FAMOUS LEADERS

Nelason Mandela

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Nelson Mandela is called Madiba in South Africa. The name “Madiba” is an honorary title adopted by older male members of the Mandela clan. For South Africans though, there is only one Madiba: Nelson Mandela.

On 10 May 1994, he was inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected State President, and in June 1999 he stepped down from the political arena intending to lead a peaceful life in his birth place of Qunu in the Eastern Province of South Africa. It was not to be: too many countries relied on him to help them in their peace talks, and too many famous people needed to meet him. South Africa’s sports’ teams know that whenever he attends an international game, they are sure to win, because Madiba is South Africa’s very own lucky charm, the man with the “Madiba Magic”. He is South Africa’s very own super star.

He has a charismatic charm about him that has won over even his staunchest enemies. You just cannot resist this man with the shining eyes and loving and forgiving nature. It is remarkable that he is able to forgive so many, after spending almost thirty years in jail - not for committing a crime, but for standing up for his rights.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Qunu, a village near Umtata, in the Transkei (now part of Eastern Cape) on 18 July 1918. His father held an important post as the principal councillor to the Acting Paramount Chief of Thembuland. When his father died, Nelson was earmarked to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he had other ideas - he wanted to be a lawyer so that he could contribute to the freedom of his people.

He spent his early school years at a nearby mission school and completed his schooling at Headtown, a Wesleyan secondary school. After school he attended the University College of Fort Hare and studied for the Bachelor of Arts Degree. At that young age, he was already making a name for himself and was soon elected onto the Student’s Representative Council. He took part in a protest and was suspended from the college. He completed his Bachelor of Arts by means of a correspondence course, took articles of clerkship and started to study for his law degree. It was in 1942, while he was studying for his law degree, that he joined the ANC (African National Congress).

During the latter years of World War II, Nelson Mandela and a group of other prolific young men, all members of the ANC, started to devise plans to transform the previously staid and politically polite ANC movement into a rolling mass movement. Among the young men were Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and the leader at the time, Anton Lembede. They spread the message of liberation to the people living in townships and in the rural areas. These young men formed the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in 1944 and three years later, Nelson was elected tot he Secretaryship of the league. He rose quickly and steadily in the ranks and spearheaded many active campaigns to peacefully bring about an end to racism and compulsory education for all children.

Nelson Mandela was arrested and brought to trial for his role in one of the campaigns, in 1952 and was given a suspended prison sentence and confined to Johannesburg for six months. He wrote the attorneys admission exams during this time of confinement and was admitted to the profession.

Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela opened a legal practice in Johannesburg. By the end of 1952, he became a deputy president of the ANC. The government at the time did everything in their power to disperse any “known troublemakers” and tried to enforce the unjust apartheid laws to ensure that Tambo and Mandela could not operate from the hustle and bustle of South Africa’s largest city. They were instructed to move to a deserted place, but the two refused and defied the order.

Nelson Mandela continued the struggle for his people during the fifties and was banned, arrested and imprisoned for his beliefs. After the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, the ANC was outlawed and Mandela still on trial (the infamous Treason Trial), was detail. The Treason Trial collapsed in 1961 when South Africa became a republic constitution.

The ANC continued to operate, but secretly and Nelson Mandela emerged as the leading figure within the ANC hierarchy. He was forced to live apart from his family - his wife, Winnie and their children - and had to be constantly on the move to evade the police as they continued to track him. It was during this time that he earned the title of “The Black Pimpernel” as he adopted many disguises to escape the clutches of the police. In June 1961, the military wing of the ANC, Umkhonto we Sizwe (spearhead of the nation) was formed with Nelson Mandela as it’s commander-in-chief. The ANC had come to realise that time for peace talks and preaching non-violence was getting them nowhere.

IN 1962, Nelson Mandela travelled to Ethiopia (unlawfully, as he was not permitted to travel outside of certain areas within South Africa) and formed long lasting friendships with senior political leaders in several countries. He also arranged for guerrilla training for the members of Umkhonto we Sizwe. On his return to South Africa, he was arrested and charged will illegal exit from the country. He conducted his own defence. He was convicted and sentenced to five years of imprisonment. During this time he was charged, in the Rivonia Trial, with sabotage.

He ended his statement from the docks of the Rivonia trial with the following words:“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

He was sentenced to life imprisonment and was sent to the then notorious Robben Island Prison, a maximum security prison on a small island near Cape Town. He was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in 1984 and in 1988, was transferred to the Victor Verster Prison. He was released on 11 February 1990 to the sheer delight of millions of people.

During his years in prison, he rejected offers made to him to reduce his prison sentence in return for his accepting the apartheid policy and agreeing to settle in the Transkei. He never gave up his ideals and remained an icon for those fighting against racial domination the world over. In South Africa any referenece to the ANC and Nelson Mandela was banned and if any South Africans were caught talking about him, they were jailed for treason. For years, many people did not even know about his existence. Newspapers were not allowed to print anything remotely connected to Nelson Mandela and many saw what he looked like for the first time when he was released from prison in 1990.

In 1991, he was elected President of the ANC and his friend, Oliver Tambo became the ANC’s National Chairperson. In 1993, he deservedly accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of all South Africans who had suffered in the struggle to bring peace to his country.

He continued to fight, peacefully, for his ideals and in 1994, the ANC won the first ever democratic election by a landslide.

This man, this Nelson Mandela is a hero to the people of South Africa - not only to the very people that he fought for, but also to the people whose eyes were blinded by the apartheid era. Nelson shocked them by adopting a reconciliatory air and forgaving many sins. He even took time to visit the widow of Hendriek Verwoerd, an ex-President of South Africa and one of the main perpetrators of apartheid.

On the downside, his marriage to Winnie Mandela resumed after his release, but could not survive the many years of separation. They divorced during his term of office as President of South Africa. He married the enigmatic Graca Machel, a widow of Samora Machel, on his birthday in 1998. Their marriage was a private affair- although there was much media speculation about the possibility of a wedding. That evening, at a public function to celebrate his birthday, Nelson Mandela, to the delight of the audience, introduced his new bride.

14th Dalai Lama

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A Brief Biography

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two the child, who was named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.

Education in Tibet
His Holiness began his monastic education at the age of six. The curriculum consisted of five major and five minor subjects. The major subjects were logic, Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine, and Buddhist philosophy which was further divided into a further five categories: Prajnaparimita, the perfection of wisdom; Madhyamika, the philosophy of the middle Way; Vinaya, the canon of monastic discipline; Abidharma, metaphysics; and Pramana, logic and epistemology. The five minor subjects were poetry, music and drama, astrology, motre and phrasing, and synonyms. At 23 he sat for his final examination in the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, during the annual Monlam (prayer) Festival in 1959. He passed with honours and was awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest-level degree equivalent to a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy. Leadership Responsibilities

In 1950 His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power after China's invasion of Tibet in 1949. In 1954, he went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Chou Enlai. But finally, in 1959, with the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops, His Holiness was forced to escape into exile. Since then he has been living in Dharamsala, northern India, the seat of the Tibetan political administration in exile.

Since the Chinese invasion, His Holiness has appealed to the United Nations on the question of Tibet. The General Assembly adopted three resolutions on Tibet in 1959, 1961 and 1965.

Democratisation Process
In 1963 His Holiness presented a draft democratic constitution for Tibet that was followed by a number of reforms to democratise our administrative set-up. The new democratic constitution promulgated as a result of this reform was named "The Charter of Tibetans in Exile". The charter enshrines freedom of speech, belief, assembly and movement. It also provides detailed guidelines on the functioning of the Tibetan government with respect to those living in exile.

