HISTORIAN LEADERS

Nelson Mandela

2011-10-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Full Name: Mr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Date of Birth: July 18, 1918
Place of Birth: Mvezo, Mthatha district, South Africa
Classification: Leaders & Revolutionaries

Nelson Mandela is one of the world's greatest and most admired historian leaders and has been honored with numerous awards including the Nobel Peace Prize for he is a shining example of the incredible strength of the human spirit to persevere in the face of adversity for the pursuit of freedom.
Nelson Mandela was born in a small South African village to a local chief and his third wife. He was the first person in his family to receive a western education, and was inspired to study law after witnessing the democracy of African tribal governance at an early age. Mandela became a sought after lawyer in Johannesburg, defending black South Africans against the government's increasingly unfair treatment, and a key figure of the African National Congress, a political party that sought to unite all Africans and regain their rights and freedom. He participated in boycotts, organized protests, mobilized his people and in turn was labeled an enemy of the state: accused of treason, banned from political involvement, disbarred, and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela's incarceration brought international attention to the racial injustices of South Africa's apartheid government sparking the rally cry "Free Nelson Mandela" worldwide.
Mandela served 27 years in prison before his release in 1990 at the age of 72 and was elected the first black President of South Africa in 1994. Although he retired from political life in 1999, Mandela continues to lend his voice towards issues that affect his country and the world at large, such as the AIDS epidemic, poverty, and human rights. He was also instrumental in securing South Africa as the host of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Short Milestones of Nelson Mandela

1918
Nelson Mandela is born on July 18th in the Mvezo village in South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope Province. He is of the Madiba clan, and a member of the Thembu people of the Xhosa nation. His father Gadia Henry Mphakanyiswa, a former government appointed chief of Mvezo, names him Rolihlahla,
1923
After moving to the village of Qunu, north of Mvezo, he becomes a herd-boy, looking after sheep and cattle, and learns to sling–shot, stick–fight and gather honey and fruits.
1925
At seven years old, he becomes the first in his family to attend school, receiving a British education and a new British name — Nelson.
1927
His father dies and his mother moves him to Mqhekezweni, a mission station of the Methodist Church, where Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo becomes his guardian.
He attends church, listens to chiefs and councilmen hold tribal meetings. He continues his education at the Clarkebury Boarding Institute in the district of Engcobo, then the Healdtown Wesleyan College in Fort Beaufort, a mission school of the Methodist church southwest of Umtata, and the University College of Fort Hare in the municipality of Alice, east of Healdtown.
1941
While on break from college, he runs away to Johannesburg, to avoid an arranged marriage. He briefly works as a night watchman at a gold mine, then takes a job as a clerk at the law firm Witkin, Sidelsky and Edelman in Alexandra while studying for his B.A. by correspondence course at the University of South Africa.
1942
Graduates from the University of South Africa.
Begins attending the African National Congress (ANC) meetings, a nationalistic group that aimed to unite Africans and establish a democratic form of government.
1943

Marches in support of a bus boycott to protest a fare hike in Alexandra, enrolls at the University of the Witwatersrand for a bachelor of laws degree.
1944
Helps form the ANC Youth League, a group intended to underscore and mobilize the ANC. Marries Evelyn Mase; their son Madiba is born two years later.
1947
Finishes his tenure at the Witkin, Sidelsky and Edelman law firm and continues his studies towards a law degree full time.
His daughter Makaziwe is born, but dies nine months later. A second daughter is born in 1953 and again named Makaziwe.
1950
After the racially segregating “apartheid” rule is implemented in South Africa the previous year, Mandela participates in the organization of the National Day of Protest on June 26th.
His second son Makgatho is born on the day of the protest.
1951
Works at the law firm of Terblanche and Briggish, then Helman and Michel before taking his qualification exams to work as a full–fledged attorney at H.M. Basner.
1952
Opens his own law practice In Johannesburg with his friend and fellow ANC member Oliver Tambo. It is the first black law practice in Johannesburg and they become renowned for fighting injustice and protecting the rights of the African community.
1954

After receiving a government ban the previous year, preventing him from attending the African National Congress meetings and limiting his travel, he is stripped of his law credentials by the Law Society of the Transvaal.
1956
Arrested at his home in the early morning of December 5th for high treason. Soon after, almost the entire executive leadership of the ANC is arrested and imprisoned for weeks. Their treason trial drags on until 1961.
Mandela and his wife Evelyn separate after he is released from jail and divorce the following year.
1958
Marries Nomzamo Winifred “Winnie” Madikizela, a social worker at Baragwanath hospital in Soweto on June 14th. Together they have two daughters: Zenani, born on February 5th 1959, and Zindziswa born on December 23rd in 1960.
1960
The South African government declares a state of emergency after police fire on a crowd of protestors in Sharpeville killing at least 69 people and wounding hundreds, sparking national turmoil.
Mandela is arrested under the state of emergency on March 30th. He is released at the end of August but still remains on trial for treason.
1961
Acquitted of treason on March 29th and immediately goes “underground”, and lives in hiding. He meets and plans protest with the ANC and leads the decision to form a military group called Umkhonto we Sizwe (The Spear of the Nation), but referred to as MK.
1962
Mandela is arrested on August 5th after living on the run for over a year, and sentenced to life in prison after a two–year trial. He is accused of sabotage and conspiracy against the country and ordered to serve the majority of his sentence on Robben Island off of the coast of South Africa.
1980
The campaign to release Mandela from prison begins as the headline "Free Nelson Mandela" appears in a March edition of the Johannesburg Sunday Post along with a petition calling for the release of Mandela and other political prisoners.

1990

After 27 years in prison, Mandela is released on February 11th. President F.W. de Klerk, begins the dismantling of the legalized segregation of apartheid.

1992
Divorces his wife Winnie. Appears in the final scenes of Spike Lee's 1992 film “X” about the life of American black, nationalist Malcolm X.

1993
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for working towards “the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime,” and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa"

1994
Elected as the 11th president of South Africa in the country's first “national, nonracial, one-person-one-vote” election and is inaugurated on May 10th. Publishes his autobiography “Long Walk To Freedom”.

1998
Weds Graca Machel, widower of a former president of Mozambique, on July 18th, his 80th birthday.
1999
Retires as President of South Africa. He is diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer the following year.
2003
Hosts the 46664 Concert (named after his prison number) in Cape Town aimed at bringing awareness to HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The concert stars Beyonce, Bono, Youssou N’Dour, and many other notable musicians.
2007

Forms the group The Elders with world leaders including Kofi Annan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter to address problems of the world.

The Nelson Mandela Bridge

khudiram Bose

2010-07-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Introdcution

Many freedom fighters have been seeped away by time. One among those thousands is Khudiram Bose. It was this exceptional hero, who threw the first bomb on the British who were crushing India. Even while at school, he was attracted towards the sacred words VandeMataram!’ (I bow to Mother India!) and plunged into the war of independence. The boy of sixteen defied the police. At the age of nineteen, he became a martyr, with the holy book the Bhagavadgita (the Divine Song) in his hand and with the slogan Vande Mataram' on his lips.

'Take Care, Don't Touch My Body!’

Then appeared a boy of sixteen with a bundle of handbills; he was distributing them to the people. The handbill bore the title 'Sonar Bangla'. It carried the slogan Vande Mataram'. In addition, the true purpose of the British in putting up the exhibition was also exposed.The various forms of British injustice and tyranny were also explained.

Among the visitors to the exhibition, there were a few loyal to the King of England. They were opposed to the persons who exposed the injustice of the British. Words like Vande Mataram', 'Swatantrya' (freedom) and 'Swarajya' (self-rule) were like pins and needles to them. They tried to prevent the boy from distributing the handbills. Their eyes red with anger, they glared at the boy, rebuked him and frightened him. But ignoring them the boy calmly went on distributing the handbills. When some people tried to capture him, he smartly escaped.
At last a policeman caught hold of the boy's hand. He pulled at the bundle of handbills. But to catch the boy was not so easy. He jerked free his hand. Then he swung the arm and powerfully struck the nose of the policeman. Again he took possession of the handbills, and said, "Take care, don't touch my body! I will see how you can arrest me without a warrant."

The policeman who had received the blow rushed forward again; but the boy was not there. He had disappeared in the midst of the crowd.

As the people burst into cries Vande Mataram' the police and t loyal to the King were filled with wonder and also felt humiliated.

Later a case was filed against the boy; but the court set him on the ground of his tender age.

Who Was This Boy?

The heroic boy who distributed handbills so bravely at the Medinipur exhibition and thereby defeated the evil plans of the British was Khudiram Bose.

Khudiram Bose was born on 3rd December 1889 in the village Bahuvaini in Medinipur district. His father Trailokyanath Basu was the Tahsildar of the town of the Nadazol prince. His mother Lakshmipriya Devi was a pious lady, who was well known for her virtuous life and generosity. Though a few children were born to the couple all died soon after birth. Only a daughter survived. The last child, Khudiram Bose, was the only surviving son.

