egypt and Syria. When the Syrian ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes tried to prevent the practice of Judaism, a revolt was led by the Maccabees (a Jewish family), winning Jewish independence in 128 B.C. The Romans conquered Jerusalem in 63 B.C.
During this period the Sadducees (temple priests) and the Pharisees (teachers of the law in the synagogues) offered different interpretations of Judaism. Smaller groups that emerged were the Essenes, a religious order; the Apocalyptists, who expected divine deliverance led by the Messiah; and the Zealots, who were prepared to fight for national independence. Hellenism also influenced Judaism at this time.
When the Zealots revolted, the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and its temple (A.D. 70). The Jews were scattered in the Diaspora (dispersion) and experienced much persecution. Rabbinic Judaism, developed according to Pharisaic practice and centered on Torah and synagogue, became the primary expression of faith. The Scriptures became codified, and the Talmud took shape. In the 12th century Maimonides formulated the influential 13 Articles of Faith, including belief in God, God's oneness and lack of physical or other form, the changelessness of Torah, restoration of the monarchy under the Messiah, and resurrection of the dead.
Two branches of European Judaism developed during the Middle Ages: the Sephardic, based in Spain and with an affinity to Babylonian Jews; and the Ashkenazic, based in Franco-German lands and affiliated with Rome and Palestine. Two forms of Jewish mysticism also arose at this time: medieval Hasidism and attention to the Kabbalah (a mystical interpretation of Scripture).
After a respite during the 18th-century Enlightenment, anti-Semitism again plagued European Jews in the 19th century, sparking the Zionist movement that culminated in the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. The Holocaust of World War II took the lives of more than 6 million Jews.
Jews today continue synagogue worship, which includes readings from the Law and the Prophets and prayers, such as the Shema (Hear, O Israel) and the Amidah (the 18 Benedictions). Religious life is guided by the commandments of the Torah, which include the practice of circumcision and Sabbath observance.
Present-day Judaism has three main expressions: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Reform movements, resulting from the Haskala (Jewish Enlightenment) of the 18th century, began in western Europe but took root in North America. Reform Jews do not hold the oral law (Talmud) to be a divine revelation, and they emphasize ethical and moral teachings. Orthodox Jews follow the traditional faith and practice with great seriousness. They follow a strict kosher diet and keep the Sabbath with care. Conservative Judaism, which developed in the mid-18th century, holds the Talmud to be authoritative and follows most traditional practices, yet tries to make Judaism relevant for each generation, believing that change and tradition can complement each other. Because the Torah assumes belief in God but does not require it, a strong secular movement also exists within Judaism, including atheist and agnostic elements.
Islam:
Islam, one of the three major monotheistic faiths, was founded in Arabia by Muhammad between 610 and 632. There are an estimated 5.5 million Muslims in North America and 1 billion Muslims worldwide.
Muhammad was born in A.D. 570 at Mecca and belonged to the Quraysh tribe, which was active in the caravan trade. At the age of 25 he joined the trade from Mecca to Syria in the employment of a rich widow, Khadija, whom he later married. Critical of the lax moral standards and polytheistic practices of the inhabitants of Mecca, he began to lead a contemplative life in the desert. In a dramatic religious vision, the angel Gabriel announced to Muhammad that he was to be a prophet. Encouraged by Khadija, he devoted himself to the reform of religion and society. Polytheism was to be abandoned. But leaders of the Quraysh generally rejected his teaching, and Muhammad gained only a small following and suffered persecution. He eventually fled Mecca.
The Hegira (Hijra, meaning “emigration”) of Muhammad from Mecca, where he was not honored, to Medina, where he was well received, occurred in 622 and marks the beginning of the Muslim era. After a number of military conflicts with Mecca, in 630 he marched on Mecca and conquered it. Muhammad died at Medina in 632. His grave there has since been a place of pilgrimage.
Muhammad's followers, called Muslims, revered him as the prophet of Allah (God), the only God. Muslims consider Muhammad to be the last in the line of prophets that included Abraham and Jesus. Islam spread quickly, stretching from Spain in the west to India in the east within a century after the prophet's death. Sources of the Islamic faith are the Qur'an (Koran), regarded as the uncreated, eternal Word of God, and tradition (hadith) regarding sayings and deeds of the prophet.
Islam means “surrender to the will of Allah,” the all-powerful, who determines humanity's fate. Good deeds will be rewarded at the Last Judgment in paradise, and evil deeds will be punished in hell.
The Five Pillars, or primary duties, of Islam are profession of faith; prayer, to be performed five times a day; almsgiving to the poor and the mosque (house of worship); fasting during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan; and pilgrimage to Mecca (the hajj) at least once in a Muslim's lifetime, if it is physically and financially possible. The pilgrimage includes homage to the ancient shrine of the Ka'aba, the most sacred site in Islam.
Muslims gather for corporate worship on Fridays. Prayers and a sermon take place at the mosque, which is also a center for teaching of the Qur'an. The community leader, the imam, is considered a teacher and prayer leader.
Islam succeeded in uniting an Arab world of separate tribes and castes, but disagreements concerning the succession of the prophet caused a division in Islam between two groups, Sunnis and Shi'ites. The Shi'ites rejected the first three successors to Muhammad as usurpers, claiming the fourth, Muhammad's son-in-law Ali, as the rightful leader.The Sunnis (from the word tradition), the largest division of Islam (today more than 80%), believe in the legitimacy of the first three successors. Among these, other sects arose (such as the conservative Wahhabi of Saudi Arabia), as well as different schools of theology. Another development within Islam, beginning in the eighth and ninth centuries, was Sufism, a form of mysticism. This movement was influential for many centuries and was instrumental in the spread of Islam in Asia and Africa.
Islam has expanded greatly under Muhammad's successors. It is the principal religion of the Middle East, Asia, and the northern half of Africa.
· Ganges River, India: Sacred to Hindus (Mother Ganges is a Hindu goddess); immersion in the Ganges symbolizes spiritual purification.
· Haifa, Israel: Seat of the Baha'i faith.
· Istanbul, Turkey: Seat of the patriarchate of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox).
· Jerusalem, Israel: Major holy site for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Temple Mount compound is believed to be both the site of the First and Second Temples of Judaism and the place where redemption will occur when the Messiah arrives. The same area is also called Haram al-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary) and is of significance to Muslims. Nearby is the Dome of the Rock, the spot from which Muhammad ascended into heaven. Just below Temple Mount is the Western Wall, a remnant of the Second Temple and the holiest site in Judaism, where Jews come to pray. The Wall is part of a larger wall that encloses the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aksa mosque. The al-Aksa mosque, one of the holiest mosques in Islam, was originally the site toward which Muslims bowed to pray. The Holy Sepulchre, in which Jesus was buried, and from which he returned from the dead, is in the northwest corner of the Old City.
· Knock, Ireland: Pilgrimage site for Catholics where 15 people claimed to see a vision of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist in 1879. About 11/2 million pilgrims visit the site annually.
· Kusinara, India: Site of the Buddha's death.
· Lhasa, Tibet: Potala Palace, historical abode of the Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhism).
· Loch Derg, Ireland: Site of St. Patrick's purgatory, pilgrimage destination; pilgrims walk barefoot around the lake, praying, like St. Patrick did.
· Lourdes, France: In 1858, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to St. Bernadette at Lourdes in seven visions. It is now a Catholic pilgrimage site with a spring that some believe has curative properties.
· Lumbini, Nepal: Birthplace of the Buddha.
· Mecca, Saudi Arabia: The center of Islam and the birthplace of Muhammad, Mecca is the place toward which Muslims bow to pray five times a day. Mecca is the destination of the hajj, the pilgrimage which all Muslims who are financially and physically able must make in their lifetime. An estimated one million Muslims make the hajj annually. The focus of their worship is the Great Mosque at the center of Mecca. It encloses the Ka'aba, a small building that, according to the Qu'ran, was erected by Abraham and his son Ishmael.
· Medina, Saudi Arabia: Muhammad lived in Medina after escaping Mecca in A.D. 622; it is now a holy city that only Muslims may enter.
· Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina: Catholic pilgrimage site where many have claimed visions of Virgin Mary.
· Mt. Athos, Greece: Pilgrimage site for Eastern Orthodox males; site of many monasteries.
· Mt. Fuji, Japan: Sacred to Buddhists and Shintos.
· Mt. Tai Shan, China: Sacred to Taoists and Buddhists, this mountain with many beautiful temples is thought to be a center of living energy.
· Nazareth, Israel: Place where Jesus lived and began teaching.
· Palitana, India: The most important pilgrimage site for Jains, Palitana boasts 863 temples on one mountain, Shatrunjaya Hill.
· Salt Lake City, Utah: Seat of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
· Santiago de Compostela, Spain: One of the most important medieval pilgrimage sites; the pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela passes through France and Spain before ending up at the city's cathedral. Santiago is Saint James, who was martyred at Jerusalem c. A.D. 44.
· Sarnath, India: Place where the Buddha preached his first sermon in the deer park.
· Sea of Galilee, Israel: Place where Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes and preached the Sermon on the Mount.
· Sri Pada (Adam's Peak), Sri Lanka: Sacred to some Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, & Christians, temple on top of Adam's Peak contains a large footprint believed to belong to either Buddha, Shiva, Adam, or St. Thomas.
· Tepeyac, Mexico City, Mexico: Site of the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in 1531; now home to the Basilica of the Virgin, one of the most-visited churches in the world.
· Turin, Italy: Place where Holy Shroud of Turin (linen cloth believed to bear the visage of Jesus Christ) is housed.
· Uluru (Ayer's Rock), Australia: Sacred site of the aborigines of Australia. Now a major tourist attraction, though the aborigine people ask that tourists not climb the rock.
· Varanasi, India: City on the banks of the Ganges River; those who die there reach instant enlightenment.
· The Vatican: Seat of the papacy (Catholicism).