In 1992 His Holiness issued guidelines for the constitution of a future, free Tibet. He announced that when Tibet becomes free the immediate task would be to set up an interim government whose first responsibility will be to elect a constitutional assembly to frame and adopt Tibet's democratic constitution. On that day His Holiness would transfer all his historical and political authority to the Interim President and live as an ordinary citizen. His Holiness also stated that he hoped that Tibet, comprising of the three traditional provinces of U-Tsang, Amdo and Kham, would be federal and democratic.

In May 1990, the reforms called for by His Holiness saw the realisation of a truly democratic administration in exile for the Tibetan community. The Tibetan Cabinet (Kashag), which till then had been appointed by His Holiness, was dissolved along with the Tenth Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (Tibetan parliament in exile). In the same year, exile Tibetans on the Indian sub-continent and in more than 33 other countries elected 46 members to the expanded Eleventh Tibetan Assembly on a one-man one-vote basis. The Assembly, in its turn, elected the new members of the cabinet. In September 2001, a further major step in democratisation was taken when the Tibetan electorate directly elected the Kalon Tripa, the senior-most minister of the Cabinet. The Kalon Tripa in turn appointed his own cabinet who had to be approved by the Tibetan Assembly. In Tibet's long history, this was the first time that the people elected the political leadership of Tibet.

Peace Initiatives
In September 1987 His Holiness proposed the Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet as the first step towards a peaceful solution to the worsening situation in Tibet. He envisaged that Tibet would become a sanctuary; a zone of peace at the heart of Asia, where all sentient beings can exist in harmony and the delicate environment can be preserved. China has so far failed to respond positively to the various peace proposals put forward by His Holiness

The Five Point Peace Plan
In his address to members of the United States Congress in Washington, D.C. on 21 September 1987, His Holiness proposed the following peace plan, which contains five basic components:

Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace.
Abandonment of China's population transfer policy that threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a people.
Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms.
Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of nuclear waste.
Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples.

Strasbourg Proposal
In his address to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 15 June 1988, His Holiness made another detailed proposal elaborating on the last point of the Five Point Peace Plan. He proposed talks between the Chinese and Tibetans leading to a self-governing democratic political entity for all three provinces of Tibet. This entity would be in association with the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Government would continue to remain responsible for Tibet's foreign policy and defence.

Universal Recognition
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a man of peace. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet. He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. He also became the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental problems.

His Holiness has travelled to more than 62 countries spanning 6 continents. He has met with presidents, prime ministers and crowned rulers of major nations. He has held dialogues with the heads of different religions and many well-known scientists.

Since 1959 His Holiness has received over 84 awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc., in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion. His Holiness has also authored more than 72 books.

His Holiness describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh

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Born: September 27, 1907Martyrdom: March 23, 1931Achievements: Gave a new direction to revolutionary movement in India, formed 'Naujavan Bharat Sabha' to spread the message of revolution in Punjab, formed 'Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha' along with Chandrasekhar Azad to establish a republic in India, assassinated police official Saunders to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, dropped bomb in Central Legislative Assembly along with Batukeshwar Dutt.

Bhagat Singh was one of the most prominent faces of Indian freedom struggle. He was a revolutionary ahead of his times. By Revolution he meant that the present order of things, which is based on manifest injustice must change. Bhagat Singh studied the European revolutionary movement and was greatly attracted towards socialism. He realised that the overthrow of British rule should be accompanied by the socialist reconstruction of Indian society and for this political power must be seized by the workers.

Though portrayed as a terrorist by the British, Sardar Bhagat Singh was critical of the individual terrorism which was prevalent among the revolutionary youth of his time and called for mass mobilization. Bhagat Singh gave a new direction to the revolutionary movement in India. He differed from his predecessors on two counts. Firstly, he accepted the logic of atheism and publicly proclaimed it. Secondly, until then revolutionaries had no conception of post-independence society. Their immediate goal was destruction of the British Empire and they had no inclination to work out a political alternative. Bhagat Singh, because of his interest in studying and his keen sense of history gave revolutionary movement a goal beyond the elimination of the British. A clarity of vision and determination of purpose distinguished Bhagat Singh from other leaders of the National Movement. He emerged as the only alternative to Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, especially for the youth.

Bhagat Singh was born in a Sikh family in village Banga in Layalpur district of Punjab (now in Pakistan). He was the third son of Sardar Kishan Singh and Vidyavati. Bhagat Singh's family was actively involved in freedom struggle. His father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh were members of Ghadr Party founded in the U.S to oust British rule from India. Family atmosphere had a great effect on the mind of young Bhagat Singh and patriotism flowed in his veins from childhood.

While studying at the local D.A.V. School in Lahore, in 1916, young Bhagat Singh came into contact with some well-known political leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and Ras Bihari Bose. Punjab was politically very charged in those days. In 1919, when Jalianwala Bagh massacre took place, Bhagat Singh was only 12 years old. The massacre deeply disturbed him. On the next day of massacre Bhagat Singh went to Jalianwala Bagh and collected soil from the spot and kept it as a memento for the rest of his life. The massacre strengthened his resolve to drive British out from India.

In response to Mahatma Gandhi's call for non-cooperation against British rule in 1921, Bhagat Singh left his school and actively participated in the movement. In 1922, when Mahatma Gandhi suspended Non-cooperation movement against violence at Chauri-chaura in Gorakhpur, Bhagat was greatly disappointed. His faith in non violence weakened and he came to the conclusion that armed revolution was the only practical way of winning freedom. To continue his studies, Bhagat Singh joined the National College in Lahore, founded by Lala Lajpat Rai. At this college, which was a centre of revolutionary activities, he came into contact with revolutionaries such as Bhagwati Charan, Sukhdev and others.

To avoid early marriage, Bhagat Singh ran away from home and went to Kanpur. Here, he came into contact with a revolutionary named Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, and learnt his first lessons as revolutionary. On hearing that his grandmother was ill, Bhagat Singh returned home. He continued his revolutionary activities from his village. He went to Lahore and formed a union of revolutionaries by name 'Naujavan Bharat Sabha'. He started spreading the message of revolution in Punjab. In 1928 he attended a meeting of revolutionaries in Delhi and came into contact with Chandrasekhar Azad. The two formed 'Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha'. Its aim was to establish a republic in India by means of an armed revolution.

In February 1928, a committee from England, called Simon Commission visited India. The purpose of its visit was to decide how much freedom and responsibility could be given to the people of India. But there was no Indian on the committee. This angered Indians and they decided to boycott Simon Commission. While protesting against Simon Commission in Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was brutally Lathicharged and later on succumbed to injuries. Bhagat Singh was determined to avenge Lajpat Rai's death by shooting the British official responsible for the killing, Deputy Inspector General Scott. He shot down Assistant Superintendent Saunders instead, mistaking him for Scott. Bhagat Singh had to flee from Lahore to escape death punishment.

Instead of finding the root cause of discontent of Indians, the British government took to more repressive measures. Under the Defense of India Act, it gave more power to the police to arrest persons to stop processions with suspicious movements and actions. The Act brought in the Central Legislative Assembly was defeated by one vote. Even then it was to be passed in the form of an ordinance in the "interest of the public." Bhagat Singh who was in hiding all this while, volunteered to throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly where the meeting to pass the ordinance was being held. It was a carefully laid out plot, not to cause death or injury but to draw the attention of the government, that the modes of its suppression could no more be tolerated. It was decided that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt would court arrest after throwing the bomb.

On April 8, 1929 Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall while the Assembly was in session. The bombs did not hurt anyone. After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, deliberately courted arrest by refusing to run away from the scene. During his trial, Bhagat Singh refused to employ any defence counsel. In jail, he went on hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment of fellow-political prisoners by jail authorities. On October 7, 1930 Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev and Raj Guru were awarded death sentence by a special tribunal. Despite great popular pressure and numerous appeals by political leaders of India, Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged in the early hours of March 23, 1931.