The Bose couple had yearned for a male child. But they did not live long enough to enjoy their happiness. They unexpectedly died when Khudiram was just six. The boy's elder sister Anurupadevi and his
brother-in-law Amritalal had to shoulder the responsibility of bringing him up.

Revolutionary activities

Bose was inspired by his teacher Satyndranath Bose and readings of the Bhagavad Gita, which helped him embrace revolutionary activities aimed at ending the British Raj. He was especially disillusioned with the British following the partition of Bengal conflagration in 1905. He joined Jugantar - the party of revolutionary activists, the history boys.

At the nascent age of sixteen, Bose was defying police after planting bombs near police stations and targeting government officials. He was arrested three years later on charges of conducting a series of bomb attacks, credit history. The specific bombing for which he was sentenced to death resulted in the deaths of 3 persons: a Mrs. Kennedy, her daughter and a servant.

A Born Patriot

Anurupadevi looked after Khudiram with the affection of a mother. She wanted her younger brother to be highly educated, get a high post and to make a name. She therefore admitted him to a nearby school.

It was not that Khudiram could not learn. He was smart and could grasp things easily. But he could not be attentive to the lessons in his class. Though his teachers shouted at the top of their voice, he did not hear the lessons. Thoughts entirely unrelated to the lessons were revolving in his head.

A born patriot, even at the age seven or eight years, Khudiram Bose thought, 'India is our country. It is a great country. Elders say that this has been the home of know- ledge for thousands of years. Why, then, are the red-faced British here? Under them, our people cannot even live as they wish. When I grow up, I must somehow drive them out.'

All day the boy was engaged in these thoughts. Thus oven when he opened a book to read, he would see a red-faced, green-eyed, glaring Englishman. Even when he was eating, the same recollection haunted him. And the memory brought a strange pain in the heart.

Both his sister and his brother-in-law wondered what troubled the boy. They thought that the memory of his mother troubled him, and treated him with greater affection.But Khudiram was unhappy about Mother India. His anguish grew day by day, name history.

Division of Bengal

As a consequence encouraged by the song Vande Mataram, millions of Indians revolted against the British. The state of affairs shaped a fear in the midst of the rulers that their domain in India would not precede longer. Subsequently they made an effort to come apart the Hindus and the Muslims. In the western part of Bengal where the Hindus were dominated in terms of majority and in the eastern part the Muslims. Apprehending this British formulated a new plan. In 1905, during Lord Curzon’s term as the Governor General of India, guidelines were issued separating Bengal into East Bengal and West Bengal. Nevertheless the people of India knew the intention of the British. Patriots from diverse fractions of the country was conflicting the partition of Bengal with solitary voice. In numerous places meetings, procession and non violent strikes or satyagraha were apprehended, with the words Vande Mataram on lips of everyone.

Khudiram Initiated

Love of his country had come to Khudiram with his mother's milk. It was at this time he was initiated into revolution. The cry of Vande Mataram' which was then heard everywhere caught his imagination. He watched with interest the different forms of protest against the partition of Bengal. Watching them he could not be silent. He wanted to know their background. When he read 'Anandamata', he got a clearvision of his life's task. He decided to dedicate his life to the service of the Mother.

He admired the way of revolutionaries who were determined to organize patriotic men, and fight bravely against the foreign rulers to free the country from slavery. The revolutionaries had sacrificed their family, relations, wealth and everything.They had dedicated themselves to the service of the Motherland. Men of a noble character and a pure life, they were not afraid of any hard ship. Khudiram too desired to become one of such revolutionaries. He made friends with them. They tested him in several ways and he proved his worth. At last he was initiated into the service of the country. So his formal education ended.

Patriots Tortured

As the message of Vande Mataram' spread, the British became more andmore cruel. They proclaimed that it was treason to shout Vande Mataram'. Thus, in the eyes of the British saluting our own Mother was an act of treason!

The British Government started harassing the patriots in different ways. But they had the courage to march on ignoring all harassment. Meetings and processions resounded with cries of Vande Mataram, which shock the British. If two patriots met, instead of merely saying Namaskar (salutation) they bowed to each other with the greeting Vande Mataram'! Whenever the police heard the slogan, they merci- lessly beat the patriots. They tortured them. Yet they could not prevent Indians from shouting Vande Mataram'! The greater the tyranny of the British, the greater grew the pride of Indians. People started boycotting foreign clothes. They left foreign schools and colleges. 'Swadeshi' (made in our country) became the mantra of salutation to patriots.
The British thought that they would have to quit India if such conditions persisted. Yet they had an illusion that they could forcibly keep the people under control. So they decided to punish the patriots still more
cruelly. Wherever the revolutionaries were very active, the government appointed stern and harsh officers. Those officers would torture the patriots they could catch. They would ill-treat women, children and old men. They would inflict harsh punish- ments even for small crimes. Kings ford, the Chief Presidency Magistrate of calcutta, was one such cruel officer.

Cruel Kingsford

The magistrate who carried out the trial was Kingsford, dishonorable for his nastiness. Kingsford scolded that Sushil had broken the law by aggressive attack on a British Policeman betrothed to maintain peace.

Sushil kumar fearlessly inquired Kingsford why did the peace-loving police man attack the people who stood peace fully. Kingsford commanded the police and ordered a punishment of fifteen lashes.

The police took away Sushil, and undressed him and ruthlessly gave him fifteen lashes. Sushil neither wept nor did his smile become paler. Instead for every stroke, he cried Vande Mataram.

After release, Sushil was taken in a parade by the people. He was honored at a large meeting where Surendra Nath Bannerjee, an elderly leader, admired Sushil's bravery and sanctified him with the souvenir of a gold medal. The National College, in which he was studying, remained closed for a day in his admiration.

Preparations for Kingsford's Murder

Even after his transfer to Muzaffarpur, Kingsford would-not ends his cruel acts. In 1908, the revolutionaries made a plan to kill him.

In the first week of April,the revolutionaries of the Jugantar group held a meeting at a house in Calcutta. They were to discuss how to – punish Kingsford who had treated Sushil so unjustly and harshly. Aravinda Ghosh, Subodh Mallik, Charudatta and others were present at the meeting. It was decided that Kingsford should be shot dead. But their leader was worried about the choice of a person to do this. Some were eager to accept the task. But the leader did not wish to select any one of them.

All of a sudden the leader's eye fell on Khudiram who was sitting in a corner. The glance seemed to ask 'Can you do this?' Khudiram understood it. There was a glow in his eyes.

"Can you do this grim work?" The leader now openly asked him.

"With your blessings, what is impossible?" Khudiram answered him with a question.

"This is not so easy as going to jail. Do you know what will happen, if you are caught?" The leader asked him in a tone of warning.
Khudiram said calmly but firmly, 1know. At the worst they can hang me. Master, I take it as a boon. Bharat Mata is my father, mother and all.To give up my life for her is, I consider, an act of merit. My sole desire is only this. Till our country wins freedom, I will be born here again and again, and sacrifice my life."
"Is that so? I am very glad. Get ready for the journey. Profulla Chaki will go with you," the leader said.
Profullakumar Chaki, quite sturdy and of about the same age as Khudiram, stood near him.Profulla was a native of Rangapur of East Bengal. At the time of the partition of Bengal, he had walked out of school with eighty boys, all shouting Vande Mataram'!

The leader of the revolutionaries gave each of the boys, Khudiram and Profulla, two revolvers, a bomb and a little money, and sent them with his blessings. They set out full of zest to end the life of Kingsford.

Target Missed

It was on the night of April 30, 1908 that Khudiram and Profulla approached the European Club at Muzaffarpur. With a revolver and a bomb ready, they hid them- selves waiting for Kingsford to come out.

In a short while courage drawn by a horse moved from the compound of Kingsford's bungalow. Khudiram who held a bomb in his hand, whispered to Profulla, "Run away soon after I throw the bomb. Don't worry about me. In case I survive, I shall touch the feet of our revered teacher. Be ready to run. Vande Mataram!"

The carriage approached. When it was just opposite him Khudiram aimed at the carriage and threw the bomb inside.

The first bomb thrown against the British by India leapt from a young hand.
As the bomb touched the coach there was a deafening explosion. A blood-curdling cry was also heard at the same moment. Without watching to see what would happen next, Khudiram and Profulla ran away in different directions.

Kingsford was lucky. He was not in the carriage on which Khudiram threw the bomb. The persons in it were Kingsford's guests, the wife and the daughter of a lawyer Kennady by name, and a servant. The daughter and the servant died immediately. Mrs. Kennedy, who was seriously injured, died a day or two later.

No way out

Khudiram started running immediately after throwing the bomb. He ran throughout the night, along the railway line,without stopping. He stopped only in the morning. By then he had run about 25 miles. He reached a place now known as Lakha near the railway station at Veni. He had run with out rest and was quite exhausted. In addition, he was unbearably hungry.Buying some fried corn, he started eating.
By that time, the news of the Muzaffarpur incident had spread in all directions. At the very shop where Khudiram was eating, people were talking about it. Khudiram listened with curiosity. Hearing that two women died, he forgot himself for a moment and asked, "What! Didn't Kings ford die?"