PART 7: Sports
World Series Results
2008 Philadelphia 4, Tampa Bay 1; Hamels 2007 Boston 4, Colorado 0; Lowell
2006 St Louis 4, Detroit 1; Eckstein 2005 Chicago White Sox 4, Houston 0; Dye
2004 Boston 4, St. Louis 0; Ramirez 2003 Florida 4, New York Yankees 2; Beckett
2002 Anaheim 4, San Francisco 3; Glaus 2001 Arizona 4, NY Yankees 3; Schilling/Johnson
2000 NY Yankees 4, NY Mets 1; Jeter 1999 NY Yankees 4, Atlanta 0; Rivera
1998 NY Yankees 4, San Diego 0; Brosius 1997 Florida 4, Cleveland 3; Hernandez
1996 NY Yankees 4, Atlanta 2; Wetteland 1995 Atlanta 4, Cleveland 2; Glavine
1994 Not Held N/A 1993 Toronto 4, Philadelphia 2; Molitor
1992 Toronto 4, Atlanta 2; Borderss 1991 Minnesota 4, Atlanta 3; Morris
1990 Cincinnati 4, Oakland 0; Rijo 1989 Oakland 4, San Francisco 0; Stewart
1988 Los Angeles 4, Oakland 1; Hershiser 1987 Minnesota 4, St. Louis 3; Viola
1986 NY Mets 4, Boston 3; Knight 1985 Kansas City 4, St. Louis 3; Saberhagen
1984 Detroit 4, San Diego 1; Trammell 1983 Baltimore 4, Philadelphia 1; Dempsey
1982 St. Louis 4, Milwaukee 3; Porter 1981 Los Angeles 4, NY Yanks 2; Guerrero/Cey/Yeager
1980 Philadelphia 4, Kansas City 2; Schmidt 1979 Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 3; Stargell
1978 NY Yankees 4, Los Angeles 2; Dent 1977 NY Yankees 4, Los Angeles 2; Jackson
1976 Cincinnati 4, NY Yankees 0; Bench 1975 Cincinnati 4, Boston 3; Rose
1974 Oakland 4, Los Angeles 1; Fingers 1973 Oakland 4, NY Mets 3; Jackson
1972 Oakland 4, Cincinnati 3; Tenace 1971 Pittsburgh 4, Baltimore 3; Clemente
1970 Baltimore 4, Cincinnati 1; B.Robinson 1969 NY Mets 4, Baltimore; Clendenon
1968 Detroit 4, St. Louis 3; Lolich 1967 St. Louis 4, Boston 3; Gibson
1966 Baltimore 4, Los Angeles 0; F.Robinson 1965 Los Angeles 4, Minnesota 3; Koufax
1964 St. Louis 4, NY Yankees 3; Gibson 1963 Los Angeles 4, NY Yankees 0; Koufax
1962 NY Yankees 4, San Francisco 3; Terry 1961 NY Yankees 4, Cincinnati 1; Ford
1960 Pittsburgh 4, NY Yankees 3; Richardson 1959 Los Angeles 4, Chicago White Sox 2; Sherry
1958 NY Yankees 4, Milw. Braves 3; Turley 1957 Milw. Braves 4, NY Yankees 3; Burdette
1956 NY Yankees 4, Brooklyn 3; Larsen 1955 Brooklyn 4, NY Yankees 3; Podres
1954 NY Giants 4, Cleveland 0 -- 1953 NY Yankees 4, Brooklyn 2 --
1952 NY Yankees 4, Brooklyn 3 -- 1951 NY Yankees 4, NY Giants 2 --
1950 NY Yankees 4, Philadelphia 0 -- 1949 NY Yankees 4, Brooklyn 1 --
1948 Cleveland 4, Boston Braves 2 -- 1947 NY Yankees 4, Brooklyn 3 --
1946 St. Louis 4, Boston Red Sox 3 -- 1945 Detroit 4, Chicago Cubs 3 --
1944 St. Louis Cardinals 4, St. Louis Browns 2 -- 1943 NY Yankees 4, St. Louis Cardinals 1 --
1942 St. Louis Cardinals 4, NY Yankees 1 - 1941 NY Yankees 4, Brooklyn 1 --
1940 Cincinnati 4, Detroit 3 -- 1939 NY Yankees 4, Cincinnati 0 --
1938 NY Yankees 4, Chicago Cubs 0 -- 1937 NY Yankees 4, NY Giants 1 --
1936 NY Yankees 4, NY Giants 2 -- 1935 Detroit 4, Chicago Cubs 2 --
1934 St. Louis Cardinals 4, Detroit 3 -- 1933 NY Giants 4, Washington 1 --
1932 NY Yankees 4, Chicago Cubs 0 -- 1931 St. Louis Cardinals 4, Philadelphia A's 3 --
1930 Philadelphia A's 4, St. Louis Cardinals 2 -- 1929 Philadelphia A's 4, Chicago Cubs 1 --
1928 NY Yankees 4, St. Louis Cardinals 0 -- 1927 NY Yankees 4, Pittsburgh 0 --
1926 St. Louis Cardinals 4, NY Yankees 3 -- 1925 Pittsburgh 4, Washington 3 --
1924 Washington 4, NY Giants 3 -- 1923 NY Yankees 4, NY Giants 2 --
1922 NY Giants 4, NY Yankees 0 (one tie) -- 1921 NY Giants 5, NY Yankees 3 --
1920 Cleveland 5, Brooklyn 2 -- 1919 Cincinnati 5, Chicago White Sox 3 --
1918 Boston Red Sox 4, Chicago Cubs 2 -- 1917 Chicago White Sox 4, NY Giants 2 --
1916 Boston Red Sox 4, Brooklyn 1 -- 1915 Boston Red Sox 4, Philadelphia Phillies 1 --
1914 Boston Braves 4, Philadelphia A's 0 -- 1913 Philadelphia A's 4, NY Giants 1 --
1912 Boston Red Sox 4, NY Giants 3 (one tie) -- 1911 Philadelphia A's 4, NY Giants 2 --
1910 Philadelphia A's 4, Chicago Cubs 1 -- 1909 Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 3 --
1908 Chicago Cubs 4, Detroit 1 -- 1907 Chicago Cubs 4, Detroit 0 (one tie) --
1906 Chicago White Sox 4, Chicago Cubs 2 -- 1905 NY Giants 4, Philadelphia A's 1 --
1904 Not held -- 1903 Boston Pilgrims/Red Sox 5, Pittsburgh 3 –
Super Bowl Results
BEST RECORDS
XLIII
XLII 2008 New York Giants 17 New England 14
XLI 2007 Indianapolis 29 Chicago 17
XL 2006 Pittsburgh 21 Seattle 10
XXXIX 2005 New England 24, Philadelphia 21 San Fran: 5-0
XXXVIII 2004 New England 32, Carolina 29 Dallas: 5-3
XXXVII 2003 Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21 Pittsburgh: 5-1
XXXVI 2002 New England 20, St. Louis 17 Green Bay: 3-1
XXXV 2001 Baltimore 34, New York Giants 7 NY Giants 3-1
XXXIV 2000 St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16 Oakland/ L.A.: 3-2
XXXIII 1999 Denver 34, Atlanta 19 Washington: 3-2
XXXII 1998 Denver 31, Green Bay 24 New England: 3-3
XXXI 1997 Green Bay 35, New England 21 Miami: 2-3
XXX 1996 Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17 Denver: 2-4
XXVIV 1995 San Francisco 49, San Diego 26
XXVIII 1994 Dallas 30, Buffalo 13
XXVII 1993 Dallas 52, Buffalo 17
XXVI 1992 Washington 37, Buffalo 24
XXV 1991 New York Giants 20, Buffalo 19
XXIV 1990 San Francisco 55, Denver 10
XXIII 1989 San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16
XXII 1988 Washington 42, Denver 10
XXI 1987 New York Giants 39, Denver 20
XX 1986 Chicago 46, New England 10
XVIV 1985 San Francisco 38, Miami 16
XVIII 1984 L.A. Raiders 38, Washington 9
XVII 1983 Washington 27, Miami 17
XVI 1982 San Francisco 26, Cincinnati 21
XV 1981 Oakland 27, Philadelphia 10
XIV 1980 Pittsburgh 31, L.A. Rams 19
XIII 1979 Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31
XII 1978 Dallas 27, Denver 10
XI 1977 Oakland 32, Minnesota 14
X 1976 Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17
VIV 1975 Pittsburgh 16, Minnesota 6
VIII 1974 Miami 24, Minnesota 7
VII 1973 Miami 14, Washington 7
VI 1972 Dallas 24, Miami 3
V 1971 Baltimore 16, Dallas 13
IV 1970 Kansas City 23, Minnesota 7
III 1969 New York Jets 16, Baltimore 7
II 1968 Green Bay 33, Oakland 14
I 1967 Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10
NBA Championships
Year Champion Runner-up G MVP
2007-08 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 Paul Pierce, Boston
2006-07 San Antonio Spurs Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 Tony Parker, San Antonio
2005-06 Miami Heat Dallas Mavericks 4-2 Dwayne Wade, Miami
2004-05 San Antonio Spurs Detroit Pistons 4-3 Tim Duncan, San Antonio
2003-04 Detroit Pistons Los Angelas Lakers 4-1 Chauncey Billups, Detroit
2002-03 San Antonio Spurs New Jersey Nets 4-2 Tim Duncan, San Antonio
2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers New Jersey Nets 4-0 Shaquille O'Neal, L.A..
2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers 4-1 Shaquille O'Neal, L.A..
1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers Indiana Pacers 4-2 Shaquille O'Neal, L.A..
1998-99 San Antonio Spurs New York Knicks 4-1 Tim Duncan, S.A.
1997-98 Chicago Bulls Utah Jazz 4-2 Michael Jordan, Chi.
1996-97 Chicago Bulls Utah Jazz 4-2 Michael Jordan, Chi.
1995-96 Chicago Bulls Seattle SuperSonics 4-2 Michael Jordan, Chi.
1994-95 Houston Rockets Orlando Magic 4-0 Hakeem Olajuwon, Hou.
1993-94 Houston Rockets New York Knicks 4-3 Hakeem Olajuwon, Hou.
1992-93 Chicago Bulls Phoenix Suns 4-2 Michael Jordan, Chi.
1991-92 Chicago Bulls Portland Trail Blazers 4-2 Michael Jordan, Chi.
1990-91 Chicago Bulls Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 Michael Jordan, Chi.
1989-90 Detroit Pistons Portland Trail Blazers 4-1 Isiah Thomas, Det.