Indira Gandhi

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Born: November 19, 1917Martyrdom: October 31, 1984Achievements: Became President of Indian National Congress in 1959; was Minister of Information and Broadcasting in Lal Bahadur Shastri's government; became Prime Minister in 1966; nationalized major banks in 1969; gave the slogan of Garibi Hatao during 1971 general elections; led India to a decisive war against Pakistan in 1971.

Indira Gandhi, one of the best-known women of the 20th century, was Prime Minister of India, and daughter of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Also known as Indira Nehru Gandhi, she was born on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad. She was born in a family that was at the centre of Indian freedom movement. Her father Jawaharlal Nehru and grandfather Motilal Nehru were at the forefront of Indian freedom struggle. Her mother Kamla Nehru, although less involved politically, was subject to political arrest by the British. Indira Gandhi had a lonely childhood, with some of her most vivid remembrances being the entry into her home of British policemen. As her parents did not want to send her to any of the British schools in India, Indira Gandhi's education took place at a series of Indian schools and at non-British schools in Europe, with a number of private tutorials interspersed between periods at school.

Indira Gandhi married a Parsi named Feroze Gandhi in 1942. The marriage was opposed by orthodox Hindus because it was an intercommunal love marriage not arranged by her parents. Jawaharlal Nehru too opposed the marriage on grounds that the couple were somewhat incompatible because both possessed fiery tempers. Publicly, however, both Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi strenuously defended the marriage. Shortly after their marriage both Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi were arrested and jailed for nationalist activities. Indira Gandhi was released after eight months and Feroze Gandhi after an year. After the release Feroze Gandhi became editor of The National Herald, a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mrs. Indira Gandhi became the principal confidant and assistant of her father during the period of Nehru's prime ministership (1947-1965). The couple separated for a number of years during the 1950s as Feroze Gandhi launched his own political career in Parliament and was often at odds with Jawaharlal Nehru's policies and style. In 1959 Indira Gandhi became President of the Indian National Congress and in 1964 she was elected to the parliament. Meanwhile, the death of Feroze Gandhi (from a heart attack) in 1960, and the subsequent death of her father in 1964, caused Indira Gandhi to withdraw into a shell and limit herself to her immediate family.

After the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri became Prime Minister and Indira Gandhi was the minister of Information and Broadcasting in his government. After Lal Bahadur Shastri's untimely death in 1966, she was selected as prime minister by party bosses within the Congress Party as a compromise candidate. Her candidature was opposed by Morarji Desai, a veteran nationalist and prime ministerial aspirant himself. The Congress bosses were apparently looking for a leading figure acceptable to the masses, who could not only command general support during the next general election but who would also acquiesce to their guidance. In her initial days as Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi encountered numerous problems such as Mizo tribal uprisings in the northeast; famine, labour unrest,and misery among the poor in the wake of rupee devaluation; and agitation in Punjab for linguistic and religious separatism.

In the fourth general elections held in 1967, Congress suffered a major setback. Congress majority was greatly reduced in parliament and non-Congress ministries were established in Bihar, Kerala, Orissa, Madras, Punjab, and West Bengal. This forced Mrs. Indira Gandhi to become assertive and opt for a series of choices that pitted her directly against the Congress Party high command, which had previously been built up by her father. Seeking to eradicate poverty, Mrs. Gandhi pursued a vigorous policy in 1969 of land reform and placed a ceiling on personal income, private property, and corporate profits. She also nationalized the major banks, a bold step amidst a growing rift between herself and the party elders. The Congress expelled her for "indiscipline" on November 12, 1969, an action that split the party into two factions: the Congress (O)-for Organisation-led by Morarji Desai, and the Congress (I)--for Indira-led by Indira Gandhi.

Indira Gandhi campaigned fiercely on the slogan of "Garibi Hatao" (eliminate poverty) during the fifth general elections in March 1971 and won an unprecedented two-third majority. Her leadership qualities came to the fore during India-Pakistan war in 1971 that resulted in liberation of Bangladesh. India achieved decisive victory over Pakistan in the face of diplomatic opposition from both China and the United States and a lack of international support from almost every other nation except the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries. Indian victory over Pakistan led to a great surge in Indira Gandhi's popularity and she was compared to Goddess Durga by ordinary Indians.

Expectations raised by the garibi hatao campaign and India's victory over Pakistan in 1971 led to great disappointment and political difficulties in the mid-1970s. Enormous economic cost of 1971 war, increase in world oil prices and, drop in industrial output added to the economic hardships. During this time J.P.Narayan initiated a civil disobedience movement against Indira Gandhi. In June 1975, amidst all this crises Allahabad High Court invalidated her 1971 election on the grounds of electoral malpractices. Instead of resigning, Indira Gandhi declared an Emergency in the country and jailed al her political opponents. The Emergency lasted till March 1977 and in the general election held afterwards she was defeated by a coalition of parties called Janta Morcha.

Factionalism among coalition partners led to the collapse of Janta government and Indira Gandhi came back to the power once again in 1980. But her second innings was beset with difficulties and personal tragedies. Her younger son Sanjay Gandhi died in an air crash. Her government was confronted with serious challenges to its ability to maintain law and order as conflicts between religious and ethnic groups broke out in different parts of the country. After the army had invaded the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the chief shrine of the Sikhs, which had been held as an armed camp by a group of militant Sikhs, she became the target for Sikh anger and on 31 October 1984 she was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguard.

Mother Teresa

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Born: August 26, 1910Died: September 5, 1997Achievements: Started Missionaries of Charity in 1950; received Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979; received Bharat Ratna in 1980.

Mother Teresa was one of the great servants of humanity. She was an Albanian Catholic nun who came to India and founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. Later on Mother Teresa attained Indian citizenship. Her selfless work among the poverty-stricken people of Kolkata (Calcutta) is an inspiration for people all over the world and she was honored with Nobel Prize for her work.

Mother Teresa's original name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was born on August 27, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia. Her father was a successful merchant and she was youngest of the three siblings. At the age of 12, she decided that she wanted to be a missionary and spread the love of Christ. At the age of 18 she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India.

After a few months of training at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dublin Mother Teresa came to India. On May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. From 1931 to 1948, Mother Teresa taught geography and catechism at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta. However, the prevailing poverty in Calcutta had a deep impact on Mother Teresa's mind and in 1948, she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta.

After a short course with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna, she returned to Calcutta and found temporary lodging with the Little Sisters of the Poor. She started an open-air school for homeless children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and she received financial support from church organizations and the municipal authorities. On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Vatican to start her own order. Vatican originally labeled the order as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, and it later came to known as the "Missionaries of Charity". The primary task of the Missionaries of Charity was to take care of those persons who nobody was prepared to look after.

The Missionaries of Charity, which began as a small Order with 12 members in Calcutta, today has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, charity centres worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless and victims of floods, epidemics and famine in Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, Poland, and Australia. In 1965, by granting a Decree of Praise, Pope Paul VI granted Mother Teresa permission to expand her order to other countries. The order's first house outside India was in Venezuela. Presently, the "Missionaries of Charity" has presence in more than 100 countries.

Mother Teresa's work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions. These include the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), Nehru Prize for Promotion of International Peace & Understanding (1972), Balzan Prize (1978), Nobel Peace Prize (1979) and Bharat Ratna (1980).