Khudiram's words drew the attention of the people in the shop. The boy looked a stranger to the place. Utter fatigue was clear in his face. The shopkeeper's suspicion grew stronger. He entertained a hope that he would be rewarded if he could expose the criminal. Immediately after serving water to Khudiram, he gave a hint to the police going on their usual rounds nearby. As Khudiram raised the glass to his mouth, the police arrived and caught hold of him. Khudiram failed in his attempt to take out the revolver in his pocket. Both the revolvers in his pockets were seized by the police. Khudiram was not in the least upset.

Profulla's Sacrifice

Profullakumar Chaki, too, had run away like Khudiram. He evaded the police for two days. But on the third day of hiswanderings the police encountered him. When they attempted to arrest him, he ran away. But wherever he went, the police had spread their net. "Any way, I shall not allow them to touch me when I am alive" he resolved. Taking out his pistol he shot himself and died a heroic death. The police cut off his head and carried it to Muzaffarpur.

Khudiram was brought by train to Muzaffarpur under a heavy guard. People had assembled in thousands to see the boy who had thrown a bomb for the first time in India against the British. As soon as Khudiram got into the carriage to go to the police station, he shouted with a smile, Vande Mataram'! Tears of pride welled up
in the eyes of the people.

'I Know Better'

Afterwards a case was filed against Khudiram. There were two lawyers on the Government's side. There was no one at Muzaffarpur, whom Khudiram could call his own. Then a senior advocate Kalidas Bose by name came forward to argue for him.

The pretence of a trial took two months. In the end, the Magistrate read his judgment sentencing Khudiram to death. Even when the judgment was being read, Khudiram did not show even a faint trace of fear.
The judge was surprised that a boy of nineteen years accepted death so calmly. "Do you know what this judgment means?" he asked.
Khudiram replied with a smile "I know its meaning better than you."

"Yes. I have to explain a few things about making bombs."

The judge was now nervous that Khudiram might make a statement explaining how to make bombs and thus teach everyone in the court. Hence he did not allow the boy to make a statement.

Khudiram had not expected justice in a British court. But Kalidas Bose yearned to save Khudiram. He appealed to the Calcutta High Court on behalf of Khudiram. The judge of the High Court also under- stood Khudiram's nature. The fearless eyes and the determined face of the boy filled him, too, with wonder. He confirmed the death sentence given by the lower court. But he postponed the date of the execution from August 6, 1908 to August 19.

The judge asked, "Have you anything to say?"
"Do you wish to say anything?" the judge asked.

Khudiram said, "Like the heroic Rajput women, I wish to die for the freedom of my country. The thought of the gallows does not make me unhappy in the least. My only regret is that Kingsford could not be punished for his crimes."

Even in prison, he was not at all worried. As death approached his face grew brighter. He thought that the sooner he sacrificed his life, the sooner he could be born again and fights for the freedom of his Motherland. This is not mere legend. Khudiram put on two pounds in the jail!

Back to the Mother's Lap

As had been decided, Khudiram was brought to the gallows at 6 A. M. on the nineteenth of August, 1908, Even then the smile on his face had not faded. Serenely he walked to the post. He had a copy of the Bhagavadgita (the Song Divine). For the last time he cried aloud, Vande Mataram' and then put his hand into the noose.

Khudiram had finally achieved his heroic goal; he had laid his life at the feet of Mother India. He is immortal in the history of India.

Khudiram's sacrifice did not go waste. Of course, the bomb thrown by him hit others, but not Kingsford. But the bomb of fear had entered the mind of Kingsford. Right from the day when Khudiram became a martyr, Kingsford had no peace of mind. Each moment seemed to bring him death. At last, he was so terrified that he resigned his post and settled at Mussorie.Kingsford, who frightened and tortured the innocents, himself died of terror.

An Inspiration

Khudiram not only himself became immortal, but also inspired others by his sacrifice to become immortal. In course of time, thousands of young men and women followed in his footsteps and enbed the British regime in India. While Kingsford had to quit his post, the British had to quit India itself.

MAO ZEDONG

2010-03-23T01:05:00.000-07:00

Born: 26 December 1893
Birthplace: XiangTan, Hunan Province, China
Died: 9 September 1976 (Natural causes)
Best Known As: Head of the People's Republic of China, 1949-76

Mao Zedong (also Mao Tse-Tung) was the world's most prominent Chinese communist during the 20th century. Mao's Red Army overthrew Chiang Kai-Shek in 1949, and the communists seized power of mainland China. Ruthless and ambitious credit history, Mao turned China into a world military power and created a cult of personality, forcing the distribution of his image and his "Little Red Book" (a collection of political maxims) upon the Chinese people. His campaign to export communism made China a threat to the West and led to confrontations in Southeast Asia and Korea. Under Mao's rule China endured a series of economic disasters and political terrorism, but for more than 25 years Mao was China, as far as the rest of the world was concerned. After his death, leaders like Deng Xiaoping steered the country away from pure communism, and the Cult of Mao began to disappear. These days Mao is ranked among the worst of 20th century dictators. alongside Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler.

Mao Zedong’s Early Life

• Dec. 26, 1893 – Mao born to farmer family at Shaoshan, Xiangtan County, Hunan Province
• 1901-06 – Mao attends local primary school
• 1907-08 – Teenaged Mao is married to a woman from the Luo clan; they live together for several years, but she dies at 21.
• 1910 – Mao sees terrible famine in Hunan Province
• 1911 – Revolution, Mao fights on revolutionary side in Changsha against Qing Dynasty
• 1912 – Mao enters Normal School for teacher training
• 1915 – Mao meets future second wife, Yang Kaihui
• 1918 – Mao graduates from First Provincial Normal School of Hunan
• 1919 – Mao travels to Beijing during May Fourth Movement
• 1920 – Married Yang Kaihui, daughter of Professor Yang Changji; three sons

Mao Learns about Marxism

• 1921 – Mao introduced to Marxism working at library of Peking University
• 1921 July 23 – Mao attends 1st session of National Congress of Comm. Party
• 1924 – Delegate to 1st National Conference of KMT; organizes Hunan branch
• 1925 March – KMT leader Sun Yat-Sen dies, Chiang Kai-Shek takes over
• 1927 April – Chiang Kai-Shek attacks communists at Shanghai
• 1927 – Mao returns to Hunan, meets with Communist Party re: peasant uprisings
• 1927 – Mao leads Autumn Harvest Uprising in Changsha, Hunan
• 1930 – KMT sends five waves (more than 1 million soldiers) against rising communist power led by Mao
• 1930 May – Mao marries He Zizhen
• 1930 Oct. – Kuomintang (KMT) captures Yang Kaihui and son Anying , Yang executed

Mao Gathers Power and Fame

• 1931-34 – Mao and others establish Soviet Republic of China in mountains of Jiangxi
• “Red terror” – Communists torture and murder thousands of local people
• 1932 June – Red Guard numbers 45,000, plus 200,000 militia
• 1934 October – Chiang Kai-shek’s forces surround communists
• 1934 October 16 - 1935 October 19 – The Long March, communist escape 8,000 miles to north and west
• 1937 – Mao publishes “On Contradiction” and “On Practice,” revolutionary tracts
• 1937 – He Zizhen catches Mao in affairs, they split (but don’t divorce) name history
• 1937 July 7 - 1945 Sept. 9 – Second Sino-Japanese War
• 1938 Nov. – Mao marries Jiang Qing (birth name Li Shumeng), later known as “Madame Mao”
• 1941 – Mao advocates “stern measures” against non-cooperative peasants

Chairman Mao and the Founding of the PRC

• 1942 – Mao launches “Rectification of Conduct” campaign, Zheng Feng, to purge other CPC leaders
• 1943 – Mao becomes Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
• 1944 – US sends Dixie Mission to Chinese Communists – Americans are favorably impressed
• 1945 – Meets with Chiang Kai-Shek and George Marshall for discussions in Chongqing; no peace deal
• 1946-49 - Final phase of Chinese Civil War
• 1949 Jan 21 – KMT suffers huge loss against Red Guard led by Mao
• 1949 Oct. 1 – Foundation of PRC
• 1949-1953 – Mass executions of landlords and other “rightists,” more than 1 million likely killed
• 1949 Dec. 10 – Communists take Chengdu, last KMT stronghold. Chiang Kai-shek flees to Taiwan.
• 1950 – Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship signed by Mao and Stalin

The First Decade: Triumph and Disaster

• 1950 Oct. 7 – Mao orders invasion of Tibet
• 1950 Nov. 25 – Son Mao Anying killed in Korean War
• 1951 – Three-anti/Five-anti Campaigns against capitalists, hundreds of thousands dead by suicide or execution
• 1952 – Mao bans parties except CCP
• 1953-58 – First Five-Year Plan, Mao undertakes instant industrialization of China
• 1954 Sept. 27 – Mao becomes President of PRC
• 1956-57 – Hundred Flowers Campaign, Mao encourages criticism of government (trick to root out dissidents)
• 1956 – Jiang Qing goes to Moscow for cancer treatment
• 1957-59 – Anti-Rightest Movement, some 500,000+ government critics re-educated through labor or shot
• 1958 Jan. – Great Leap Forward (Second Five-Year Plan), collectivization, 20-43 million starve to death