1988-89 Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 Joe Dumars, Det.
1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers Detroit Pistons 4-3 James Worthy, L.A.
1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics 4-2 Magic Johnson, L.A.
1985-86 Boston Celtics Houston Rockets 4-2 Larry Bird, Bos.
1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics 4-2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A.
1983-84 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4-3 Larry Bird, Bos.
1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 Moses Malone, Phi.
1981-82 Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers 4-2 Magic Johnson, L.A.
1980-81 Boston Celtics Houston Rockets 4-2 Cedric Maxwell, Bos.
1979-80 Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers 4-2 Magic Johnson, L.A.
1978-79 Seattle SuperSonics Washington Bullets 4-1 Dennis Johnson, Sea.
1977-78 Washington Bullets Seattle SuperSonics 4-3 Wes Unseld, Was.
1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers Philadelphia 76ers 4-2 Bill Walton, Por.
1975-76 Boston Celtics Phoenix Suns 4-2 Jo Jo White, Bos.
1974-75 Golden State Warriors Washington Bullets 4-0 Rick Barry, G.S.
1973-74 Boston Celtics Milwaukee Bucks 4-3 John Havlicek, Bos.
1972-73 New York Knicks Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 Willis Reed, N.Y.
1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers New York Knicks 4-1 Wilt Chamberlain, L.A.
1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks Baltimore Bullets 4-0 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mil.
1969-70 New York Knicks Los Angeles Lakers 4-3 Willis Reed, N.Y.
1968-69 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4-3 Jerry West, L.A.
1967-68 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers San Francisco Warriors 4-2
1965-66 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4-3
1964-65 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4-1
1963-64 Boston Celtics San Francisco Warriors 4-1
1962-63 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
1961-62 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4-3
1960-61 Boston Celtics St.Louis Hawks 4-1
1959-60 Boston Celtics St.Louis Hawks 4-3
1958-59 Boston Celtics Minneapolis Lakers 4-0
1957-58 St. Louis Hawks Boston Celtics 4-2
1956-57 Boston Celtics St.Louis Hawks 4-3
1955-56 Philadelphia Warriors Fort Wayne Pistons 4-1
1954-55 Syracuse Nationals Fort Wayne Pistons 4-3
1953-54 Minneapolis Lakers Syracuse Nationals 4-3
1952-53 Minneapolis Lakers New York Knicks 4-1
1951-52 Minneapolis Lakers New York Knicks 4-3
1950-51 Rochester Royals New York Knicks 4-3
1949-50 Minneapolis Lakers Syracuse Nationals 4-2
1948-49 Minneapolis Lakers Washington Capitols 4-2
1947-48 Baltimore Bullets Philadelphia Warriors 4-2
1946-47 Philadelphia Warriors Chicago Stags 4-1
BEST RECORDS
Boston: 17-3
LA/ Minneapolis Lakers: 14-15
Chicago Bulls: 6-0
San Antonio Spurs: 4-0
Fort Wayne/ Detroit Pistons: 3-4
Phily/ San Fran/ Golden St. Warriors: 3-3
NBA MVPs
SEASON MVP TEAM
2007-08 Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers
2006-07 Dirk Novitsky Dallas Mavericks
2005-06 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns
2004-05 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns
2003-04 Kevin Garnett Minnesota Timberwolves
2002-03 Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs
2001-02 Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs
2000-01 Allen Iverson Philaelphia 76ers
1999-00 Shaquille O'Neal Los Angeles Lakers
1998-99 Karl Malone Utah Jazz
1997-98 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls
1996-97 Karl Malone Utah Jazz
1995-96 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls
1994-95 David Robinson San Antonio Spurs
1993-94 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets
1992-93 Charles Barkley Phoenix Suns
1991-92 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls
1990-91 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls
1989-90 Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers
1988-89 Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers
1987-88 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls
1986-87 Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers
1985-86 Larry Bird Boston Celtics
1984-85 Larry Bird Boston Celtics
1983-84 Larry Bird Boston Celtics
1982-83 Moses Malone Philadelphia 76ers
1981-82 Moses Malone Houston Rockets
1980-81 Julius Erving Philadelphia 76ers
1979-80 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers
1978-79 Moses Malone Houston Rockets
1977-78 Bill Walton Portland Trail Blazers
1976-77 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers
1975-76 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers
1974-75 Bob McAdoo Buffalo Braves
1973-74 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers
1972-73 Dave Cowens Boston Celtics
1971-72 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Milwaukee Bucks
1970-71 Lew Alcindor Milwaukee Bucks
1969-70 Willis Reed New York Knickerbockers
1968-69 Wes Unseld Baltimore Bullets
1967-68 Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia 76ers
1966-67 Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia 76ers
1965-66 Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia 76ers
1964-65 Bill Russell Boston Celtics
1963-64 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati Royals
1962-63 Bill Russell Boston Celtics
1961-62 Bill Russell Boston Celtics
1960-61 Bill Russell Boston Celtics
1959-60 Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia Warriors
1958-59 Bob Pettit St.Louis Hawks
1957-58 Bill Russell Boston Celtics
1956-57 Bob Cousy Boston Celtics
1955-56 Bob Pettit St.Louis Hawks
ALL-TIME STATISTICS LEADERS
POINTS x - active
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387 2. Karl Malone 36,928
3. Michael Jordan 32,292 4. Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
5. Moses Malone 27,409 6. Elvin Hayes 27,313
7. Hakeem Olajuwon 26,946 8. Oscar Robertson 26,710
9. Dominique Wilkins 26,668 10. John Havlicek 26,395
11. X- Shaquille O'Neal 26,286 12. Alex English 25,613
13. Reggie Miller 25,279 14. Jerry West 25,192
15. Patrick Ewing 24,815 16. Charles Barkley 23,757
17. Robert Parish 23,334 18. Adrian Dantley 23,177
19. Elgin Baylor 23,149 20. X- Allen Iverson Clyde 22,988
REBOUNDING
1. Wilt Chamberlain 23,924 2. Bill Russell 21,620
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17,440 4. Elvin Hayes 16,279
5. Moses Malone 16,212 6. Karl Malone 14,968
7. Robert Parish 14,715 8. Nate Thurmond 14,464
9. Walt Bellamy 14,241 10. Wes Unseld 13,769
11. Hakeem Olajuwon 13,748 12. Buck Williams 13,017
13. Jerry Lucas 12,942 14. Bob Pettit 12,849
15. Charles Barkley 12,546 16. Paul Silas 12,357
17. Dikembe Mutombo 12,326 18. Charles Oakley 12,205
19. Dennis Rodman 11,954 20. Shaquille O’Neal 11,933
ASSISTS
1. John Stockton 15,806 2. Mark Jackson 10,334
3. Magic Johnson 10,141 4. Oscar Robertson 9,887
5. Jason Kidd 9,497 6. Isiah Thomas 9,061
7. x-Gary Payton 8,966 8. Rod Strickland 7,987
9. Maurice Cheeks 7,392 10. Len Wilkens 7,211
11. Terry Porter 7,160 12. Tim Hardaway 7,095
13. Bob Cousy 6,955 14. Guy Rodgers 6,917
15. Steve Nash 6,788
Mens Tennis Grand Slam Winners
Year Australian Open French Open Wimbledon U S Open
1960 Rod Laver N. Pietrangeli Neale Fraser Neale Fraser
1961 Roy Emerson M. Santana Rod Laver Roy Emerson
1962 Rod Laver Rod Laver Rod Laver Rod Laver
1963 Roy Emerson Roy Emerson Chuck McKinley Rafael Osuna
1964 Roy Emerson M. Santana Roy Emerson Roy Emerson
1965 Roy Emerson Fred Stolle Roy Emerson Manuel Santana
1966 Roy Emerson Tony Roche Manuel Santana Fred Stolle
1967 Roy Emerson Roy Emerson John Newcombe John Newcombe
1968 Bill Bowrey Ken Rosewall Rod Laver Arthur Ashe
1969 Rod Laver Rod Laver Rod Laver Rod Laver
1970 Arthur Ashe Jan Kodes John Newcombe Ken Rosewall
1971 Ken Rosewall Jan Kodes John Newcombe Stan Smith
1972 Ken Rosewall A. Gimeno Stan Smith Ilie Nastase
1972 Ken Rosewall A. Gimeno Stan Smith Ilie Nastase
1973 John Newcombe Ilie Nastase Jan Kodes John Newcombe
1974 Jimmy Connors Bjorn Borg Jimmy Connors Jimmy Connors
1975 John Newcombe Bjorn Borg Arthur Ashe Manuel Orantes
1976 Mark Edmonson A. Panatta Bjorn Borg Jimmy Connors
1977 Roscoe Tanner Guillermo Villas Bjorn Borg Guillermo Vilas
1977 Vitas Gerulaitis
1978 Guillermo Vilas Bjorn Borg Bjorn Borg Jimmy Connors
1979 Guillermo Vilas Bjorn Borg Bjorn Borg John McEnroe
1980 Brain Teacher Bjorn Borg Bjorn Borg John McEnroe
1981 Johan Kriek Bjorn Borg John McEnroe John McEnroe
1982 Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Jimmy Connors Jimmy Connors
1983 Mats Wilander Yannick Noah John McEnroe Jimmy Connors
1984 Mats Wilander Ivan Lendl John McEnroe John McEnroe
1985 Stefan Edberg Mats Wilander Boris Becker Ivan Lendl
1986 Not Held Ivan Lendl Boris Becker Ivan Lendl
1987 Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Pat Cash Ivan Lendl
1988 Mats Wilander Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Mats Wilander
1989 Ivan Lendl Michael Chang Boris Becker Boris Becker
1990 Ivan Lendl Andrez Gomez Stefan Edberg Pete Sampras
1991 Boris Becker Jim Courier Michael Stich Stefan Edberg
1992 Jim Courier Jim Courier Andre Agassi Stefan Edberg
1993 Jim Courier Sergei Brugera Pete Sampras Pete Sampras
1994 Pete Sampras Sergei Brugera Pete Sampras Andre Agassi
1995 Andre Agassi Thomas Muster Pete Sampras Pete Sampras