On March 13, 1997, Mother Teresa stepped down from the head of Missionaries of Charity and died on September 5, 1997, just 9 days after her 87th birthday. Following Mother Teresa's death, the Holy See began the process of beatification, the second step towards possible canonization, or sainthood. This process requires the documentation of a miracle performed from the intercession of Mother Teresa. In 2002, the Vatican recognized as a miracle the healing of a tumor in the abdomen of an Indian woman, Monica Besra, following the application of a locket containing Teresa's picture. Monica Besra said that a beam of light emanated from the picture, curing the cancerous tumor. Mother Teresa was formally beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 19, 2003 with the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. A second miracle is required for her to proceed to canonization.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

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Born: April 14, 1891Died: December 6, 1956Achievements: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India; he was the first Law Minister of India; conferred Bharat Ratna in 1990.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a constitution for the independent India. He played a seminal role in the framing of the constitution. Bhimrao Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation, B.R. Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.

Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai Sakpal Ambavedkar. B.R. Ambedkar belonged to the "untouchable" Mahar Caste. His father and grandfather served in the British Army. In those days, the government ensured that all the army personnel and their children were educated and ran special schools for this purpose. This ensured good education for Bhimrao Ambedkar, which would have otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his caste.

Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the childhood. After his retirement, Bhimrao's father settled in Satara Maharashtra. Bhimrao was enrolled in the local school. Here, he had to sit on the floor in one corner in the classroom and teachers would not touch his notebooks. In spite of these hardships, Bhimrao continued his studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay University with flying colours in 1908. Bhim Rao Ambedkar joined the Elphinstone College for further education. In 1912, he graduated in Political Science and Economics from Bombay University and got a job in Baroda.

In 1913, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. In the same year Maharaja of Baroda awarded scholarship to Bhim Rao Ambedkar and sent him to America for further studies. Bhimrao reached New York in July 1913. For the first time in his life, Bhim Rao was not demeaned for being a Mahar. He immersed himself in the studies and attained a degree in Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Columbia University in 1916 for his thesis "National Dividend for India: A Historical and Analytical Study." From America, Dr.Ambedkar proceeded to London to study economics and political science. But the Baroda government terminated his scholarship and recalled him back.

The Maharaja of Baroda appointed Dr. Ambedkar as his political secretary. But no one would take orders from him because he was a Mahar. Bhimrao Ambedkar returned to Bombay in November 1917. With the help of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, a sympathizer of the cause for the upliftment of the depressed classes, he started a fortnightly newspaper, the "Mooknayak" (Dumb Hero) on January 31, 1920. The Maharaja also convened many meetings and conferences of the "untouchables" which Bhimrao addressed. In September 1920, after accumulating sufficient funds, Ambedkar went back to London to complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in science.

After completing his studies in London, Ambedkar returned to India. In July 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hitkaraini Sabha (Outcastes Welfare Association). The aim of the Sabha was to uplift the downtrodden socially and politically and bring them to the level of the others in the Indian society. In 1927, he led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the right to draw water from the public tank where he burnt copies of the 'Manusmriti' publicly.

In 1929, Ambedkar made the controversial decision to co-operate with the all-British Simon Commission which was to look into setting up a responsible Indian Government in India. The Congress decided to boycott the Commission and drafted its own version of a constitution for free India. The Congress version had no provisions for the depressed classes. Ambedkar became more skeptical of the Congress's commitment to safeguard the rights of the depressed classes.

When a separate electorate was announced for the depressed classes under Ramsay McDonald 'Communal Award', Gandhiji went on a fast unto death against this decision. Leaders rushed to Dr. Ambedkar to drop his demand. On September 24, 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which became the famous Poona Pact. According to the pact the separate electorate demand was replaced with special concessions like reserved seats in the regional legislative assemblies and Central Council of States.

Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and forcefully argued for the welfare of the "untouchables". Meanwhile, British Government decided to hold provincial elections in 1937. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar set up the "Independent Labor Party" in August 1936 to contest the elections in the Bombay province. He and many candidates of his party were elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.

In 1937, Dr. Ambedkar introduced a Bill to abolish the "khoti" system of land tenure in the Konkan region, the serfdom of agricultural tenants and the Mahar "watan" system of working for the Government as slaves. A clause of an agrarian bill referred to the depressed classes as "Harijans," or people of God. Bhimrao was strongly opposed to this title for the untouchables. He argued that if the "untouchables" were people of God then all others would be people of monsters. He was against any such reference. But the Indian National Congress succeeded in introducing the term Harijan. Ambedkar felt bitter that they could not have any say in what they were called.

In 1947, when India became independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. The Constituent Assembly entrusted the job of drafting the Constitution to a committee and Dr. Ambedkar was elected as Chairman of this Drafting Committee. In February 1948, Dr. Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution before the people of India; it was adopted on November 26, 1949.

In October 1948, Dr. Ambedkar submitted the Hindu Code Bill to the Constituent Assembly in an attempt to codify the Hindu law. The Bill caused great divisions even in the Congress party. Consideration for the bill was postponed to September 1951. When the Bill was taken up it was truncated. A dejected Ambedkar relinquished his position as Law Minister.

On May 24, 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in Bombay, that he would adopt Buddhism in October. On 0ctober 14, 1956 he embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. On December 6, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar died peacefully in his sleep.

Subhas Chandra Bose

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Born: January 23, 1897Died: August 18, 1945Achievements: Passed Indian Civil Services Exam; elected Congress President in 1938 and 1939; formed a new party All India Forward block; organized Azad Hind Fauj to overthrow British Empire from India.

Subhas Chandra Bose, affectionately called as Netaji, was one of the most prominent leaders of Indian freedom struggle. Though Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru have garnered much of the credit for successful culmination of Indian freedom struggle, the contribution of Subash Chandra Bose is no less. He has been denied his rightful place in the annals of Indian history. He founded Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) to overthrow British Empire from India and came to acquire legendary status among Indian masses.

Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa. His father Janaki Nath Bose was a famous lawyer and his mother Prabhavati Devi was a pious and religious lady. Subhas Chandra Bose was the ninth child among fourteen siblings. Subhas Chandra Bose was a brilliant student right from the childhood. He topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province and graduated with a First Class in Philosophy from the Scottish Churches College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. To fulfill his parents wishes he went to England in 1919 to compete for Indian Civil Services. In England he appeared for the Indian Civil Service competitive examination in 1920, and came out fourth in order of merit. However, Subhas Chandra Bose was deeply disturbed by the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, and left his Civil Services apprenticeship midway to return to India in 1921

After returning to India Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress. On Gandhiji's instructions, he started working under Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, whom he later acknowledged his political guru. Soon he showed his leadership mettle and gained his way up in the Congress' hierarchy. In 1928 the Motilal Nehru Committee appointed by the Congress declared in favour of Domination Status, but Subhas Chandra Bose along with Jawaharlal Nehru opposed it, and both asserted that they would be satisfied with nothing short of complete independence for India. Subhas also announced the formation of the Independence League. Subhas Chandra Bose was jailed during Civil Disobedience movement in 1930. He was released in 1931 after Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed. He protested against the Gandhi-Irwin pact and opposed the suspension of Civil Disobedience movement specially when Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged.

Subash Chandra Bose was soon arrested again under the infamous Bengal Regulation. After an year he was released on medical grounds and was banished from India to Europe. He took steps to establish centres in different European capitals with a view to promoting politico-cultural contacts between India and Europe. Defying the ban on his entry to India, Subash Chandra Bose returned to India and was again arrested and jailed for a year. After the General Elections of 1937, Congress came to power in seven states and Subash Chandra Bose was released. Shortly afterwards he was elected President of the Haripura Congress Session in 1938. During his term as Congress President, he talked of planning in concrete terms, and set up a National planning Committee in October that year. At the end of his first term, the presidential election to the Tripuri Congress session took place early 1939. Subhas Chandra Bose was re-elected, defeating Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya who had been backed by Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Working Committee. Clouds of World War II were on the horizon and he brought a resolution to give the British six months to hand India over to the Indians, failing which there would be a revolt. There was much opposition to his rigid stand, and he resigned from the post of president and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Block.