Trouble at Home and Abroad

• 1958 July 31 – Aug. 3 – Khrushchev visits Mao in China
• 1958 Dec. – Mao relinquishes presidency, succeeded by Liu Shaoqi
• 1959 – Sino-Soviet Split
• 1962 Jan. – CPC “Conference of the 7,000” in Beijing, Pres. Liu Shaoqi denounces Great Leap Forward
• 1962 June-Nov. – Sino-Indian War, USSR supports India, China wins Aksai Chin border region
• 1964 April – Parts of “On Contradiction” and “On Practice” republished as part of The Little Red Book
• 1964 Oct. 16 – China tests first nuclear weapon at Lop Nur
• 1966 May 16 -1976 – Cultural Revolution, social and political upheaval in reaction against Liu and Deng
• 1967 Jan – Red Guards besiege Soviet Embassy in Beijing
• 1967 June 14 – China tests first hydrogen bomb (“H-bomb”)

Mao’s Decline and Death

• 1968 – Soviet troops deploy along border with Xinjiang, fostering revolt among Uighers
• 1969 March – Fighting between China and USSR breaks out along Ussuri River
• 1969 August – Soviets threaten to nuke China
• 1971 July – Henry Kissinger visits Beijing
• 1972 Feb. – President Nixon visits Beijing
• 1974 – Mao loses ability to speak coherently due to ALS or motor neuron disease
• 1975 – Deng Xiapeng, purged in 1968, returns as party secretary
• 1975 – Chiang Kai-shek dies in Taiwan
• 1976 July 28 – Great Tangshan Earthquake kills 250,000-800,000 people; Mao already in hospital
• 1976 Sept. 9 – Mao dies, Hua Guofeng succeeds him
• 1976 – Jiang Qing and other members of “Gang of Four” arrested

VLADIMIR LENIN

2010-03-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Born: 22 April 1870
Died: 21 January 1924
Birthplace: Simbirsk, Volga
Best known as: Founder of Bolshevism and the force behind the Russian revolution

Name at birth: Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov
Vladimir I. Lenin was a driving force behind the Russian Revolution of 1917 and became the first great dictator of the Soviet Union. Lenin was deeply influenced by the revolutionary political views of his older brother, Alexander Ulyanov , who introduced him to the ideas of Karl Marx. He studied Karl Marx and formed workers' groups, but was arrested and exiled to Siberia in 1895. In 1900 he went to Europe, and in 1903 he led the Bolsheviks in the split of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' party. When revolution broke out in Russia in 1917, he led the Bolsheviks to control the government. Lenin had complete political control over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) until his death, and is remembered as the man who put Marx's ideas to practical use.

Vladimir Lenin was a bright student in school. He read the writings of Goethe and Turgenev, that would affect him for life.

His father died in 1886. Then in 1887, his brother was hung for plotting to assassinate Tsar Alexander III. Vladimir Lenin renounced religion and the political system.

Lenin attended Kazan University where he studied law, but was later expelled. He chose to study law on his own, passing the exam and coming first in the class.

Lenin moved to St. Petersburg, where he began practising law. Vladimir Lenin began to develop a Marxist underground movement. He met Nadezhda Krupskaya, who he married in 1898.

In 1895, Vladimir Lenin travelled to Switzerland to meet Social Democrats. When Vladimir Lenin arrived back in Russia, Lenin planned to start a revolutionary paper, but he and the other leaders were arrested. He served 15 months in a prison, after which Vladimir Lenin was exiled to Siberia.

In 1900 they moved to Switzerland where they established their paper, credit history, Iskra (Spark). Lenin rose to a position of power in the Social Democratic party.

In 1917, the revolution happened in Russia. In March, steelworkers in St. Petersburg went on strike, with thousands of people lining the streets. The Tsar’s power collapsed and the Duma, led by Alexander Kerensky, took power. Vladimir Lenin came to power, after a coup.

Vladimir Lenin was named president of the Society of People’s Commissars (Communist Party). Land was redistributed, some as collective farms. Factories, mines, banks and utilities were taken over by the state.(name history)

In May, 1922, Vladimir Lenin suffered the first of a series of strokes. In his two remaining years, Vladimir Lenin tried to ensure that Trotsky, not Stalin, succeeded him, but failed. Vladimir Lenin died of a cerebral haemorrhage on January 21, 1924.

Extra credit: For decades after his death, Lenin's well-preserved body was on public display in a special mausoleum in Red Square...

VLADIMIR LENIN QUOTES
Freedom in capitalist society always remains about the same as it was in ancient Greek republics: Freedom for slave owners....Quotes by Vladimir Lenin.

Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted....Quotes by Vladimir Lenin.

Under socialism all will govern in turn and will soon become accustomed to no one governing....Quotes by Vladimir Lenin.

Any cook should be able to run the country....Quotes by Vladimir Lenin.

Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself....Quotes by Vladimir Lenin.

ADOLF HITLER

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"If freedom is short of weapons, we must compensate with willpower."
-- Adolf Hitler, Landsberg, 5 November 1925

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th 1889 in Braunau-am-Inn, Austria. The town is near to the Austro-German border, and his father, Alois, worked as a customs officer on the border crossing. His mother, Klara, had previously given birth to two other children by Alois, (Gustav and Ida) but they both died in their infancy. Adolf attended school from the age of six and the family lived in various villages around the town of Linz, east of Braunau. By this time Adolf had a younger brother, Edmund, but he only lived until the age of six. In 1896, Klara gave birth to Adolf 's sister, Paula, who survived to outlive him.

Hitler grew up in Austria. He enjoyed drawing but failed twice to pass the exam at the academy of arts. He moved to Munich and volunteered for the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment in World War I. During the war, he was wounded and gassed. He was also awarded for bravery in action, credit history.

After the war, he joined the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Worker’s Party). He was soon in charge of the party’s propaganda and eventually became its chairman. For his unsuccessful Beer-Hall Putsch, in which National Socialists attempted to seize power, Hitler was arrested and imprisoned for nine months.

He wrote his autobiography Mein Kampf (My Struggle) while in prison. Later, Hitler unsuccessfully challenged Paul von Hindenburg in the chancellor election.

After Hindenburg's death, Hitler became Führer and Reichskanzler (chancellor). He immediately established an absolute dictatorship. While preparing for war, he effectively invaded and annexed as much European territory as possible until Britain and France declared war.

As World War II was running its course, desperation grew among the Germans. Several attempts on Hitler’s life were plotted by fellow high ranking Nazis. Meanwhile, Soviet forces closed in on Berlin, the location of Hitler’s headquarters.

In recognition of her loyalty, Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun at midnight on April 28 - 29, 1945. On April 30 they jointly committed suicide. According to Hitler’s directions, their bodies were cremated.(name history)

KARL MARX

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The Life and Work of Karl Marx.
May 5, 1818
A son Karl is born to barrister Heinrich Marx and his wife, Henriette, in Trier
November 28,
1820 A son Frederick is born to textile manufacturer Friedrich Engels and his wife, Elisabeth, in Barmen

July 27-29, 1830
Revolution in France
September Revolution in Belgium
1830-31
Uprisings in Poland
October 1830
Karl Marx is enrolled at the Trier Gymnasium

1831, 1834
Uprisings of Lyons weavers in France
May 27, 1832
The Hambach festivities, a mass political demonstration in the Palatinate demanding the unification of Germany and political freedoms, credit history

Late 1830s
Chartism, the first mass revolutionary workers’ movement, emerges in England
August-September 24, 1835
Marx graduates from the Trier Gymnasium and receives his school-leaving certificate
October Marx enrols at Bonn University as a law student
Summer 1836
Marx is engaged to Jenny von Westphalen in Trier

Mid-October
Marx moves to Berlin. On October 22, he enrols at Berlin University as a law student and soon becomes a member of the Young Hegelian Doctors’ Club
Spring 1837
When on vacation in Stralow, a suburb of Berlin, Marx begins a serious study of Hegel’s philosophy
May 10, 1838
Marx’s father dies
1839-41
Marx studies the history of philosophy, mainly in Antiquity. Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature is the subject of his Doctoral Dissertation

March 30-early April 1841
Marx graduates from Berlin University, and submits his dissertation to the University of Jena
April 15
The University of Jena confers on him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
January-February 1842
Marx writes Comments on the Latest Prussian Censorship Instruction, a critique of the Prussian feudal-absolutist system. That was Marx’s first piece of journalism
May 1842
Marx begins to contribute to the Rheinische Zeitung founded in Cologne by the liberal bourgeoisie of the Rhine Province. His articles stress the need to protect the rights of the toiling masses
October 15, 1842-March 18, 1843
Marx becomes editor-in-chief of the Rheinische Zeitung. Under his direction the paper’s line becomes increasingly more revolutionary and democratic. Marx’s articles denoted a shift from revolutionary democracy to communist ideas
Latter half of November 1842
Marx first meets Engels, who visits the Rheinische Zeitung offices in Cologne on his way to England