1996 Boris Becker Yevgeny Kafelnikov Richard Krajicek Pete Sampras
1997 Pete Sampras Gustavo Kuerten Pete Sampras Patrick Rafter
1998 Petr Korda Carlos Moya Pete Sampras Patrick Rafter
1999 Yevgeny Kafelnikov Andre Agassi Pete Sampras Andre Agassi
2000 Andre Agassi Gustavo Kuerten Pete Sampras Marat Safin
2001 Andre Agassi Gustavo Kuerten Goran Ivanicevic Lleyton Hewitt
2002 Thomas Johansson Albert Costa Lleyton Hewitt Pete Sampras
2003 Andre Agassi Juan Carlos Ferrero Roger Federer Andy Roddick
2004 Roger Federer Gaston Gaudio Roger Federer Roger Federer
2005 Marat Safin Rafael Nadal Roger Federer Roger Federer
2006 Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Roger Federer Roger Federer
2007 Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Roger Federer Roger Federer
2008 Novak Djokovic Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Roger Federer
Men’s Year End Rankings:
1960 Neale Fraser 1961 Rod Laver
1962 Rod Laver 1963 Rafael Osuna
1964 Roy Emerson 1965 Roy Emerson
1966 Manuel Santana 1967 John Newcombe
1968 Rod Laver 1969 Rod Laver
1970 John Newcombe 1971 John Newcombe
1972 Ilie Nastase
1973 Ilie Nastase John Newcombe Jimmy Connors Tom Okker Stan Smith
1974 Jimmy Connors John Newcombe Bjorn Borg Rod Laver Guillermo Vilas
1975 Jimmy Connors Guillermo Vilas Bjorn Borg Arthur Ashe Manuel Orantes
1976 Jimmy Connors Bjorn Borg Ilie Nastase Manuel Orantes Raul Ramirez
1977 Jimmy Connors Guillermo Vilas Bjorn Borg Vitas Gerulaitis Brian Gottfried
1978 Jimmy Connors Bjorn Borg Guillermo Vilas John McEnroe Vitas Gerulaitis
1979 Bjorn Borg Jimmy Connors John McEnroe Vitas Gerulaitis Roscoe Tanner
1980 Bjorn Borg John McEnroe Jimmy Connors Gene Mayer Guillermo Vilas
1981 John McEnroe Ivan Lendl Jimmy Connors Bjorn Borg Jose-Luis Clerc
1982 John McEnroe Jimmy Connors Ivan Lendl Guillermo Vilas Vitas Gerulaitis
1983 John McEnroe Ivan Lendl Jimmy Connors Mats Wilander Yannick Noah
1984 John McEnroe Jimmy Connors Ivan Lendl Mats Wilander Andres Gomez
1985 Ivan Lendl John McEnroe Mats Wilander Jimmy Connors Stefan Edberg
1986 Ivan Lendl Boris Becker Mats Wilander Yannick Noah Stefan Edberg
1987 Ivan Lendl Stefan Edberg Mats Wilander Jimmy Connors Boris Becker
1988 Mats Wilander Ivan Lendl Andre Agassi Boris Becker Stefan Edberg
1989 Ivan Lendl Boris Becker Stefan Edberg John McEnroe Michael Chang
1990 Stefan Edberg Boris Becker Ivan Lendl Andre Agassi Pete Sampras
1991 Stefan Edberg Jim Courier Boris Becker Michael Stich Ivan Lendl
1992 Jim Courier Stefan Edberg Pete Sampras Goran Ivanisevic Boris Becker
1993 Pete Sampras Michael Stich Jim Courier Sergi Bruguera Stefan Edberg
1994 Pete Sampras Andre Agassi Boris Becker Sergi Bruguera Goran Ivanisevic
1995 Pete Sampras Andre Agassi Thomas Muster Boris Becker Michael Chang
1996 Pete Sampras Michael Chang Yevgeny Kafelnikov Goran Ivanisevic Thomas Muster
1997 Pete Sampras Patrick Rafter Michael Chang Jonas Bjorkman Yevgeny Kafelnikov
1998 Pete Sampras Marcelo Rios Alex Corretja Patrick Rafter Carlos Moya
1999 Andre Agassi Yevgeny Kafelnikov Pete Sampras Thomas Enqvist Gustavo Kuerten
2000 Gustavo Kuerten Marat Safin Pete Sampras Magnus Norman Yevgeny Kafelnikov
2001 Lleyton Hewitt Gustavo Kuerten Andre Agassi Yevgeny Kafelnikov Juan Carlos Ferrero
2002 Lleyton Hewitt Andre Agassi Marat Safin Juan Carlos Ferrero Carlos Moya
2003 Andy Roddick Roger Federer Juan Carlos Ferrero Andre Agassi Guillermo Coria
2004 Roger Federer Andy Roddick Lleyton Hewitt Marat Safin Carlos Moya
2005 Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Andy Roddick Lleyton Hewitt Nikolay Davydenko
2006 Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Nikolay Davydenko James Blake Ivan Ljubicic
2007 Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic Nikolay Davydenko David Ferrer
2008 Rafael Nadal Roger Federer Novak Djokovic Andy Murray Nikolay Davydenko
Women’s Tennis Grand Slam Winners
Year Australian Open French Open Wimbledon U S Open
1960 Margaret Smith Darlene R. Hard Maria Bueno Darlene R. Hard
1961 Margaret Smith Ann Haydon Angela Mortimer Darlene R. Hard
1962 Margaret Smith Margaret Smith Karen Susman Margaret Smith
1963 Margaret Smith Lesley Turner Margaret Smith Maria Bueno
1964 Margaret Smith Margaret Smith Maria Bueno Maria Bueno
1965 Margaret Smith Lesley Turner Margaret Smith Margaret Smith
1966 Margaret Smith Ann Haydon Jones Billie Jean King Maria Bueno
1967 Nancy Richey Francoise Durr Billie Jean King Billie Jean King
1968 Billie Jean King Nancy Richey Billie Jean King Virginia Wade
1969 Margaret Smith-Court Margaret Smith-Court Ann Haydon Jones Margaret Smith-Court
1970 Margaret Smith-Court Margaret Smith-Court Margaret Smith-Court Margaret Smith-Court
1971 Margaret Smith-Court Evonne Goolagong Evonne Goolagong Billie Jean King
1972 Virginia Wade Billie Jean King Billie Jean King Billie Jean King
1973 Margaret Smith-Court Margaret Smith-Court Billie Jean King Margaret Smith-Court
1974 Evonne Goolagong Chris Evert Chris Evert Billie Jean King
1975 Evonne Goolagong Chris Evert Billie Jean King Chris Evert
1976 Evonne Goolagong Sue Barker Chris Evert Chris Evert
1977 Kerry Reid /Evonne Goolagong Mima Jausovec Virginia Wade Chris Evert
1978 Chris O'Neil Virginia Ruzici Martina Navratilova Chris Evert
1979 Barbara Jordan Chris Evert-Lloyd Martina Navratilova Tracy Austin
1980 Hana Mandlikova Chris Evert-Lloyd R.A. Cawley Chris Evert-Lloyd
1981 Martina Navratilova Hana Mandlikova Chris Evert-Lloyd Tracy Austin
1982 Chris Evert-Lloyd Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Chris Evert-Lloyd
1983 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert-Lloyd Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova
1984 Chris Evert-Lloyd Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova
1985 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert-Lloyd Martina Navratilova Hana Mandlikova
1986 None Chris Evert-Lloyd Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova
1987 Hana Mandlikova Steffi Graf Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova
1988 Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf
1989 Steffi Graf Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario Steffi Graf Steffi Graf
1990 Steffi Graf Monica Seles Martina Navratilova Gabriela Sabatini
1991 Monica Seles Monica Seles Steffi Graf Monica Seles
1992 Monica Seles Monica Seles Steffi Graf Monica Seles
1993 Monica Seles Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf
1994 Steffi Graf Aranxta Sanchez-V Conchita Martinez Aranxta Sanchez-V
1995 Mary Pierce Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf
1996 Monica Seles Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf
1997 Martina Hingis Iva Majoli Martina Hingis Martina Hingis
1998 Martina Hingis Aranxta Sanchez-V Jana Novotna Lindsay Davenport
1999 Martina Hingis Steffi Graf Lindsay Davenport Serena Williams
2000 Lindsay Davenport Mary Pierce Venus Williams Venus Williams
2001 Jennifer Capriati Jennifer Capriati Venus Williams Venus Williams
2002 Jennifer Capriati Serena Williams Serena Williams Serena Williams
2003 Serena Williams Justine Henin-Hardenne Serena Williams Justine Henin-Hardenne
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne Anastasia Myskina Maria Sharapova Svetlana Kuznetsova
2005 Serena Williams Justine Henin-Hardenne Venus Williams Kim Clijsters
2006 Amelie Mauresmo Justine Henin-Hardenne Amelie Mauresmo Maria Sharapova
2007 Serena Williams Justine Henin Venus Williams Justine Henin
2008 Maria Sharapova Ana Ivanovic Venus Williams Serena Williams
2009
Women’s Year End Rankings:
1973 Margaret Court Billie Jean King Evonne Goolagong Chris Evert Rosie Casals
1974 Billie Jean King Evonne Goolagong Chris Evert Virginia Wade Julie Heldman
1975 Chris Evert Billie Jean King Evonne Goolagone Martina Navratilova Virginia Wade
1976 Chris Evert Evonne Goolagong Virginia Wade Martina Navratilova Sue Barker
1977 Chris Evert Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova Virginia Wade Sue Barker
1978 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Evonne Goolagong Virginia Wade Billie Jean King
1979 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Tracy Austin Evonne Goolagong Billie Jean King
1980 Chris Evert Tracy Austin Martina Navratilova Hana Mandlikova Evonne Goolagong
1981 Chris Evert Tracy Austin Martina Navratilova Andrea Jaeger Hana Mandlikova
1982 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Andrea Jaeger Tracy Austin Wendy Turnbell
1983 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Andrea Jaeger Pam Shriver Sylvia Hanika
1984 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Hana Mandlikova Pam Shriver Wendy Turnbell
1985 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Hana Mandlikova Pam Shriver Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
1986 Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Steffi Graf Hana Mandlikova Helena Sukova
1987 Steffi Graf Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Pam Shriver Hana Mandlikova
1988 Steffi Graf Martina Navratilova Chris Evert Gabriella Sabatini Pam Shriver
1989 Steffi Graf Martina Navratilova Gabriela Sabatini Zina Garrison Arantxa Sanchez
1990 Steffi Graf Monica Seles Martina Navratilova Mary Joe Fernandez Gabriela Sabatini
1991 Monica Seles Steffi Graf Gabriela Sabatini Martina Navratilova Arantxa Sanchez
1992 Monica Seles Steffi Graf Gabriela Sabatini Arantxa Sanchez Martina Navratilova