Subhas Chandra Bose now started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources and men for the great war. There was a tremendous response to his call and he was put under house arrest in Calcutta. In January 1941, Subhas Chandra Bose disappeared from his home in Calcutta and reached Germany via Afghanistan. Working on the maxim that "an enemy's enemy is a friend", he sought cooperation of Germany and Japan against British Empire. In January 1942, he began his regular broadcasts from Radio Berlin, which aroused tremendous enthusiasm in India. In July 1943, he arrived in Singapore from Germany. In Singapore he took over the reins of the Indian Independence Movement in East Asia from Rash Behari Bose and organised the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) comprising mainly of Indian prisoners of war. He was hailed as Netaji by the Army as well as by the Indian civilian population in East Asia. Azad Hind Fauj proceeded towards India to liberate it from British rule. Enroute it lliberated Andeman and Nicobar Islands. The I.N.A. Head quarters was shifted to Rangoon in January 1944. Azad Hind Fauj crossed the Burma Border, and stood on Indian soil on March 18 ,1944.

However, defeat of Japan and Germany in the Second World War forced INA to retreat and it could not achieve its objective. Subhas Chandra Bose was reportedly killed in an air crash over Taipeh, Taiwan (Formosa) on August 18, 1945. Though it is widely believed that he was still alive after the air crash not much information could be found about him.

Bruce Lee

2010-10-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Date of Birth

27 November 1940, San Francisco, California, USA

Date of Death

20 July 1973, Hong Kong (cerebral edema)

Birth Name

Lee Jun Fan

Height

5' 7½" (1.71 m)

Mini Biography

The greatest icon of martial arts cinema, and a key figure of modern popular culture. Had it not been for the amazing Bruce Lee and his incredible movies in the early 1970s, it's arguable whether or not the martial arts film genre would have ever penetrated and influenced mainstream western cinema & audiences the way it has over the past three decades.

The influence of Asian martial arts cinema can be seen today in so many other film genres including comedies, action, drama, science fiction, horror and animation.....and they all have their roots in the phenomenon that was Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was born "Lee Juan Fan" in November 1940 in San Francisco, the son of Lee Hoi Chuen, a singer with the Cantonese Opera. Approximately, one year later the family returned to Kowloon in Hong Kong and at the age of 5, a young Bruce begins appearing in children's roles in minor films including The Birth of Mankind (1946) and Fu gui fu yun (1948). At the age of 12, Bruce commenced attending La Salle College, and was later beaten up by a street gang, which inspired him to take up martial arts training under the tuition of "Sifu Yip Man" who schooled Bruce in wing chun kung fu for a period of approximately five years (this was the only formalized martial arts training ever undertaken by Lee). The talented & athletic Bruce also took up cha-cha dancing, and at the age of 18 won a major dance championship in Hong Kong.

However, his temper and quick fists saw him fall foul of the HK police on numerous occasions, and his parents suggested that he head off to the United States. Lee landed in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1959 and worked in a relative's restaurant, however he eventually made his way to Seattle, Washington where he enrolled at university to study philosophy, and found the time to practice his beloved kung fu techniques. In 1963, Lee met Linda Emery (later his wife) and in addition he opened his first kung fu school at 4750 University Way. During the early half of the 1960s, Lee became associated with many key martial arts identities in the USA including kenpo karate expert Ed Parker and tae kwon do master Jhoon Rhee. He made guest appearances at notable martial arts events including the Long Beach Nationals. Through one of these tournaments, Bruce met Hollywood hair stylist Jay Sebring who introduced him to TV producer William Dozier. Based on the runaway success of "Batman", Dozier was keen to bring the cartoon character of "The Green Hornet" to TV and was on the lookout for an Oriental actor to play the Green Hornet's sidekick, "Kato". Around this time, Bruce also opened a second kung fu school in Oakland, California and relocated to Oakland to be closer to Hollywood.

Bruce's screen test was successful, and "The Green Hornet" starring Van Williams went to air in early 1966 to mixed success. However, the show was surprisingly terminated after only one season (30 episodes), but by this time he was receiving more fan mail than the show's star. He then opened a third branch of his kung fu school in Los Angeles, and began providing personalized martial arts training to film stars includingSteve McQueen and James Coburn. In addition, he refined his prior knowledge of wing chun, plus incorporating aspects of other fighting styles such as traditional boxing and okinawan karate. He also developed his own unique style "Jeet Kune Do" (Way of the Intercepting Fist). Another film opportunity then comes his way, as he landed the small role of a stand over man named "Winslow Wong" intimidating private eye James Garner in Marlowe (1969). Wong paid a visit to Garner and proceeded to demolish the investigator's office with his fists and feet, finishing off with a spectacular high kick that shattered the light fitting. With this further exposure of his talents, Bruce then scored several guest appearances as a martial arts instructor to blind private eye James Franciscus on the TV series "Longstreet" (1971).

With his minor success in Hollywood and money in his pockets, Bruce returned for a visit to Hong Kong and was approached by film producerRaymond Chow who had recently started "Golden Harvest" productions. Chow was keen to utilize Lee's strong popularity amongst young Chinese fans, and offered him the lead role in _Tang sha da xiong (1971)_ ( aka "Fists of Fury", aka "The Big Boss"). The film was directed byWei Lo, shot in Thailand, on a very low budget and in terrible living conditions for cast and crew. However when it opened in Hong Kong, the film was an enormous hit! Young Chinese flocked in their thousands to see this ground breaking film starring a tough, athletic Chinese hero who dispensed justice with his fists and feet. Chow knew he had struck box office gold with Lee, and quickly assembled another script entitled Jing wu men (1972) (aka "The Chinese Connection", aka "Fist of Fury"). The second film (with a slightly improved budget) was again directed by Wei Lo and was set in Shanghai in the year 1900, with Lee returning to his school to find his beloved master has been poisoned by the local Japanese karate school. Once again, he uncovered the evil doers and set about seeking revenge on those responsible for murdering his teacher. The film featured several superb fight sequences, and at the film's conclusion, Lee refuses to surrender to the Japanese law and seemingly leaps to his death in a hail of police bullets!

Once more, Hong Kong streets were jammed back with thousands of fervent Chinese movie fans who could not get enough of the fearless Bruce Lee, and his second film went on to break the box office records set by the first! Lee then set up his own production company, Concord Productions, and set about guiding his film career personally by writing, directing and acting in his next film, _Meng long guojiang (1972)_ (aka "Way of the Dragon", aka "Return of The Dragon"). A bigger budget, meant better locations and opponents, with the new film set in Rome, Italy and additionally starring hapkido expert Ing-Sik Whang, karate legend Robert Wall and seven times US karate champion Chuck Norris. Bruce played a seemingly simple country boy sent to assist at a cousin's restaurant in Rome, and finds his cousins are being bullied by local thugs for protection.

By now, Lee's remarkable success in the Orient had come to the attention of Hollywood film executives and a script was hastily written pitching him as a secret agent penetrating an island fortress. Warner Bros. financed the film, and also insisted on B-movie tough guy John Saxon co-starring alongside Lee to give the film more Western appeal. The film culminated with another show stopping fight sequence between Lee and the key villain, Han, in a maze of mirrors. Shooting was completed in and around Hong Kong in early 1973 and in the subsequent weeks, Bruce was involved in completing over dubs and looping for the final cut. Various reports from friends and co-workers cite how he was not feeling well during this period, and on July 20th 1973 he lay down at the apartment of actress Betty Ting Pei after taking a headache tablet, and was later unable to be revived. A doctor was called, and he was then taken to hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead that evening. The official finding was death was due to a cerebral edema, caused by a reaction to the headache tablet. In other words, death by misadventure.