January 19, 1843
The Prussian Government decides to ban the Rheinische Zeitung as of April 1, and introduces an especially stringent censorship for it in the interim
March 18
Police reprisals launched by Prussian authorities made further publication of the paper impossible. Marx is forced to resign
May-October
Marx stays at Kreuznach, a small resort town, where Jenny; von Westphalen and her mother were staying at the time. There, Marx begins critical revision of Hegel’s doctrine of the state and law. The outcome of this work is an unfinished manuscript, published for the first time in 1927 in the Soviet Union under the title, Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Law.
Simultaneously, Marx studies world history, concentrating on analysis of socioeconomic and sociopolitical processes.
Seeing that political activity in Germany is impossible, Marx decides to move to France. He negotiates the publication in Paris of a magazine, Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher

June 19, 1843
Marx marries Jenny von Westphalen
Late October Marx and his bride move to Paris, where he takes up the history of the French Revolution, studies the work of utopian socialists and English an French economists. In Paris, Marx attends workers’ meetings, gets in touch with the leaders of the secret League of the Just, and meets member of clandestine French workers’ societies
Late December
Marx meets Heinrich Heine
Late February 1844
The first and last, and double, issue of the Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher comes out in Paris. Marx’s articles in it show his final acceptance of materialism and communism

April-August
Marx works on Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts, in which he criticises bourgeois political economy for the first time
May 1, 1844
A daughter, Jenny, is born to Karl and Jenny Marx
June 4-6
The uprising of the Silesian weavers
August 7 and 10
Vorwärts!, a German-language newspaper in Paris, publishes Marx’s article, Critical Marginal Notes on the Article ‘The King of Prussia and Social Reform. By a Prussian’. It underscores the tremendous significance of the Silesian uprising as an intimation of the power of the working class
August 28
Marx and Engels meet in Paris; this is the beginning of a lifelong friendship and joint work.
They embark on their first joint venture, The Holy Family, or Critique of Critical Criticism. Against Bruno Bauer and Company

Early September
After staying with Marx for ten days, Engels returns to Barmen, Germany, where he becomes involved in socialist propaganda, speaking at workers’ meetings. He also works on the book, The Condition of the Working-Class in England

January 16, 1845
Under pressure of the Prussian government, Marx is ordered to leave France
Early February Marx moves to Brussels, where his family joins him in mid-February
Late February Marx’s and Engels’s book, The Holy Family, or Critique of Critical Criticism. Against Bruno Bauer and Company, appears in Frankfort on the Main. It expounds the foundations of the revolutionary materialist outlook
Spring, c. April
Marx writes Theses on Feuerbach which Engels describes as “the first document in which is deposited the brilliant germ of the new world outlook”
Early April
Engels moves from Barmen to join Marx in Brussels
April-December
Marx and Engels establish contacts with Belgian democrats and socialists
Late May Engels’s The Condition of the Working Class in England, which, as Lenin put it, “was a terrible indictment of capitalism and the bourgeoisie”, is published in Leipzig
July 12-August 21
Marx and Engels visit England to study the latest English books on economics and also to gain insight into England’s economic and political life and the English working-class movement. In London, Marx and Engels get in touch with Chartist leaders and heads of the London communities of the League of the Just
September 26
Marx’s daughter Laura is born

September 1845-summer 1846
Marx and Engels work on The German Ideology, developing the principles of historical materialism and criticising Ludwig Feuerbach, Bruno Bauer and Max Stirner, as well as the theory of the “true socialists”. The book’s publication in Germany was made impossible due to the terms of the censorship. The book first appeared in the Soviet Union in 1932
December 1, 1845
Marx renounces his Prussian citizenship due to mounting persecution by the Prussian police
Early 1846
Marx and Engels set up the Communist Correspondence Committee in Brussels with a view to ideologically and organisationally uniting the socialists and the more politically aware workers of different countries, and paving the way for the establishment of an international proletarian organisation (name history)
May 5
The Brussels Communist Correspondence Committee adopts the Circular against Kriege, criticising the sentimental preaching of the “true socialists”
Early 1847
Marx’s son Edgar is born
Late January 1847
The London Committee of the League of the Just sends its representative, Joseph Moll, to Marx and Engels with a proposal that they join the League, take part in its reorganisation and draw up a new programme. Marx and Engels accept the proposal
January-June 15
Marx is working on The Poverty of Philosophy. Answer to the ‘Philosophy of Poverty’ by M. Proudhon

June 2-9
A congress of the League of the Just, in which Engels takes part, is held in London. The League of the Just is renamed the Communist League. The congress lays the foundation for an entirely new organisation with new ideological principles and structure. Engels participates in drawing up the new Rules subject to approval by the next congress. The congress also adopts the new motto of the League suggested by Marx and Engels,
“Working Men of All Countries, Unite!”
Early July
Marx’s Poverty of Philosophy is published in French in Brussels. Lenin regarded it as one of the first works of mature Marxism
August 5 On
Marx’s suggestion a community and district organisation of the Communist League are set up in Brussels
August-September
The Westphälische Dampfboot journal prints one of the chapters of The German Ideology containing criticism of “true socialism”
Late August
On Marx’s and Engels’s initiative, a German Workers’ Society is established in Brussels; it unites mostly German working-class refugees
September 1847-February 1848
Marx and Engels contribute to the Deutsche-Brüsseler-Zeitung which, up to its last issue published on February 27, 1848, was, to all intents and purposes, the organ of the Communist League
September-November 1847
Marx helps set up the Brussels Democratic Association which unites proletarian revolutionaries and bourgeois and petty-bourgeois democrats

November 15
Marx is elected Vice-President of the Brussels Democratic Association
November 29-December 8
London is the venue of the Second Congress of the Communist League, with Marx and Engels taking part in it. The congress supports their stand, and instructs them to draft the programme of the League in the form of a manifesto. The congress approves the Rules of the Communist League
Latter half of December
Marx delivers lectures on political economy at the German Workers’ Society. They come to be known as Wage Labour and Capital

Early January 1848
Revolutionary events begin to brew in Italy. Revolution in Palermo
February 22-24
Revolution in France
Late February
Marx’s and Engels’s Manifesto of the Communist Party, the first programme document of scientific communism, is published in London
February 28
On behalf of the Brussels Democratic Association, Marx signs a greeting to the Provisional Government of the French Republic
March 1
Ferdinand Flocon, a member of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, invites Marx to France
March 3
The King of Belgium orders Marx out of the country within 24 hours. The Brussels Central Authority of the Communist League announces its dissolution and transfers its scat to Paris. Marx is authorised to form a new Central Authority there
March 4
Marx and his wife are kept under arrest for 18 hours by the Brussels police. They and the children leave Brussels and head for France
March 5
Marx arrives in Paris where, on the instruction received from the Central Authority, he forms a new central body of the Communist League
Early March
On Marx’s suggestion, a German Workers’ Club is set up in Paris. At its meetings, Marx opposes the adventurist “export of revolution” planned by the petty-bourgeois leaders of the German émigrés in Paris
March 13
Revolutionary events flare up in Vienna
March 15
Revolution begins in Hungary
March 18
Barricade fighting in Berlin
March 21
Engels arrives in Paris
Late March
In view of the revolution in Germany, Marx and Engels draw up the Communist League’s political platform in the revolution: the Demands of the Communist Party in Germany

Early April
Marx and Engels go to Germany to take part in the revolution
April 11
On arrival in Cologne, Marx and Engels endeavour to start a daily paper
May 31
The first issue of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung dated June 1 is published in Cologne, its subtitle being Organ der Demokratie. Marx is its editor-in-chief, and Engels an editor.
Marx and Engels use the paper to campaign for a unified democratic German state and support the peasants’ and workers’ struggle and the national liberation movement in Bohemia, Italy, Poland, and other countries
June 23-26
Rising of the Paris proletariat
June 29
The Neue Rheinische Zeitung carries Marx’s article The June Revolution on the heroic effort of Paris workers

August 23-September
Marx goes to Vienna and Berlin to establish contacts with democratic and workers’ organisations, and to collect money for the publication of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung
August 30
Marx speaks at the first Vienna Workers’ Association on social relations in Europe and the place of the proletariat in the revolutionary struggle
September 2
Marx speaks at the first Vienna Workers’ Association on wage labour and capital
September 13
On the initiative of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, a mass public meeting is held in Cologne to rebuff counter-revolution. It elects a Committee of Public Safety, including Marx, Engels and other editors of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung. The Committee is to be the organising centre for the revolutionary struggle
September 25
Due to the defeat of the Frankfurt uprising and the declaration of a state of siege in Cologne, publication of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung is suspended
October 3
Publication of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung is resumed