1993 Steffi Graf Arantxa Sanchez Martina Navratilova Conchita Martinez Gabriela Sabatini
1994 Steffi Graf Arantxa Sanchez Conchita Martinez Jana Novotna Mary Pierce
1995 Steffi Graf Monica Seles (co #1) Conchita Martinez Arantxa Sanchez Kimiko Date
1996 Steffi Graf Monica Seles Arantxa Sanchez (co #2) Jana Novotna Martina Hingis
1997 Martina Hingis Jana Novotna Lindsay Davenport Amanda Coetzer Monica Seles
1998 Lindsay Davenport Martina Hingis Jana Novotna Arantxa Sanchez Venus Williams
1999 Martina Hingis Lindsay Davenport Venus Williams Serena Williams Mary Pierce
2000 Martina Hingis Lindsay Davenport Venus Williams Monica Seles Conchita Martinez
2001 Lindsay Davenport Jennifer Capriati Venus Williams Martina Hingis Kim Clijsters
2002 Serena Williams Venus Williams Jennifer Capriati Kim Clijsters Justine Henin
2003 Justine Henin Kim Clijsters Serena Williams Amelie Mauresmo Lindsay Davenport
2004 Lindsay Davenport Amelie Mauresmo Anastasia Myskina Maria Sharapova Svetlana Kuznetsova
2005 Lindsay Davenport Kim Clijsters Amelie Mauresmo Maria Sharapova Mary Pierce
2006 Justine Henin Maria Sharapova Amelie Mauresmo Svetlana Kuznetsova Kim Clijsters
2007 Justine Henin Svetlana Kuznetsova Jelena Jankovic Ana Ivanovic Maria Sharapova
2008 Jelena Jankovic Serena Williams Dinara Safina Elena Dementieva Ana Ivanovic
Heisman Trophy Winners
2007: Tim Tebow / Florida 2008:
2006: Troy Smith / Ohio State 2005: Reggie Bush / Southern California
2004: Matt Leinart / Southern California 2003: Jason White / Oklahoma
2002: Carson Palmer / Southern California 2001: Eric Crouch / Nebraska
2000: Chris Weinke / Florida St 1999: Ron Dayne / Wisconsin
1998: Ricky Williams / Texas 1997: Charles Woodson / Michigan
1996: Danny Wuerffel / Florida 1995: Eddie George / Ohio St
1994: Rashan Salaam / Colorado 1993: Charlie Ward / Florida St
1992: Gino Torretta / Miami-FL 1991: Desmond Howard / Michigan
1990: Ty Detmer / BYU 1989: Andre Ware / Houston
1988: Barry Sanders / Oklahoma St 1987: Tim Brown / Notre Dame
1986: Vinny Testaverde / Miami-FL 1985: Bo Jackson / Auburn
1984: Doug Flutie / Boston College 1983: Mike Rozier / Nebraska
1982: Herschel Walker / Georgia 1981: Marcus Allen / Southern California
1980: George Rogers / South Carolina 1979: Charles White / Southern California
1978: Billy Sims / Oklahoma 1977: Earl Campbell / Texas
1976: Tony Dorsett / Pittsburgh 1975: Archie Griffin / Ohio St
1974: Archie Griffin / Ohio St 1973: John Cappelletti / Penn St
1972: Johnny Rodgers / Nebraska 1971: Pat Sullivan / Auburn 1970: Jim Plunkett / Stanford 1969: Steve Owens / Oklahoma
1968: O.J. Simpson / Southern California 1967: Gary Beban / UCLA
1966: Steve Spurrier / Florida 1965: Mike Garrett / Southern California
1964: John Huarte / Notre Dame 1963: Roger Staubach / Navy
1962: Terry Baker / Oregon St 1961: Ernie Davis / Syracuse
1960: Joe Bellino / Navy
NCAA Basketball Champions
2008: Kansas over Memphis (Mario Chalmers, Kansas)
2007: Florida over Ohio State (Corey Brewer, Florida)
2006: Florida over UCLA (Joakim Noah, Florida)
2005: North Carolina over Illinois (Sean May, North Carolina)
2004: Connecticut over Georgia Tech (Emeka Okefor, Connecticut)
2003: Syracuse over Kansas (Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse)
2002: Maryland over Indiana (Juan Dixon, Maryland)
2001: Duke over Arizona (Shane Battier, Duke)
2000: Michigan St over Florida (Mateen Cleaves, Michigan St)
1999: Connecticut over Duke (Richard Hamilton, Connecticut)
1998: Kentucky over Utah (Jeff Shepherd, Kentucky)
1997: Arizona over Kentucky (Miles Simon, Arizona)
1996: Kentucky over Syracuse (Tony Delk, Kentucky)
1995: UCLA over Arkansas (Ed O'Bannon, UCLA)
1994: Arkansas over Duke (Corliss Williamson, Arkansas)
1993: North Carolina over Michigan (Donald Williams, North Carolina)
1992: Duke over Michigan (Bobby Hurley, Duke)
1991: Duke over Kansas (Christian Laettner, Duke)
1990: UNLV over Duke (Anderson Hunt, UNLV)
1989: Michigan over Seton Hall (Glen Rice, Michigan)
1988: Kansas over Oklahoma (Danny Manning, Kansas)
1987: Indiana over Syracuse (Keith Smart, Indiana)
1986: Louisville over Duke (Pervis Ellison, Louisville)
1985: Villanova over Georgetown (Ed Pinckney, Villanova)
1984: Georgetown over Houston (Patrick Ewing, Georgetown)
1983: North Carolina St over Houston (Akeem Olajuwon, Houston)
1982: North Carolina over Georgetown (James Worthy, North Carolina)
1981: Indiana over North Carolina (Isiah Thomas, Indiana)
1980: Louisville over UCLA (Darrell Griffith, Louisville)
1979: Michigan St over Indiana St (Magic Johnson, Michigan St)
1978: Kentucky over Duke (Jack Givens, Kentucky)
1977: Marquette over North Carolina (Butch Lee, Marquette)
1976: Indiana over Michigan (Kent Benson, Indiana)
1975: UCLA over Kentucky (Richard Washington, UCLA)
1974: North Carolina St over Marquette (David Thompson, North Carolina St)
1973: UCLA over Memphis St (Bill Walton, UCLA)
1972: UCLA over Florida St (Bill Walton, UCLA)
1971: UCLA over Villanova (Howard Porter, Villanova)
1970: UCLA over Jacksonville (Sidney Wicks, UCLA)
1969: UCLA over Purdue (Lew Alcindor, UCLA)
1968: UCLA over North Carolina (Lew Alcindor, UCLA)
1967: UCLA over Dayton (Lew Alcindor, UCLA)
1966: UTEP over Kentucky (Jerry Chambers, Utah)
1965: UCLA over Michigan (Bill Bradley, Princeton)
1964: UCLA over Duke (Walt Hazzard, UCLA)
1963: Loyola-IL over Cincinnati (Art Heyman, Duke)
1962: Cincinnati over Ohio St (Paul Hogue, Cincinnati)
1961: Cincinnati over Ohio St (Jerry Lucas, Ohio St)
1960: Ohio St over California (Jerry Lucas, Ohio St)
1959: California over West Virginia (Jerry West, West Virginia)
1958: Kentucky over Seattle (Elgin Baylor, Seattle)
1957: North Carolina over Michigan St (Wilt Chamberlain, Kansas)
1956: San Francisco over Iowa (Hal Lear, Temple)
1955: San Francisco over La Salle (Bill Russell, San Francisco)
1954: La Salle over Bradley (Tom Gola, La Salle)
1953: Indiana over Kansas (B.H. Horn, Kansas)
1952: Kansas over St John's (Clyde Lovelette, Kansas)
1951: Kentucky over Kansas St (none selected)
1950: CCNY over Bradley (Irwin Dambrot, CCNY)
1949: Kentucky over Oklahoma St (Alex Groza, Kentucky)
1948: Kentucky over Baylor (Alex Groza, Kentucky)
1947: Holy Cross over Oklahoma (George Kaftan, Holy Cross)
1946: Oklahoma St over North Carolina (Bob Kurland, Oklahoma St)
1945: Oklahoma St over New York U (Bob Kurland, Oklahoma St)
1944: Utah over Dartmouth (Arnold Ferrin, Utah)
1943: Wyoming over Georgetown (Ken Sailors, Wyoming)
1942: Stanford over Dartmouth (Howard Dallmar, Stanford)
1941: Wisconsin over Washington St (John Kotz, Wisconsin)
1940: Indiana over Kansas (Marvin Huffman, Indiana)
1939: Oregon over Ohio St (none selected)
NCAA Football Champions
2008: 2007: LSU 2006: Florida
2005: Texas 2004: Southern California 2003: LSU / Southern California
2002: Ohio State 2001: Miami 2000: Oklahoma
1999: Florida State 1998: Tennessee 1997: Michigan / Nebraska
1996: Florida 1995: Nebraska 1994: Nebraska
1993: Florida State 1992: Alabama 1991: Miami / Washington
1990: Colorado / Georgia Tech 1989: Miami 1988: Notre Dame
1987: Miami 1986: Penn State 1985: Oklahoma
1984: BYU 1983: Miami 1982: Penn State
1981: Clemson 1980: Georgia 1979: Alabama
1978: Alabama / Southern California 1977: Notre Dame 1976: Pittsburgh
1975: Oklahoma 1974: Oklahoma / Southern California 1973: Notre Dame
1972: Southern California 1971: Nebraska 1970: Nebraska
1969: Texas 1968: Ohio State 1967: Southern California
1966: Notre Dame 1965: Alabama / Michigan State 1964: Alabama
1963: Texas 1962: Southern California 1961: Alabama
1960: Minnesota 1959: Syracuse 1958: LSU
1957: Auburn / Ohio State 1956: Oklahoma 1955: Oklahoma
1954: Ohio State / UCLA 1953: Maryland 1952: Michigan State
1951: Tennessee 1950: Oklahoma 1949: Notre Dame
1948: Michigan 1947: Notre Dame / Michigan 1946: Notre Dame
1945: Army 1944: Army 1943: Notre Dame
1942: Ohio State 1941: Minnesota 1940: Minnesota
1939: Southern California / Texas A&M 1938: TCU / Notre Dame 1937: Pittsburgh
1936: Minnesota 1935: Minnesota / SMU 1934: Minnesota
1933: Michigan 1932: Southern California / Michigan 1931: Southern California
1930: Notre Dame 1929: Notre Dame 1928: Georgia Tech / Southern Cal
1927: Illinois 1926: Alabama / Stanford 1925: Alabama / Dartmouth
1924: Notre Dame 1923: Illinois 1922: Cornell
1921: Cornell 1920: California 1919: Harvard
1918: Pittsburgh 1917: Georgia Tech 1916: Pittsburgh
1915: Cornell 1914: Army 1913: Harvard
1912: Harvard 1911: Princeton 1910: Harvard
1909: Yale 1908: Pennsylvania 1907: Yale
1906: Princeton 1905: Chicago 1904: Pennsylvania
1903: Princeton 1902: Michigan 1901: Michigan
1900: Yale 1899: Harvard 1898: Harvard
1897: Pennsylvania 1896: Princeton 1895: Pennsylvania
1894: Yale 1893: Princeton 1892: Yale
1891: Yale 1890: Harvard 1889: Princeton
1888: Yale 1887: Yale 1886: Yale
1885: Princeton 1884: Yale 1883: Yale
NHL Stanley Cup Winners
SEASON CHAMP SECOND PLAYOFF MVP
2008-09
2007-08 Detroit Red Wings Pittsburgh Penguins Henrik Zetterberg, LW
2006-07 Anaheim Ducks Ottawa Senators Scott Neidermayer, D, Anaheim
2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes Edmonton Oilers Cam Ward, G, Carolina
2004-05 None
2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning Calgary Flames Martin St.Louis, RW, TB
2002-03 New Jersey Devils Anaheim Mighty Ducks Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G, Ana