Chinese movie fans were absolutely shattered that their virile idol, had passed away at such a young age, and nearly 30,000 fans filed past his coffin in Hong Kong. A second, much smaller ceremony was held in Seattle, Washington and Bruce was laid to rest at Lake View Cemetary in Seattle with pall bearers including Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Dan Inosanto. Enter the Dragon (1973) was later released in the mainland United States, and was a huge hit with American audiences, which then prompted National General films to actively distribute his three prior movies to US theaters...each of them was a box office smash. Bruce Lee was an international film star after he had died!

Fans worldwide were still hungry for more Bruce Lee films, and thus remaining footage (completed before his death) of Lee fighting several opponents including Dan Inosanto, Hugh O'Brian and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was crafted into another film titled Game of Death (1978). The film used a look alike actor and shadowy camera work to be substituted for the real Lee in numerous scenes. The film is a poor addition to the line up, and is only saved by the final twenty minutes and the footage of the real Bruce Lee battling his way up the tower. Amazingly, this same shoddy process was used to create Si wang ta (1981) (aka "Game of Death II"), with more look alike and stunt doubles interwoven with a few brief minutes of footage of the real Bruce Lee.

Tragically, his son Brandon Lee, an actor and martial artist like his father, was killed in a freak accident on the set of The Crow (1994).

Bruce Lee was not only an amazing athlete and martial artist, but he possessed genuine superstar charisma and through a handful of films he left behind an indelible impression on the tapestry of modern cinema.

Spouse

Linda Lee Cadwell

(17 August 1964 - 20 July 1973) (his death) 2 children

Trade Mark

Often had a scene in his films where in a fight, he gets wounded. Standing stunned, he tastes his own blood and then he goes berserk wiping out any opponent in his path.

Made animal sounds when he fought to unnerve his foes and focus his strength. His characters were often proudly Chinese and battled foes who racially oppressed his people as in when he smashed a "No dogs or Chinese allowed" sign with a flying kick

Use of Jeet Kun Do, a form of martial arts he invented himself in which freedom of reaction was far more important than rigid form

Trivia

Ranked #100 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

Father of Brandon Lee and Shannon Lee.

Died of brain edema in Hong Kong at age 32.

He is considered the greatest martial artist of the 20th century.

Developed his martial art style called Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist) which is more of an idea of being flexible and practical with learning martial arts

Interred at Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington, USA.

While "The Green Hornet" (1966) TV series was in production, Bruce made several promotional appearances as Kato, but made a point to never do the standard martial art stunts like breaking boards, which he felt had nothing to do with what martial arts are about.

Bruce Lee Jun Fan Yuen Kam (Bruce Lee's full birth name) was born in the year of the dragon (1940), at the hour of the dragon (between 6:00AM- 8:00AM).

Was an accomplished dancer and Hong Kong cha cha cha champion.

A noted brawler in Hong Kong, Lee received formal training in wing chun under legendary sifu Yip Man. He later trained in a variety of arts before creating his Jeet Kune Do style.

Weighed only 128 pounds at the time of his death.

Suffered a serious back injury while attempting a good-morning. During his recuperation, he wrote several books on the martial arts.

His students in Jeet Kune Do martial arts included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Steve McQueen and James Coburn.

His ancestry is German and Chinese. His father is a full-blooded Chinese, while his mother is of German-Chinese decent (her father is German; her mother is Chinese).

His development of Jeet Kune Do came partially out of an incident with his school. A rival martial artist challenged him to a duel over his decision to teach non-Chinese students. Lee accepted the challenge and won the duel, but later thought that the fight took too long because his martial art technique was too rigid and formalistic. Thus he decided to develop a better system with an emphasis on practicality and flexibility.

Was constantly challenged by movie extras and other men seeking to gain fame by beating him in a fight.

Left for Seattle in 1958 with $100. Gave cha cha cha lessons to first-class passengers to earn extra money during ship ride to US.

Was sought after for instruction by established martial artists such as Joe Lewis and Chuck Norris.

Faced discrimination from other Chinese kung fu masters when trying to learn other martial arts styles. Would usually go to the number 3 or 4 man in a certain system to learn it in exchange for teaching what he knew.

Demand for his private lessons grew so high, his hourly rate soared to $275 per hour.

His last movie, Game of Death (1978), was his first film to be shot with sound, unlike most of his earlier films which were filmed without sound and later dubbed in by the actors. Some of the lost footage was later shown in Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000) (V). You can hear his own voice speaking English and Cantonese. Had he not died, his character's name in this movie would have been Hai Tien.

Spoke English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.

Was able to name every single karate term and performed them with dead accuracy.

Adopted his legendary nunchaku routine in his movies from the legendary karate master Hidehiko "Hidy" Ochiai. The two met at the Los Angeles YMCA in the mid 1960s.

Earned $30,000 for his first two feature films.

Developed a trick for showing off his speed: a person held a coin and closed his hand, and as he closed it, Lee would take it and could even swap the coin for another.

His death was considered to be under 'extraordinarily bizarre' circumstances by many experts. Many people claimed that it was the work of 'Oni' (Japanese for Demons or evil spirits), while others claimed he was cursed. The theory of the 'Curse of Bruce Lee' carried over to the extremely bizarre death of his son, Brandon Lee, who was shot and killed during the filming of The Crow (1994) in 1993.

Before hitting it big as a movie star, he often trained with the martial arts world's biggest stars, many of whom would latter become celebrities in their own right, such as world karate champion 'Chuck Norris'. Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, Lee was never Norris' instructor. They trained together, often trading techniques and ideas, but never had a student-teacher relationship.

One of his martial arts students was James Bond star George Lazenby.

In his first and only meeting with Enter the Dragon (1973) composer Lalo Schifrin, Bruce told him that he often trains to the "Mission: Impossible" (1966) theme.

Mastered a technique called "The One Inch Punch", in which he could deliver a devastating blow yet have his fist travel a mere one inch (2.54 cm) in distance before striking an opponent.

His first major U.S. project was the role of Kato in the television series "The Green Hornet" (1966). He joked that he got this role because he was the only Oriental actor who could properly pronounce the lead character's name: "Britt Reid.".

Mortal Kombat character "Liu Kang" was inspired by him, complete with the characteristic animal noises.

When Elvis Presley's and Ed Parker's unfinished martial arts film "New Gladiators" was found in 2003, there was 20 minutes of Lee's demonstration at a martial arts display in the mid-'60s found along with it.

Is often honored in video games. In "Mortal Kombat" games, the character Liu Kang was an obvious tribute to Lee. Then, in Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (1993) (VG), a character named Fei Long was introduced, bearing an uncanny resemblance in both looks and fighting style to Lee. A lesser game, World Heroes (1993) (VG), also copied Lee as Kim Dragon. Lastly, the "Tekken" games did the tribute to him not once, but twice. First with Marshall Law, then with his son Forrest Law for the third installment of Tekken. Along with this, his fighting style was honored in Virtua Fighter (1993) (VG) with Jacky Bryant, in Dead or Alive (1997) (VG) with Jann Lee and in the "Soul Calibur" series as Maxi.

Has a statue placed in the country Bosnia. After many years of war and religious splits, Lee's figure is to commend his work, to successfully bridge culture gaps in the world (2004 September).

His father, Lee Hoi Chuen (b. February 1901, died 8 February 1965) was a popular stage actor, and died 8 days after Brandon Lee was born.

Lee was trained by Yip Man from 1954-1957 & Wong Shun-Leung from 1957-58.

Defeated British boxer Gary Elms by knockout in the third round in the 1958 Hong Kong amateur boxing championships by using Wing Chun traps and high/low-level straight punches. Before he met Elms in the finals, he knocked out three boxers in the first round. Hawkings Cheung, his fellow Wing Chun street fighter, witnessed the event.