October 6-31
Uprising in Vienna ending in victory for the counter-revolution
November 7
The Neue Rheinische Zeitung prints Marx’s article, The Victory of the Counter-Revolution in Vienna

November 8
Counter-revolutionary coup in Prussia
November 11
In view of the Prussian counter revolutionary coup, the Neue Rheinische Zeitung campaigned for refusal to pay taxes to undermine the finances of the counter-revolution and rally the masses
December
Marx publishes a series of articles, The Bourgeoisie and the Counter-Revolution, analysing specific aspects and the main stages of the revolution in Germany
February 7 and 8, 1849
Trials of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, and Marx as its editor-in-chief, on charges of insulting the authorities. At the trials, Marx and Engels defend their newspaper and freedom of the press in Germany.
The jury brings in a verdict of not guilty
April 5-8 and 11
The Neue Rheinische Zeitung prints Marx’s Wage Labour and Capital
Early May
Armed uprisings flare up in Dresden, the Palatinate, Baden and Rhenish Prussia in defence of the Imperial Constitution adopted by the National Assembly on March 28, 1849.
The Neue Rheinische Zeitung takes the side of the insurgents and urges them to close their ranks
May 10-15
Engels takes part in the Elberfeld uprising
May 16
The Prussian authorities hand Marx a government order to leave Prussia. Legal proceedings are instituted against Engels for participating in the Elberfeld uprising
May 19
The last, “red” issue of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung is published. Marx and Engels go to South-Western Germany, where the revolutionary events are still in progress. Engels is involved in the Baden-Palatinate uprising
Early June
Marx comes to Paris, where a major revolutionary outburst is expected. However, democratic petty-bourgeois leaders fail to direct the struggle of the people, and an attempted uprising fails
August 23
Marx is ordered by the French authorities to leave Paris within 24 hours
August 26
After being deported from Paris, Marx arrives in London, where his family joins him on September 17.
In London, he helps organise the work of the Communist League’s Central Authority, and sets up a Committee of Support for German Political Refugees
Early September
Marx joins the London German Workers’ Educational Society closely associated with the Communist League
November 5
A fourth child, son Heinrich Guido, is born to the Marxes
c. November 10
Engels arrives in London
November 1849-autumn 1850
Marx lectures on political economy and the Manifesto of the Communist Party at the Educational Society
March 1850
Marx and Engels draw up the “Address of the Central Authority to the League, March 1850”,
one of the first documents summing up the experience of the proletariat in the past revolution and outlining the action programme of Communists for the future
March 6-November 29
Marx and Engels publish six issues of the magazine, Neue Rheinische Zeitung. Politisch-ökonomische Revue, which prints Marx’s The Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850 and Engels’s The German Campaign for the Imperial Constitution and The Peasant War in Germany, as well as a number of international and other jointly written reviews
Spring Marx resumes his study of political economy
Early June
Marx and Engels write the second “Address of the Central Authority to the League, June 1850”,
with tactical and organisational advice and instructions to local branches
November 19
Heinrich Guido Marx dies
November
On the proposal of the London District of the Communist League, the Cologne Central Authority expels the Willich Schapper faction for disruptive activities.
Engels moves to Manchester and joins the Ermen & Engels firm. This enables him to offer regular financial assistance to the Marx family
March 28, 1851
Marx’s daughter Franziska is born
June 1851-1862
Marx and Engels contribute to the Chartist papers Notes to the People and The People’s Paper, and generally assist the Chartist movement
August 1851-March 1862
Marx and Engels contribute articles to the New York Daily Tribune on national liberation movements, international affairs, and the economics and politics of leading capitalist states
December 1851-March 1852
Marx writes The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, developing on the theory of revolution. In May 1852,
it was printed in New York by the journal Die Revolution; publisher Joseph Weydemeyer
April 14, 1852
Marx’s daughter Franziska dies
May-June
Marx and Engels write a pamphlet, The Great Men of the Exile, exposing the ambitions of petty-bourgeois refugee leaders, their pursuit of popularity and adventurist plans of revolution in a situation that was not yet ripe
October 4-November 12
The Cologne trial of Communist League members
October-December
Marx and Engels expose the Prussian government’s frame-up in letters, articles and statements to the press.
Between late October and December,
Marx writes a pamphlet, Revelations Concerning the Communist Trial in Cologne, in which he offers documentary evidence of fabrications by the Prussian police and judiciary.
In January 1853
the pamphlet was published in Switzerland and in April in the United States
November 17
As reaction gains ground on the European continent and many active members of the Communist League are arrested, a meeting of the League’s London District assents to Marx’s proposal to dissolve its branches and recommends the branches on the continent to close down as well
October 22-December 24,
1853
The Chartist People’s Paper prints a series of Marx’s articles, Lord Palmerston, a satirical portrayal of that prominent English politician.
Also published in the New York Daily Tribune and, later, as a separate pamphlet
March 1854
Marx covers the Labour Parliament for the New York Daily Tribune.
In an open letter to the Labour Parliament in The People’s Paper of March 18, 1854, Marx calls for the establishment of a mass working-class political party in England
August-December
The New-York Daily Tribune runs Marx’s series of articles, “Revolutionary Spain”, with an in-depth examination of the train of events in the light of the revolutionary history of the Spanish people
January 16, 1855
Marx’s daughter Eleanor is born
January-December
Marx contributes to the democratic Neue Oder-Zeitung, which prints his articles on the Crimean War and the economic and political situation in Britain and France
April 6
Marx’s eight-year-old son Edgar dies
1857
Worldwide economic crisis.
Marx’s articles on the progress of the crisis in Europe and the USA appear in the American, British, and German press
July 1857-March 1859
Marx sums up his economic studies. He hastens to complete his study of political economy
July 1857-November 1860
Marx contributes to The New American Cyclopaedia
June 11, 1859
A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Part One, is published in Berlin
June-August
Marx and Engels examine the proletariat’s revolutionary theory and tactics in the columns of Das Volk
Late January 1860
Slanderous attacks on the proletarian party prompt Marx to start collecting material for a pamphlet, Herr Vogt
December 1
Herr Vogt appears in London, exposing Vogt as a typical underling of the bourgeoisie
April 1861-April 1865 The US Civil War

August 1861-July 1863
Marx works on an economic manuscript containing all parts of the future Capital, including its historical and critical section, Theories of Surplus Value

October 1861-December 1862
Marx contributes to the Viennese liberal newspaper Die Presse, on the US Civil War, economic conditions in Britain, and the foreign policy of Napoleon III
May 23, 1863
The General Association of German Workers is founded in Leipzig
August 1863-December 1865
Marx writes a new version of Capital, with a special interest in the problems dealt with in the future volumes II and III
November 30, 1863
Marx’s mother dies in Trier
May 9, 1864
Wilhelm Wolff, Marx’s close friend and staunch supporter, dies in Manchester. Marx dedicates Capital to him

September 28
At a meeting in St. Martin’s Hall, London, the International Working Men’s Association (the First International) is founded. Marx is elected member of its Provisional Committee, which later became known as the General Council
Late October
Marx drafts the Provisional Rules and Inaugural Address of the IWA
Late 1864-February 1865
Marx and Engels contribute to Der Social-Demokrat, popularising the International and its ideas in Germany
March 19-April 8, 1865
Marx stays with his Dutch relatives in Zalt-Bommel
June 20 and 27
Marx lectures on wages, price and profit at General Council meetings, expounding the fundamental ideas of the future Volume I of Capital
September 25-29
The first conference of the International is held in London. Marx helps to prepare it, and takes part in it
January 1866-April 1867
Marx works on the final version of Volume I of Capital and prepares it for the printer
March 15-April 13, 1866
Marx has a holiday in Margate
July
Marx draws up instructions for delegates to the Geneva Congress of the International, stressing the need for working men’s international unity
September 3-8 The Geneva Congress of the First International gathers to approve the programme documents submitted by the General Council
April 10, 1867
Marx takes the manuscript of Volume I of Capital to publisher Otto Meissner in Hamburg
April 17-May 15
Marx stays with Ludwig Kugelmann in Hanover
September 2-8
The Lausanne Congress of the First International, at which a fight flares up with Proudhonists over the agrarian question (socialisation of land) and the question of struggle for political freedoms
September 14
Volume I of Capital, Marx’s principal economic study, comes off the presses
October 12, 1867-late June 1868 Engels writes reviews of Capital with an eye to popularising it
Spring 1868
Marx goes back to economic manuscripts written before 1865. He works on them until his last day
April 2
Marx’s daughter Laura marries Paul Lafargue, a French socialist
September 6-13
The Brussels Congress of the First International, where the conflict with the Proudhonists comes to a head. Proudhon’s theory is torn to pieces. The Congress passes a resolution confirming the advantages of collective, socialist ownership of the means of production and of land.
It also passes a resolution recommending working men in all countries to study Marx’s Capital
August 7-9, 1869
The Inaugural Congress of the Social-Democratic Workers’ Party of Germany is held in Eisenach
September 6-11
The Basle Congress of the First International is held. It confirms the socialist platform of the International
c. September 10-October 11
Marx and his daughter Jenny visit the Kugelmanns in Hanover