2001-02 Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes Nicklas Lidstrom, Det
2000-01 Colorado Avalanche New Jersey Devils Patrick Roy, Col
1999-00 New Jersey Devils Dallas Stars Scott Stevens, NJ
1998-99 Dallas Stars Buffalo Sabres Joe Nieuwendyk, Dal
1997-98 Detroit Red Wings Washington Capitals Steve Yzerman, Det
1996-97 Detroit Red Wings Philadelphia Flyers Mike Vernon, Det
1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Florida Panthers Joe Sakic, Col
1994-95 New Jersey Devils Detroit Red Wings Claude Lemieux, NJ
1993-94 New York Rangers Vancouver Canucks Brian Leetch, NYR
1992-93 Montreal Canadiens Los Angeles Kings Patrick Roy, Mtl
1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins Chicago Black Hawks Mario Lemieux, Pit
1990-91 Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota North Stars Mario Lemieux, Pit
1989-90 Edmonton Oilers Boston Bruins Bill Ranford, Edm
1988-89 Calgary Flames Montreal Canadiens Al MacInnis, Cal
1987-88 Edmonton Oilers Boston Bruins Wayne Gretzky, Edm
1986-87 Edmonton Oilers Philadelphia Flyers Ron Hextall, Phi
1985-86 Montreal Canadiens Calgary Flames Patrick Roy, Mtl
1984-85 Edmonton Oilers Philadelphia Flyers Wayne Gretzky, Edm
1983-84 Edmonton Oilers New York Islanders Mark Messier, Edm
1982-83 New York Islanders Edmonton Oilers Billy Smith, NYI
1981-82 New York Islanders Vancouver Canucks Mike Bossy, NYI
1980-81 New York Islanders Minnesota North Stars Butch Goring, NYI
1979-80 New York Islanders Philadelphia Flyers Bryan Trottier, NYI
1978-79 Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers Bob Gainey, Mtl
1977-78 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins Larry Robinson, Mtl
1976-77 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins Guy Lafleur, Mtl
1975-76 Montreal Canadiens Philadelphia Flyers Reg Leach, Phi
1974-75 Philadelphia Flyers Buffalo Sabres Bernie Parent, Phi
1973-74 Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins Bernie Parent, Phi
1972-73 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks Yvan Cournoyer, Mtl
1971-72 Boston Bruins New York Rangers Bobby Orr, Bos
1970-71 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks Ken Dryden, Mtl
1969-70 Boston Bruins St Louis Blues Bobby Orr, Bos
1968-69 Montreal Canadiens St Louis Blues Serge Savard, Mtl
1967-68 Montreal Canadiens St Louis Blues Glenn Hall, StL
1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens Dave Keon, Tor
1965-66 Montreal Canadiens Detroit Red Wings Roger Crozier, Det
1964-65 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks Jean Beliveau, Mtl
1963-64 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings None pre 1963
1962-63 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings
1961-62 Toronto Maple Leafs Chicago Black Hawks
1960-61 Chicago Black Hawks Detroit Red Wings
1959-60 Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs
1958-59 Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs
1957-58 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins
1956-57 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins
1955-56 Montreal Canadiens Detroit Red Wings
1954-55 Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens
1953-54 Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens
1952-53 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins
1951-52 Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens
1950-51 Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens
1949-50 Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers
1948-49 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings
1947-48 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings
1946-47 Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens
1945-46 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins
1944-45 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings
1943-44 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks
1942-43 Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins
1941-42 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings
1940-41 Boston Bruins Detroit Red Wings
1939-40 New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs
1938-39 Boston Bruins Toronto Maple Leafs
1937-38 Chicago Black Hawks Toronto Maple Leafs
1936-37 Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers
1935-36 Detroit Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs
1934-35 Montreal Maroons Toronto Maple Leafs
1933-34 Chicago Black Hawks Detroit Red Wings
1932-33 New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs
1931-32 Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers
1930-31 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks
1929-30 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins
1928-29 Boston Bruins New York Rangers
1927-28 New York Rangers Montreal Maroons
1926-27 Ottawa Senators Boston Bruins
1925-26 Montreal Maroons Ottawa Senators
1924-25 Montreal Canadiens Toronto St Pats
1923-24 Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators
1922-23 Ottawa Senators Montreal Canadiens
1921-22 Toronto St Pats Ottawa Senators
1920-21 Ottawa Senators Toronto St Pats
1919-20 no playoff
1918-19 Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators
1917-18 Toronto Arenas Montreal Canadiens
NHL MVP (HART)
2007-08 Alex Ovetchken Washington Capitals
2006-07 Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguines
2005-06 Joe Thornton San Jose Sharks
2003-04 Martin St.Louis Tampa Bay Lightning
2002-03 Peter Forsberg Colorado Avalanche
2001-02 Jose Theodore Montreal Canadiens
2000-01 Joe Sakic Colorado Avalanche
1999-00 Chris Pronger St Louis Blues
1998-99 Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh Penguins
1997-98 Dominik Hasek Buffalo Sabres
1996-97 Dominik Hasek Buffalo Sabres
1995-96 Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins
1994-95 Eric Lindros Philadelphia Flyers
1993-94 Sergei Fedorov Detroit Red Wings
1992-93 Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins
1991-92 Mark Messier New York Rangers
1990-91 Brett Hull St Louis Blues
1989-90 Mark Messier Edmonton Oilers
1988-89 Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles Kings
1987-88 Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins
1986-87 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
1985-86 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
1984-85 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
1983-84 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
1982-83 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
1981-82 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
1980-81 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
1979-80 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers
1978-79 Bryan Trottier New York Islanders
1977-78 Guy Lafleur Montreal Canadiens
1976-77 Guy Lafleur Montreal Canadiens
1975-76 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers
1974-75 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers
1973-74 Phil Esposito Boston Bruins
1972-73 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers
1971-72 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins
1970-71 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins
1969-70 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins
1968-69 Phil Esposito Boston Bruins
1967-68 Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks
1966-67 Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks
1965-66 Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawks
1964-65 Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawks
1963-64 Jean Beliveau Montreal Canadiens
1962-63 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings
1961-62 Jacques Plante Montreal Canadiens
1960-61 Bernie Geoffrion Montreal Canadiens
1959-60 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings
1958-59 Andy Bathgate New York Rangers
1957-58 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings
1956-57 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings
1955-56 Jean Beliveau Montreal Canadiens
1954-55 Ted Kennedy Toronto Maple Leafs
1953-54 Al Rollins Chicago Black Hawks
1952-53 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings
1951-52 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings
1950-51 Milt Schmidt Boston Bruins
1949-50 Chuck Rayner New York Rangers
1948-49 Sid Abel Detroit Red Wings
1947-48 Buddy O'Connor New York Rangers
1946-47 Maurice Richard Montreal Canadiens
1945-46 Max Bentley Chicago Black Hawks
1944-45 Elmer Lach Montreal Canadiens
1943-44 Babe Pratt Toronto Maple Leafs
1942-43 Bill Cowley Boston Bruins
1941-42 Tom Anderson New York Americans
1940-41 Bill Cowley Boston Bruins
1939-40 Ebbie Goodfellow Detroit Red Wings
1938-39 Toe Blake Montreal Canadiens
1937-38 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins
1936-37 Babe Siebert Montreal Canadiens
1935-36 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins
1934-35 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins
1933-34 Aurel Joliat Montreal Canadiens
1932-33 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins
1931-32 Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens
1930-31 Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens
1929-30 Nels Stewart Montreal Maroons
1928-29 Roy Worters New York Americans
1927-28 Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens
1926-27 Herb Gardiner Montreal Canadiens
1925-26 Nels Stewart Montreal Maroons