Lee knocked out Wong Jack-Man in Oakland, CA, in a 1965 no-holds-barred challenge match. It was Lee's last official fight. It lasted three minutes.

Lee knocked-out Chung, a Choy Li Fut fighter, in Hong Kong in a 1958 Full-Contact match. The match was refereed by Sheun-Leung Wong.

Lee knocked out Uechi in 10 seconds in a 1962 Full-Contact match in Seattle. It was refereed by Jesse Glover.

Had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers: Phoebe Lee (b. 1938), Agnes Lee, older brother and fencing champion Peter Lee, and younger brother and musician Robert Lee. Some sources claim he also had a brother James who died of Black Lung in 1972, but James Yimm Lee was in fact his training partner, and not his brother.

Son of Hoi-Chuen Lee

He was a gang leader in his teenage years. The name of his group was known as "The Tigers of Junction Street".

UFC President Dana White considers Bruce Lee as "the father of Mixed Martial Arts".

Alongside Muhammad Ali, Lee is cited as a major influence by many K-1 and MMA champions: Bas Rutten, Jose "Pele' Landi-Jons, Wanderlei Silva, 'Emilianenko Fedor', Norifumi "Kid' Yamamoto, Rob Kaman, Ramon Dekkers, Frank Shamrock, Murilo Rua, Mauricio Rua, 'Jerome Le Banner', 'Carlos Newton', Remy Bonjasky, Jeremy Horn, David Loiseau and Tito Ortiz, among others.

To mark the occasion of what would have been Lee's 65th birthday (27 November 2005), a bronze statue of a topless Bruce adopting a martial arts stance was unveiled in Hong Kong, effectively kicking off a week-long Bruce Lee festival.

In the popular Nintendo game series, Pokémon, the fighting type monster Hitmonlee is based on Lee.

In an interview he gave a few years before his death, he revealed that he was an atheist.

According to Hong Kong stuntman Phillip Ko, Lee was challenged by a tiger/crane kung fu stylist, an extra on Enter the Dragon (1973), who claimed Lee was a phony. Lee, who was furious at the claim, accepted the challenge to prove that his martial arts were indeed the real deal. The fight, which took place on the film set, only lasted 30 seconds, with Bruce pummeling his challenger with a series of straight punches to the face, low-line kicks to his shins/knees/thighs and finally ended with the guy being smashed to the wall with his hair pulled and his arms trapped by Bruce. After Lee forced the kung fu stylist to submit, he showed some class by telling him to go back to work instead of firing him. This fight was witnessed by the film's producer, Fred Weintraub, and Robert Wall.

There is a character in the anime and manga Shaman King that is very heavily based on him. Also a character inspired by a Lee like character appeared in the Yugioh manga.

Chosen by Goldsea Asian American Daily as one of the "100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time". (ranked #2).

Personal Quotes

Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

Simplicity is the last step of art.

A teacher is never a giver of truth - he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. A good teacher is merely a catalyst.

When an opportunity in a fight presents itself, "I" don't hit, "it" hits all by itself.

Empty your mind. Become formless and shapeless like water. When water is poured into a cup, it becomes the cup. When water is poured into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Be water, my friend.

To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. If you want to understand the truth in martial arts, to see any opponent clearly, you must throw away the notion of styles or schools, prejudices, likes and dislikes, and so forth. Then, your mind will cease all conflict and come to rest. In this silence, you will see totally and freshly.

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.

Don't think, feel! It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.

A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.

I don't believe in different ways of fighting now. I mean, unless human beings have 3 arms and 3 legs, then we will have a different way of fighting. But basically we all have two arms and two legs so that is why I believe there should be only one way of fighting and that is no way.

If you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it'll spread over into the rest of your life. It'll spread over into your work, into your mortality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you.

There's no challenge in breaking a board. Boards don't hit back.

Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.

Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.

Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.

Martial art is ultimately an athletic expression of the dynamic human body. More important yet, is the person who is expressing his own soul.

I have always been a martial artist by choice, an actor by profession, but above all, am actualising myself to be an artist of life.

A goal is not always meant to be reached; it often serves simply as something to aim at.

The martial arts are ultimately self-knowledge. A punch or a kick is not to knock the hell out of the guy in front, but to knock the hell out of your ego, your fear, or your hang-ups.

First of all, the word superstar really turns me off -- and I'll tell you why. The word "star" man, it's an illusion. it's something what the public calls you. You should look upon oneself as an actor, man. I mean you would be very pleased if somebody said (punches his fist into his open hand) "man, you are a super actor!" it is much better than, you know, superstar.

I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine.

Michael Jackson Biography

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Born the seventh in a family of nine children in Gary, Indiana, Jackson was launched into show business when his father, a steel-mill worker by trade, assembled a singing group called the Jackson Five with 5-year-old Michael and his four older brothers. Initially, Joseph included Michael in the lineup as a novelty, but it became immediately obvious that his wee son had prodigious musical abilities: his voice possessed a maturity belied by his young years, and his crowd-charming charisma superseded that of most seasoned entertainers. Buoyed by the young prodigy's talents, the Jackson Five moved quickly from local talent contests to a recording contract with Motown. The group generated six top-five singles between 1969 and 1971 — including "I Want You Back" and "ABC" — and would remain a hit-making machine throughout the '70s. As if the pressure of fronting a chart-topping band weren't enough for the adolescent, Jackson was soon tapped by Motown to do solo recordings.

The label was assured it had a superstar in the making, when, in 1971, Jackson's first on-his-own single, "I'll Be There," hit No. 4 on the charts. In addition to his work with his brothers, Jackson recorded more hit solo singles — including "Rockin' Robin" and "Ben" — and solo albums for Motown; in 1976, he and the Jackson Five signed with Epic. During the late '70s, Jackson made a brief foray into film, starring opposite Diana Ross in The Wiz (1978), an African-American update of The Wizard of Oz. The project was unexceptional, save for the fact that it introduced Jackson to legendary producer Quincy Jones, who arranged and conducted the film's score. Jones and Jackson collaborated on the singer's next solo project, Off the Wall (1979), an album that transformed the child star into an adult superstar.

Propelled by such No. 1 hits as "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You," the disc sold ten million copies and was barraged with critical praise for its barrier-busting blend of soul and rock and its good-time boogie vibe. (Rolling Stone's notoriously hard-to-please critic, David Marsh, proclaimed Off the Wall "a masterpiece of modern record making.") It seemed impossible that the ever-blossoming artist could top himself, but that's exactly what he did with the 1982 release of a little record he called Thriller. As history notes, the Jones-produced Thriller sold upwards of 40 million copies (more than any album before or since) and received critical kudos and an unprecedented eight Grammy awards.

The album charted a record six top-ten singles, beginning in November 1982 with the Paul McCartney duet, "The Girl Is Mine," and ending a whopping 16 months later with the title track. Jackson sustained Thriller's momentum with the help of music videos, which were gaining rominence thanks to the newborn MTV network. Jackson's brilliant song-and-dance videos for "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Thriller" not only helped pioneer the medium (and break MTV's color barrier, for that atter), but they drew praise from such esteemed hoofers as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.

Jackson hit a professional zenith in the summer of 1984, when he reteamed with his brothers (then recording as the Jacksons) for the aptly titled Victory tour. Though Jackson's next albums, Bad (1987) and Dangerous (1991), both topped the charts and sold millions, somehow, the excitement had ebbed. The lyrics, "It don't matter if you're black or white," struck an ironic chord, considering that the singer was obviously becoming ever more Caucasian-looking, thanks to plastic surgery and gobs of make-up. His rapidly altering appearance wasn't the only thing giving folks pause: perception of the once unimpeachable entertainer shifted from a judgment of forgivable eccentricity to one of downright weirdness as more stories of his odd habits like the fact that he kept a coffin, white mannequins, and a shrine to Elizabeth Taylor in his private quarters.