October 2
The first issue of Der Volksstaat, the central newspaper of the Social-Democratic Workers’ Party of Germany, comes out in Leipzig; Marx and Engels become its contributors
November On Marx’s proposal, the General Council of the First International discusses the Irish people’s national liberation movement
Late November Volume II of Capital is devoted to landownership. Marx sets out on a close study of Russian economic writings, and starts learning Russian. Six months later, he reads official Russian publications and other literature on the country’s agrarian relations and sociopolitical development
February-April 1870
In collaboration with her father, Jenny, Marx’s eldest daughter, writes eight articles for La Marseillaise, a Paris newspaper, exposing British policies in Ireland
March 24
Responding to the request of the Russian section of the First International, Marx becomes corresponding secretary of the General Council for Russia
July 19
France declares war on Germany. The Franco-Prussian War begins
July 19-23
On the instructions of the General Council, Marx writes the First Address of the General Council of the International Working Men’s Association on the Franco-Prussian War, exposing its true character and urging German workers to prevent the war against Bonapartist France from becoming a war against the French people
July 29, 1870-February 18, 1871
On Marx’s proposal, Engels writes a series of articles on the Franco-Prussian War for the British Pall Mall Gazette
September 1-2, 1870
The Battle of Sedan culminates in the defeat of the French army
September 4
Following the French defeat at Sedan, a revolution breaks out in Paris, resulting in the downfall of the Second Empire and proclaiming the French Republic
September 9
The General Council approves Marx’s Second Address of the General Council of the International Working Men’s Association on the Franco-Prussian War, in which Marx calls on the proletariat to prevent the Prussian militarists from carrying out their expansionist plans
c. September 20
Engels moves from Manchester to London
October 4
Engels is unanimously elected to the General Council of the First International. He is made corresponding secretary for Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Denmark
March 18, 1871
Proletarian revolution in Paris

March 18-May 28, 1871
As the proletarian revolution wins in Paris and the Commune is established, Marx and Engels organise workers’ demonstrations in its support. The General Council discusses the Commune, and sends representatives to Paris. Marx and Engels keep in touch with the Commune, give recommendations to the Communards, and launch a large-scale campaign in defence of the Commune
March 28
Festive proclamation of the Paris Commune
March 29
The Commune passes a decree on the abolition of levies and substitution of the armed people for a standing army
March 30
The Commune passes a decree on the transfer of administrative powers in Paris arrondissements to the Commune
April 2
The Commune passes a decree separating the Church from the State
April 16
A decree on the transfer of inoperative workshops to workers’ production associations
April 18-May 30
Marx works on an address of the General Council, The Civil War in France, which stresses the worldwide significance of the Paris Commune as the first attempt at establishing a proletarian dictatorship
May 30
The General Council unanimously approves the address, The Civil War in France

September 17-23
The London Conference of the First International. Drawing on the lessons of the Paris Commune. Marx and Engels substantiate the need for political struggle by the working class and for independent proletarian parties in each country; these ideas are incorporated in a resolution of the Conference
March 5, 1872
The General Council approves a private circular, Fictitious Splits in the International, written by Marx and Engels, which exposes Bakuninist intrigues and disruptive activity in the International
March 27 P
ublication of the Russian translation of Volume I of Capital, its first foreign edition
May Fictitious Splits in the International is published in Geneva as a pamphlet
July 1872-June 1873
The second German edition of Volume I of Capital appears in nine instalments
September 2-7, 1872
Marx and Engels take part in the Hague Congress of the First International, which confirms the principal resolutions of the London Conference and takes to task the anarchists for their divisive activity. It expels their leaders Bakunin and Guillaume from the International, and resolves to move the seat of the General Council to New York
September 17
The first series of five instalments of the French edition of Volume I of Capital is published
October 10
Marx’s daughter Jenny marries French socialist Charles Longuet
Early June 1873
The second German edition of Volume I of Capital appears in Hamburg
December
The Italian annual, Almanacco Repubblicano, carries Marx’s article Political Indifferentism and Engels’s On Authority, which show the harm of anarchist theories
August 19-early October 1874
Marx accompanied by his daughter Eleanor takes a cure in Karlsbad. On his way to London, he stops over at Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg and meets Liebknecht and Blos to discuss the situation in the Party and the need to combat Lassalleanism
May 5, 1875
Marx despatches to Germany his marginal notes on the draft programme drawn up for the forthcoming unity congress of Eisenachers and Lassalleans in Gotha. Subsequently, it came to be known as the Critique of the Gotha Programme which was first published in 1891 on Engels’s initiative
May 22-27
The unity congress in Gotha. The foundation of the Socialist Workers’ Party of Germany
August 15-September 11
Marx takes a cure in Karlsbad. Meets Maxim Kovalevsky, a Russian ethnographer, historian and lawyer
August 16-September 15, 1876
Marx is accompanied by Eleanor on a cure in Karlsbad

1877
Marx works on Chapter X of Part II of Engels’s Anti-Dühring. Herr Eugen Dühring’s Revolution in Science originally published in instalments by Vorwärts!
August 8-c. September 27
Marx, accompanied by his wife and daughter Eleanor, takes a cure in Neuenahr (Germany) and Scotland
1878-1882
Marx studies mathematics, and continues his research into mathematical analysis begun in the 1860s
Late May-June 1878
Marx studies agrochemistry and geology
October 19
The German Reichstag passes a law against “the harmful and dangerous aspirations” of social-democrats (the Anti-Socialist Law)
January-December 1879
Marx continues his political and economic work and sends Circular Letter” to August Bebel, Wilhelm Liebknecht, Wilhelm Bracke and otherc research, drawing on Russian and American sources
Mid-September Marx and Engels write a “ German social-democratic leaders, criticising opportunism
September 28, 1879
The first issue of Der Sozialdemokrat, central organ of the German socialdemocrats who continue their struggle underground, is published in Zurich. Marx and Engels contribute to it
c. October 1879-October 1880
Making a special study of the ground rent and agrarian relations, Marx reads up on the village commune (Maxim Kovalevsky’s Communal Landownership, and the Causes, Course and Consequences of Its Disintegration)
January-December 1880
Marx works on volumes II and III of Capital
April
Marx draws up a Workers’ Questionnaire for the monthly La Revue socialists, elucidating the economic demands of the working class
May Marx writes Engels’s biography as a preface to a separate edition of three chapters of Anti-Dühring prepared by Engels for French readers under the title, Socialism: Utopian & Scientific

January-June 1881
Marx studies material, monographs and other writings on Russia’s social and economic development after the peasant reform of 1861
July 26-August 16
Marx and his wife visit their daughter Jenny in Argenteuil near Paris
December 2
Marx’s wife Jenny dies in London after a long illness
January 21, 1882
Marx and Engels write a preface to the Russian edition of the Manifesto of the Communist Party, stating that “Russia forms the vanguard of revolutionary action in Europe”
February-October
With his health deteriorating, Marx goes to Algeria, the south of France and Switzerland for a rest and cure, and visits his daughter Jenny in Argenteuil
June 1882-January 1883
Marx studies organic and inorganic chemistry
January 11, 1883
Marx’s eldest daughter Jenny dies in Paris
March 14
Marx dies in London
March 17
Marx is buried at Highgate Cemetery, London

MAHATMA GANDHI

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Mahatma Gandhi Bio
Mahatma Gandhi. 'Father of the Nation' for a country with a billion people.

Mahatma Gandhi was born on the 2nd of October, 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat, India. He died on the 30th of January, 1948 in New Delhi, India. Gandhi was a great political and spiritual leader for India, when India was still under the rule of the British Empire.

Gandhi showed through protesting in a non-violent way, great things could be achieved. Through his pioneering way of the philosophy Satyagraha- (the resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience) Gandhi lead India to its independence. (name history)

Gandhi studied at the University College London to train as a barrister. After finishing his time in England Gandhi moved back to India where he tried unsuccessfully to open his own law firm.
In 1893 he accepted a year-long contract from an Indian firm to a post in Natal, South Africa.

Moving to South Africa was the changing point for him, here he experienced discrimination and racism in all areas of life. When his contract expired Gandhi had planed to return to India. At his farewell party it was brought to his attention about a new bill that the Natal Legislative Assembly was to deny the right to vote to Indians. In seeing this Gandhi was asked to stay in Durban and fight against the injustices levied against Indians in South Africa. After twenty years of passive resistance and noncooperation the South African government finally made several concessions to the Indian people living there.

At the end of the First World War, Gandhi moved back to India where he started his non-violent protesting, credit history, this caught on very quickly in India and soon he had a good following. The British government deemed this type of protesting revolutionary, so in 1920 British troops massacred many innocent Indians at a demonstration. Gandhi then instigated a policy of non-cooperation towards the Brits. Gandhi was imprisoned for a short time, in 1924 he decided to call an end to the campaign of non-cooperation because of India's increasing violence towards Britain.