1924-25 Billy Burch Hamilton Tigers
1923-24 Frank Nighbor Ottawa Senators
PART 8: Pop Culture
American Film Institute's 50 Greatest Screen Legends
Men
1. Humphrey Bogart 2. Cary Grant 3. James Stewart
4. Marlon Brando 5. Fred Astaire 6. Henry Fonda
7. Clark Gable 8. James Cagney 9. Spencer Tracy
10. Charlie Chaplin 11. Gary Cooper 12. Gregory Peck
13. John Wayne 14. Laurence Olivier 15. Gene Kelly
16. Orson Welles 17. Kirk Douglas 18. James Dean
19. Burt Lancaster 20. The Marx Brothers 21. Buster Keaton
22. Sidney Poitier 23. Robert Mitchum 24. Edward G. Robinson
25. William Holden
Women
1. Katharine Hepburn 2. Bette Davis 3. Audrey Hepburn
4. Ingrid Bergman 5. Greta Garbo 6. Marilyn Monroe
7. Elizabeth Taylor 8. Judy Garland 9. Marlene Dietrich
10. Joan Crawford 11. Barbara Stanwyck 12. Claudette Colbert
13. Grace Kelly 14. Ginger Rogers 15. Mae West
16. Vivien Leigh 17. Lillian Gish 18. Shirley Temple
19. Rita Hayworth 20. Lauren Bacall 21. Sophia Loren
22. Jean Harlow 23. Carole Lombard 24. Mary Pickford
25. Ava Gardner
American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time
1. Citizen Kane (1941) 2. Casablanca (1942)
3. The Godfather (1972) 4. Gone with the Wind (1939)
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
7. The Graduate (1967) 8. On the Waterfront (1954)
9. Schindler's List (1993) 10. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
11. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 12. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
13. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 14. Some Like It Hot (1959)
15. Star Wars (1977) 16. All About Eve (1950)
17. The African Queen (1951) 18. Psycho (1960)
19. Chinatown (1974) 20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
21. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
23. The Maltese Falcon (1941) 24. Raging Bull (1980)
25. E.T.—The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 26. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
27. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 28. Apocalypse Now (1979)
29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 30. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
31. Annie Hall (1977) 32. The Godfather Part II (1974)
33. High Noon (1952) 34. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
35. It Happened One Night (1934) 36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 38. Double Indemnity (1944)
39. Doctor Zhivago (1965) 40. North by Northwest (1959)
41. West Side Story (1961) 42. Rear Window (1954)
43. King Kong (1933) 44. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
45. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 46. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
47. Taxi Driver (1976) 48. Jaws (1975)
49. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 50. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
51. The Philadelphia Story (1940) 52. From Here to Eternity (1953)
53. Amadeus (1984) 54. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
55. The Sound of Music (1965) 56. M*A*S*H (1970)
57. The Third Man (1949) 58. Fantasia (1940)
59. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) 60. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
61. Vertigo (1958) 62. Tootsie (1982)
63. Stagecoach (1939) 64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
65. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 66. Network (1976)
67. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 68. An American in Paris (1951)
69. Shane (1953) 70. The French Connection (1971)
71. Forrest Gump (1994) 72. Ben-Hur (1959)
73. Wuthering Heights (1939) 74. The Gold Rush (1925)
75. Dances with Wolves (1990) 76. City Lights (1931)
77. American Graffiti (1973) 78. Rocky (1976)
79. The Deer Hunter (1978) 80. The Wild Bunch (1969)
81. Modern Times (1936) 82. Giant (1956)
83. Platoon (1986) 84. Fargo (1996)
85. Duck Soup (1933) 86. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
87. Frankenstein (1931) 88. Easy Rider (1969)
89. Patton (1970) 90. The Jazz Singer (1927)
91. My Fair Lady (1964) 92. A Place in the Sun (1951)
93. The Apartment (1960) 94. GoodFellas (1990)
95. Pulp Fiction (1994) 96. The Searchers (1956)
97. Bringing Up Baby (1938) 98. Unforgiven (1992)
99. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) 100. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Academy Award Winners
Year Best Picture Best Actor Best Actress
1928 Wings Emil Jannings (multiple films) Janet Gaynor (multiple films)
1929 The Broadway Melody Warner Baxter (Old Arizona) Mary Pickford (Coquette)
1930 All Quiet on the Western Front George Arliss (Disraeli) Norma Shearer (The Divorcee)
1931 Cimarron Lionel Barrymore (A Free Soul) Marie Dressler (Min and Bill)
1932 Grand Hotel Wallace Beery (The Champ); Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll) Helen Hayes (Sin of Madelon Claudet)
1933 Cavalcade Charles Laughton (Pvt Life Henry VIII) Katharine Hepburn (Morning Glory)
1934 It Happened One Night Clark Gable (Happened One Night) Claudette Colbert (Happened-Night)
1935 Mutiny on the Bounty Victor McLaglen (The Informer) Bette Davis (Dangerous)
1936 The Great Ziegfeld Paul Muni (Story of Louis Pasteur) Luise Rainer (Great Ziegfeld)
1937 The Life of Emile Zola Spencer Tracy (Captains Courageous) Luise Rainer (The Good Earth)
1938 You Can’t Take it With You Spencer Tracy (Boys Town) Bette Davis (Jezebel)
1939 Gone With the Wind Robert Donat (Goodbye Mr. Chips) Vivien Leigh (Gone With the Wind)
1940 Rebecca James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story) Ginger Rogers (Kitty Foyle)
1941 How Green Was My Valley Gary Cooper (Sergeant York) Joan Fontaine (Suspicion)
1942 Mrs. Miniver James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy) Greer Garson (Mrs. Miniver)
1943 Casablanca Paul Lukas (Watch on the Rhine) Jennifer Jones (Song of Bernadette)
1944 Going My Way Bing Crosby (Going My Way) Ingrid Bergman (Gaslight)
1945 The Lost Weekend Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend) Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce)
1946 The Best Years of our Lives Fredric March (Best Years. . .Lives) Olivia de Havilland (To Each His Own)
1947 Gentleman’s Agreement Ronald Colman (A Double Life) Loretta Young (Farmer’s Daughter)
1948 Hamlet Laurence Olivier (Hamlet) Jane Wyman (Johnny Belinda)
1949 All the King’s Men Broderick Crawford (All Kings...) Olivia de Havilland (The Heiress)
1950 All About Eve Jose Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac) Judy Holliday (Born Yesterday)
1951 An American in Paris Humphrey Bogart (The African Queen) Vivien Leigh (Streetcar Named Desire)
1952 Greatest Show on Earth Gary Cooper (High Noon) Shirley Booth (Come Back, Little Sheba
1953 From Here to Eternity William Holden (Stalag 17) Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday)
1954 On the Waterfront Marlon Brando (On the Waterfront) Grace Kelly (The Country Girl)
1955 Marty Ernest Borgnine (Marty) Anna Magnani (The Rose Tattoo)
1956 Around the World in 80 Days Yul Brynner (The King and I) Ingrid Bergman (Anastasia)
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai Alec Guinness (Bridge on River Kwai) Joanne Woodward (Three Faces of Eve)
1958 Gigi David Niven (Separate Tables) Susan Hayward (I Want to Live!)
1959 Ben-Hur Charlton Heston (Ben-Hur) Simone Signoret (Room at the Top)
1960 The Apartment Burt Lancaster (Elmer Gantry) Elizabeth Taylor (Butterfield 8)
1961 West Side Story Maximilian Schell (Judgment at Nuremberg) Sophia Loren (Two Women)
1962 Lawrence of Arabia Gregory Peck (To Kill a Mockingbird) Anne Bancroft (The Miracle Worker)
1963 Tom Jones Sidney Poitier (Lilies of the Field) Patricia Neal (Hud)
1964 My Fair Lady Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady) Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins)
1965 The Sound of Music Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou) Julie Christie (Darling)
1966 A Man for All Seasons Paul Scofield (A Man for all Seasons) Elizabeth Taylor (Whos Afraid V Wolf)
1967 In the Heat of the Night Rod Steiger (In the Heat of the Night) Katharine Hepburn (Guess. ..Dinner)
1968 Oliver Cliff Robertson (Charly) Katharine Hepburn (Lion in Winter) & Streisand (Funny Girl)
1969 Midnight Cowboy John Wayne (True Grit) Maggie Smith (Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
1970 Patton George C Scott (Patton) Glenda Jackson (Women in Love)
1971 The French Connection Gene Hackman (French Connection) Jane Fonda (Klute)
1972 The Godfather Marlon Brando (The Godfather) Liza Minelli (Cabaret)
1973 The Sting Jack Lemmon (Save the Tiger) Glenda Jackson (A Touch of Class)
1974 The Godfather Part II Art Carney (Harry and Tonto) Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore)
1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Jack Nicholson (Cuckoo) Louise Fletcher (Cuckoo)
1976 Rocky Peter Finch (Network) Faye Dunaway (Network)
1977 Annie Hall Richard Dreyfuss (The Goodbye Girl) Diane Keaton (Annie Hall)
1978 The Deer Hunter Jon Voight (Coming Home) Jane Fonda (Coming Home)
1979 Kramer vs. Kramer Dustin Hoffman (Kramer) Sally Field (Norma Rae)
1980 Ordinary People Robert De Niro (Raging Bull) Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner’s Daughter)
1981 Chariots of Fire Henry Fonda (On Golden Pond) Katharine Hepburn (On Golden Pond)
1982 Gandhi Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) Meryl Streep (Sophie’s Choice)
1983 Terms of Endearment Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies) Shirley MacLaine (Terms of)
1984 Amadeus F Murray Abraham (Amadeus) Sally Field (Places in the Heart)
1985 Out of Africa William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman) Geraldine Page (Trip to Bountiful)
1986 Platoon Paul Newman (The Color of Money) Marlee Matlin (Children of Lesser God)
1987 The Last Emperor Michael Douglas (Wall Street) Cher (Moonstruck)
1988 Rain Man Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) Jodie Foster (The Accused)
1989 Driving Miss Daisy Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot) Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy)
1990 Dances With Wolves Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune) Kathy Bates (Misery)
1991 The Silence of the Lambs Anthony Hopkins (Silence) Jodie Foster (Silence)
1992 Unforgiven Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) Emma Thompson (Howards End)
1993 Schindler’s List Tom Hanks (Philadelphia) Holly Hunter (The Piano)
1994 Forrest Gump Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) Jessica Lange (Blue Sky)
1995 Braveheart Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas) Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking)
1996 The English Patient Geoffrey Rush (Shine) Frances McDormand (Fargo)
1997 Titanic Jack Nicholson (As Good As It Gets) Helen Hunt (As Good as It Gets)
1998 Shakespeare in Love Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful) Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare)
1999 American Beauty Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry)
2000 Gladiator Russell Crowe (Gladiator) Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich)
2001 A Beautiful Mind Denzel Washington (Training Day) Halle Berry (Monster’s Ball)
2002 Chicago Adrien Brody (The Pianist) Nicole Kidman (The Hours)
2003 The Lord of the Rings 3 Sean Penn (Mystic River) Charlize Theron (Monster)
2004 Million Dollar Baby Jamie Foxx (Ray) Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
2005 Crash Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
2006 The Departed Forest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland) Helen Mirren (The Queen)
2007 No Country for Old Men Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood) Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose)
2008
PART 9: Miscellaneous
Airports: World’s Ten Busiest
1) Atlanta – Hartsfield 2) Chicago – O’Hare
3) London – Heathrow 4) Tokyo – Haneda
5) LAX 6) Dallas/ Fort Worth
7) Frankfurt – Main 8) Paris – Charles de Gaulle
9) Amsterdam – Schiphol 10) Denver
Currency of the World
Afghanistan: Afghani Albania: Lek Algeria: Dinar
Andorra: Euro Angola: New Kwanza Antigua & Barbuda: Dollar
Argentina: Peso Armenia: Dram Australia: Australian dollar
Austria: Euro (formerly schilling) Azerbaijan: Manat Bahamas: Bahamian dollar
Bahrain: Bahrain dinar Bangladesh: Taka Barbados: Barbados dollar
Belarus: Belorussian ruble Belgium: Euro (formerly Belgian franc) Belize: Belize dollar
Benin: CFA Franc Bhutan: Ngultrum Bolivia: Boliviano
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Marka Botswana: Pula Brazil: Real
Brunei: Darussalam Brunei dollar Bulgaria: Lev Burkina Faso: CFA Franc
Burundi: Burundi franc Cambodia: Riel Cameroon: CFA Franc
Canada: Canadian dollar Cape Verde: Cape Verdean escudo Central Afric Republic: CFA Franc
Chad: CFA Franc Chile: Chilean Peso China: Yuan/Renminbi
Colombia: Colombian Peso Comoros: Franc Congo, Republic of: CFA Franc
Congo, Democratic Republic: franc Costa Rica: Colón Côte d'Ivoire: CFA Franc
Croatia: Kuna Cuba: Cuban Peso Cyprus: Cyprus pound
Czech Republic: Koruna Denmark: Krone Djibouti: Djibouti franc
Dominica: East Caribbean dollar Dominican Republic: Dominican Peso East Timor: U.S. dollar
Ecuador: U.S. dollar Egypt: Egyptian pound El Salvador: Colón; U.S. dollar
Equatorial Guinea: CFA Franc Eritrea: Nakfa Estonia: Kroon
Ethiopia: Birr Fiji: Fiji dollar Finland: Euro (formerly markka)
France: Euro (formerly French franc) Gabon: CFA Franc Gambia: Dalasi
Georgia: Lari Germany: Euro (f/k/a Deutsche mark) Ghana: Cedi
Greece: Euro (formerly drachma) Grenada: East Caribbean dollar Guatemala: Quetzal
Guinea: Guinean franc Guinea-Bissau: CFA Franc Guyana: Guyanese dollar
Haiti: Gourde Honduras: Lempira Hungary: Forint
Iceland: Icelandic króna India: Rupee Indonesia: Rupiah
Iran: Rial Iraq: U.S. dollar Ireland: Euro (Irish pound /punt)
Israel: Shekel Italy: Euro (formerly lira) Jamaica: Jamaican dollar
Japan: Yen Jordan: Jordanian dinar Kazakhstan: Tenge
Kenya: Kenya shilling Kiribati: Australian dollar Korea, North: Won
Korea, South: Won Kuwait: Kuwaiti dinar Kyrgyzstan: Som
Laos: New Kip Latvia: Lats Lebanon: Lebanese pound
Lesotho: Maluti Liberia: Liberian dollar Libya: Libyan dinar
Liechtenstein: Swiss franc Lithuania: Litas Luxembourg: Euro (Lux franc)
Macedonia: Denar Madagascar: Malagasy franc Malawi: Kwacha
Malaysia: Ringgit Maldives: Rufiya Mali: CFA Franc
Malta: Maltese lira Mauritania: Ouguiya Mauritius: Mauritian rupee
Mexico: Mexican peso Moldova: Leu Monaco: Euro
Mongolia: Tugrik Morocco: Dirham Mozambique: Metical
Myanmar: Kyat Namibia: Namibian dollar Nauru: Australian dollar
Nepal: Nepalese rupee Netherlands: Euro (formerly guilder) New Zealand: New Zealand dollar
Nicaragua: Gold cordoba Niger: CFA Franc Nigeria: Naira
Norway: Norwegian krone Oman: Omani rial Pakistan: Pakistan rupee
Palau: U.S. dollar used Panama: balboa; U.S. dollar Papua New Guinea: Kina
Paraguay: Guaraní Peru: Nuevo sol Philippines: Peso
Poland: Zloty Portugal: Euro (formerly escudo) Qatar: Qatari riyal
Romania: Leu Russia: Ruble Rwanda: Rwanda franc
St. Kitts and Nevis: East Carib dollar St. Lucia: East Caribbean dollar St Vincent & Grenadines: E Carib
Samoa: Tala San Marino: Euro São Tomé and Príncipe: Dobra
Saudi Arabia: Riyal Senegal: CFA Franc Serbia & Montenegro: new dinar
Seychelles: Seychelles rupee Sierra Leone: Leone Singapore: Singapore dollar
Slovakia: Koruna Slovenia: Slovenian tolar Solomon Islands: SI dollar
Somalia: Somali shilling South Africa: Rand Spain: Euro (formerly peseta)
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka rupee Sudan: Dinar Suriname: Surinamese dollar
Swaziland: Lilangeni Sweden: Krona Switzerland: Swiss franc
Syria: Syrian pound Taiwan: Taiwan dollar Tajikistan: Tajik ruble
Tanzania: Tanzanian shilling Thailand: baht Togo: CFA Franc
Tonga: Pa'anga Trinidad and Tobago: dollar Tunisia: Tunisian dinar
Turkey: Turkish lira Turkmenistan: Manat Tuvalu: Australian dollar
Uganda: Ugandan new shilling Ukraine: Hryvna United Arab Emirates: UAE dirham
United Kingdom: Pound sterling (£) United States: dollar Uruguay: Uruguay peso
Uzbekistan: Uzbekistani sum Vanuatu: Vatu Vatican City: (Holy See) Euro
Venezuela: Bolivar Vietnam: Dong Western Sahara: Tala
Yemen: Rial Zambia: Kwacha Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean dollar
British Prime Ministers (Best bolded)
Sir Robert Walpole Whig 1721-42 Spencer Compton - 1742-43
Henry Pelham Whig 1743-54 Thomas Pelham-Holles Whig 1754-56
William Cavendish 1756-57 William Pitt Whig 1757-61
Thomas Pelham-Holles Whig 1761-62 John Stuart - 1762-63
George Grenville - 1763-65 Charles Watson-Wentworth Whig 1765-66
William Pitt Whig 1766-68 Augustus Fitzroy - 1768-70
Frederick North Tory 1770-82 Charles Watson-Wentworth Whig 1782
William Petty FitzMaurice Whig 1782-83 William Henry Bentinck Whig/Tory 1783
William Pitt the Younger Tory 1783-1801 Henry Addington Tory 1801-1804
William Pitt the Younger Tory 1804-06 William Wyndham Grenville Whig 1806-07
William Henry Bentinck Whig/Tory 1807-09 Spencer Perceval Tory 1809-12
Robert Banks Jenkinson Tory 1812-27 George Canning Tory 1827
Frederick John Robinson - 1827-28 Arthur Wellesley (Wellington) Tory 1828-30
Charles Grey Whig 1830-34 William Lamb Whig 1834
Robert Peel Tory 1834-35 William Lamb Whig 1835-41
Robert Peel Tory 1841-46 John Russell Liberal 1846-52
Lord Derby Whig/Tory 1852, 1858-59 Lord Palmerston Tory 1855-65
Lord Derby Whig/Tory 1866-68 Benjamin Disraeli Conservative. 1868
William Gladstone Liberal 1868-74 Benjamin Disraeli Conservative. 1874-80
William Gladstone Liberal 1880-85 Lord Salisbury Conservative. 1885-86
William Gladstone Liberal 1896 Lord Salisbury Conservative 1886-92
William Gladstone Liberal 1892-94 Archibald Philip Rosebery Liberal 1894-95
Lord Salisbury Conservative 1895-1901 Arthur James Balfour Conservative 1902-05
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Liberal 1905-08 Herbert Henry Asquith Liberal/Coal. 1908-16
David Lloyd George Welsh Lib 1916-22 Andrew Bonar Law Conservative 1922-23
Stanley Baldwin Conservative 1923-24 James Ramsey MacDonald Labour/Nat. 1924
Stanley Baldwin Conservative 1924-29 James Ramsey MacDonald Labour/Nat. 1929-35
Stanley Baldwin Conservative 1935-37 Neville Chamberlain Conservative 1937-40
Sir Winston Churchill Coalition 1940-45 Clement Atlee Labour 1945-51
Sir Winston Churchill Coalition 1951-55 Anthony Eden Conservative 1955-57
Harold Macmillan Conservative 1957-63 Alexander Douglas-Home Conservative 1963-64
Harold Wilson Labour 1964-70 Edward Heath Conservative 1970-74
Harold Wilson Labour 1974-76 James Callaghan Labour 1976-79
Margaret Thatcher Conservative 1979-90 John Major Conservative 1990-97
Tony Blair Labour 1997-2007 Gordon Brown Labour 2007-