After six years he again started various campaigns against the British Government, after been imprisoned on several other occasions, Gandhi formally retired from politics in 1934. In 1947 India finally got its independence from Britain. Unfortunately in 1948 Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu radical whilst on his way to a prayer meeting.
Life of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was born as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on October 2, 1969 at Porbandar, located in the present day state of Gujarat. His father Karamchand Gandhi was the Diwan (Prime Minister) of Porbandar. Gandhi's mother Putlibai was a pious lady and under her tutelage Gandhi imbibed various principles of Hinduism at an early age.

In 1883, all of 13 and still in high school, Gandhi was married to Kasturbai as per the prevailing Hindu customs. For a person of such extraordinary visionary zeal and resilience, Mahatma Gandhi was by and large an average student in school and was of a shy disposition. After completing his college education, at his family's insistence Gandhi left for England on September 4, 1888 to study law at University College, London. During his tenure in London, Mohandas Gandhi strictly observed abstinence from meat and alcohol as per his mother's wishes.

Upon completion of his law degree in 1891, Gandhi returned to India and tried to set up a legal practice but could not achieve any success. In 1893, when an Indian firm in South Africa offered him the post of legal adviser Gandhi was only too happy to oblige and he set sail for South Africa. This decision alone changed the life of Gandhi, and with that, the destiny of an entire nation. As he descended in South Africa, Gandhi was left appalled at the rampant racial discrimination against Indians and blacks by the European whites.

Soon Gandhi found himself at the receiving end of such abuse and he vowed to take up the cudgels on behalf of the Indian community. He organized the expatriate Indians and protested against the injustices meted out by the African government. After years of disobedience and non-violent protests, the South African government finally conceded to Gandhi's demands and an agreement to this effect was signed in 1914. A battle was won, but Gandhi realized the war that was to be waged against the British awaits his arrival in India. He returned to India the next year.

After reaching India, Gandhi traveled across the length and breadth of the country to witness first hand the atrocities of the British regime. He soon founded the Satyagraha Ashram and successfully employed the principles of Satyagraha in uniting the peasants of Kheda and Champaran against the government. After this victory Gandhi was bestowed the title of Bapu and Mahatma and his fame spread far and wide.

In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi called for the non-cooperation movement against the British Government with the sole object of attaining Swaraj or independence for India. Even though the movement achieved roaring success all over the country, the incident of mob violence in Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh forced Gandhi to call off the mass disobedience movement. Consequent to this, Mahatma Gandhi took a hiatus from active politics and instead indulged in social reforms.

The year 1930 saw Gandhi's return to the fore of Indian freedom movement and on March 12, 1930 he launched the historic Dandi March to protest against the tax on salt. The Dandi March soon metamorphosed into a huge civil disobedience movement. The Second World War broke out in 1939 and as the British might began to wane, Gandhi called for the Quit India movement on August 8, 1942. Post World War, the Labour Party came to power in England and the new government assured the Indian leadership of imminent independence.

The Cabinet Mission sent by the British government proposed for the bifurcation of India along communal lines which Gandhi vehemently protested. But eventually he had to relent and on the eve of independence thousands lost their lives in communal riots. Gandhi urged for communal harmony and worked tirelessly to promote unity among the Hindus and Muslims. But Mahatma's act of benevolence angered Hindu fundamentalists and on January 13, 1948 he was assassinated by Hindu fanatic Nathuram Godse.

Mahatma Gandhi Quotes
• Permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence.
• First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
• As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.
• The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.
• You must be the change you want to see in the world.
• Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.
• One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds.
• I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.
• Prayer is not an old woman's idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.
• The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

ERNETO CHE GUEVARA

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Full name Ernesto 'Che' Rafael Guevara de la Serna.
1928–67, Cuban revolutionary and political leader

1928 June 14, Ernesto Guevara was born in the city of Rosario, Argentina and in 1932 Guevara's family moved to Alta Gracia, province of Cordoba, Argentina

1948 Ernesto Guevara traveled around the Argentinian provinces.

1951 December; he left for Chile and Peru with his friend Granado. Guevara lived for a short time in the leper colony of Huambo. Then he continued his journey to Bogata and later to Caracas.

1953 Back in Buenos Aires, he finished his studies in medicines. After that, he left for Bolivia with another friend, Ferrer. They planned to go to Venezuela, passing through Peru and staying for some time in Guayaquil, Ecuador. They met others Argentinians and decided to go to Central America. They travelled through Panama, Costa Rica and Guatemala. There, Guevara met Hilda Gadea, whom he would marry with later, in Mexico. Guevara got in touch with Peruvian exiles.

1954 June; invasion of Guatemala against Arbenz's goverment. Guevara had to escape to Mexico, where he met Cuban exiles.

1955 July; he met Fidel Castro who told him about his plans to invade Cuba. He joined the group and started his military training.

1956 December 2; disembarked on Cuba's south coast. December 18, the 12 survivors started the first guerrilla in the Sierra Maestra.

1957 June; Che was named commander. By the end of the year, the war in Cuba entered the decisive stage. Guevara was requested to make the journal Cuba Libre in the mountain range.

1958 December 29; Che's column fought its final battle and overtook Santa Clara. December 31, president Fulgencio Batista escaped to Santo Domingo.

1959 January 2; triumphal entrance of Che and Camilo Cienfuegos in La Habana. February; Che is declared Cuban born. On June 2, he married Aleida March. From june till august, Che travelled through Africa, Asia and Yugoslavia. On October 7, Fidel Castro named him head of the Industry Department in the Agrarian Reform's National Institute. On November 26, he is named president of the National Bank. (name history)

1960 Che finished his book "Guerra de guerrillas"("Guerrilla warefare"), published under the responsibilty of the Rebel Department's Instruction Deparment. Its first edition is censored all over Latin America. On July 26, during the First Latin America Youth Congress, Che defined the Cuban revolution as a marxist one. In October, he wrote "Nota para el estudio de la revolucion cubana" ("Notes for the studies about Cuba's revolution"), in which he reviewed the revolution's stages. From October 21 to Febrary 1961, he traveled to the socialist countries (in particular, to China, Czechoslovakia and the USSR) as part of a commercial delegation.

1961 On February 23, he was named Minister for Industry and he quit the National Bank's presidency. In April, he wrote "Cuba, caso excepcional o vanguardia en la lucha contra el imperialismo" ("Cuba exceptional case or avantgarde in struggle against imperialism"). On april 17, Playa Giron was invaded. Che was the commander of the military regions. August; Che represented Cuba in the CIES meeting in Punta del Este (Uruguay). He made a short trip to Buenos Aires and had a secret meeting with the Argentinian president, Arturo Frondizi. Then he traveled to Brasilia, where he was decorated by Brazil's president, J. Cuadros, with the Cruz del Sur order.

1962 October; The Russian rocket crisis obligates him to take his military place in Pinar del Rio.

1963 June; Che sent Masetti and a group of Cubans to organize a guerrilla in the northern region of Argentina. He wrote "Pasajes de la guerra revolucionaria" (Revolutionary war passages"). In December, he spoke in front of United Nations' Assembly and he refered to the armed struggle as the only way to realize socialism. He travelled to Mali, Guinea, Ghana, Dahomey and Tazania.

1964 March; he went to Peking. On march 25, he made a speech in Ginebra in the Global Conference of Commerce and Development. He continued traveling to Paris and Algeria, where he got in touch with Ben Bella. On November, he visited Moscow for the third time, On december 11, he made a speech and replied to the United Nations' General Assembly. On December 17, he left New York for Algeria via Canada. He met Ben Bella again, and on december 25, he travelled to Mali.

1965 January; he moved to Brazzaville, Congo, where he discussed the anti-imperialistic struggle in Africa with president Alphonse Massemba Debat. Then he went through Guinea, Ghana, Dahomey, Algiers and Paris, where he received the news about Masetti failure. In Febrary he travelled to Tanzania and he took part in the Second Afroasiatic Solidarity Economic Seminary, in Algiers. On march 3, he got in touch with Congo's rebels again. He made a secret trip to Peking. On march 12, "El socialismo y el hombre en Cuba" ("Socialism and man in Cuba") was published, in this book Che exposed his new man's theory, credit history. On march 14, he went back to La Habana. In april he gave up all his official positions and his Cuban nationality in front of Fidel Castro. In July, he secretly travelled to Congo through Cairo. On october 3, Fidel Castro showed the letter where Guevara had given up his nationality and his charges of Minister and Commander.

1966 March, he had to leave Congo and went back to Cuba. From March to June he travelled through Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia.

1967 On March 23, the guerrilla defeated the Bolivian army in their first unexpected battle. On april 10, the guerrilla triunfed again. Regis Debray and the Argentinian Ciro Bustos left the camp. They were caught by the army on april 20 and so was the journalist George Roth. On May 14, the Bolivian forces took the Nancahuazú guerrilleros' camp which, just before,had been evacuated. On October 8, the battle in Quebrada de Yuro took place. The following day, the Bolivian goverment announced that Che had been executed. On October 15, Fidel Castro officially accepted Ernesto Che Guevara's death.