In 1993, Jackson consented to a rare interview with Oprah Winfrey. A huge prime-time audience tuned in to hear Jackson discuss his evolving appearance (which he attributed to a skin pigmentation deficiency and "only two" plastic surgery procedures), his romantic life (he named Brooke Shields as a girlfriend), and his Peter Pan-like existence at his Neverland ranch and amusement park near Los Angeles. The interview succeeded in making Jackson seem human.Jackson turned a dramatic personal corner in May 1994, when he married Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis's daughter, in a secret ceremony in the Dominican Republic. Many saw this surprise move as a blatant P.R. bid to repair a poor image; others found it touching and only fitting that modern music's most prominent families be united in holy matrimony.

Jackson subsequently released an ambitious double album of past hits and new songs called HIStory (1995). It received mixed reviews — praise for the oldies, pans for the new tracks — and sales were disappointing by Jacksonian standards, despite a publicity blitz that went way over the top. The campaign included a prime-time interview with Diane Sawyer of ABC News, during which Jackson and Presley insisted that their marriage was real . All that good lovin' aside, the union lasted but a scant 18 months. However, another marriage was in the cards for Jackson. In November 1996, Jackson announced that his friend Deborah Rowe (an assistant to his dermatologist) was carrying his child. The couple denied all tabloid reports that Jackson was merely renting Rowe's womb and that she was artificially inseminated. As proof of their love, Jackson and Rowe were married in Australia not long after the pregnancy became public knowledge. Three months later, Rowe gave birth to Prince Michael Jackson Jr. Daughter Paris Mich

ael Katherine was born in the spring of 1998.

The couple announced their mutual decision to divorce in fall 1999.Jackson's 1997 album, the part-new, part-remix Blood on the Dance Floor,suggested that the King of Pop is still hung up on his '80s glory days. Four years later, Jacko was back with a new album, Invincible, and a tribute concert in Madison Square Garden, in which a range of celebrities — from Whitney Houston to a Marlon Brando — helped him celebrate 30 years as a solo entertainer.

Even Michael's brothers turned out to honor their more-famous sibling, although the event was not without its share of controversy and sibling rivalry. In the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Jackson announced plans to record and release an all-star "We Are the World"-like single, with the aim of raising $50 million for the survivors and families of the victims. He enlisted the likes of Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, and the Backstreet Boys for the project.

Artist(Band):Michael Jackson

Its number of michael jackson's album seling
1. off the wall is 15 million
2. thriller is over 56 million(biggest seling album ever)
3. bad is 25 million
4. dangerous is 37 million
5. histoty is 15 x 2 cd is 30 million
6. blood on the dance floor is 7 million(biggest seling remix album)
7. invincible is 10 million(michael say in reuters)

Stephen Hawking

2010-10-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

Stephen Hawking is a well-known physicist and cosmologist and best selling author. He spent most of his career as a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and became internationally famous for his book, A Brief History of Time, in which he broke down his theories on quantum physics and cosmology in such a way that could be understood by all levels of society.

Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford, England. At the time, London was under attack from the German Luftwaffe during World War II and the Hawking home in North London was not safe for the family. After the birth of Hawking, his parents, Frank Hawking, a research biologist, and Isobel moved back to London to raise their family. In 1950, at the age of 8, Hawking moved with his family to Hertfordshire where he began studying at the St Alban's High School for Girls until 1953. When Hawking turned 11, he was transferred to the St. Albans School until his graduation.

Hawking preferred studying mathematics but was forced to study physics instead when he enrolled at University College at Oxford since mathematics was not considered a focus. Hawking rarely studied which resulted in some of his professors questioning his academic performance. They realized quickly, however, that his intellect and cleverness were far superior than his peers and his professors passed him with first honors.

Stephen Hawking graduated with a B.A. in 1962 from Oxford University. He hoped to continue on and study astronomy but, after discovering that Oxford was only equipped to study sunspots, Hawking transferred to Trinity Hall in Cambridge where he studied cosmology and theoretical astronomy. It was soon after this transfer that Hawking began showing symptoms of the motor neuron disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease. After learning of his illness, Hawking did not work hard towards his Ph.D., choosing to see his illness as an end rather than an obstacle. It was only after he met and married Jane Wilde in 1965 that Hawking returned to complete his degree at Cambridge. He became a Research Fellow and later a Professor Fellow at Gonville and Caius College.

Among Stephen Hawking's accomplishments and awards are:
Member of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974
Created as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982
Was granted the position of Companion of Honour in 1989
the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics

Hawking began focusing most of his energy on studying Einstein's general theory of relativity and the physics behind black holes. His studies eventually led to proving his first of many singularity theorems. This first one was proven in 1970 and Hawking continued to work with colleagues studying theories and physic calculations that helped to explain more about the universe.

Hawking became so enthusiastic about his studies that he wanted to be able to share them with the rest of the world. As a result, he put together a book that helped explain his theories of the universe in a way that most people could understand. This book, A Brief History of Time, was published in 1988 by Hawking and some friends and quickly became a best-seller. He followed it with The Universe in a Nutshell in 2001, and A Briefer History of Time in 2005.

Although Hawking is confined to a wheelchair and has lost most of his motor skills, he continues to research, teach and give lectures around the world. He even took part in a zero-gravity experience courtesy of NASA in 2007.

Stephen Hawking and his first wife separated and divorced in 1991. They had three children prior to their divorce. He later married a woman by the name of Elaine Mason, the former wife of the man who designed Hawking's talking computer, but they, too, divorced in 2006.

Sir Isaac Newton

2010-10-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

In 1642, the year Galileo died, Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire,

England

on Christmas Day. His father had died three months earlier, and baby Isaac, very premature, was also not expected to survive. It was said he could be fitted into a quart pot. When Isaac was three, his mother married a wealthy elderly clergyman from the next village, and went to live there, leaving Isaac behind with his grandmother. The clergyman died, and Isaac’s mother came back, after eight years, bringing with her three small children. Two years later, Newton went away to the Grammar School in Grantham, where he lodged with the local apothecary, and was fascinated by the chemicals. The plan was that at age seventeen he would come home and look after the farm. He turned out to be a total failure as a farmer.

His mother’s brother, a clergyman who had been an undergraduate at Cambridge, persuaded his mother that it would be better for Isaac to go to university, so in 1661 he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge. Isaac paid his way through college for the first three years by waiting tables and cleaning rooms for the fellows (faculty) and the wealthier students. In 1664, he was elected a scholar, guaranteeing four years of financial support. Unfortunately, at that time the plague was spreading across Europe, and reached Cambridge in the summer of 1665. The university closed, and Newton returned home, where he spent two years concentrating on problems in mathematics and physics. He wrote later that during this time he first understood the theory of gravitation, which we shall discuss below, and the theory of optics (he was the first to realize that white light is made up of the colors of the rainbow), and much mathematics, both integral and differential calculus and infinite series. However, he was always reluctant to publish anything, at least until it appeared someone else might get credit for what he had found earlier.

On returning to Cambridge in 1667, he began to work on alchemy, but then in 1668 Nicolas Mercator published a book containing some methods for dealing with infinite series. Newton immediately wrote a treatise, De Analysi, expounding his own wider ranging results. His friend and mentor Isaac Barrow communicated these discoveries to a London mathematician, but only after some weeks would Newtonallow his name to be given. This brought his work to the attention of the mathematics community for the first time. Shortly afterwards, Barrow resigned his Lucasian Professorship (which had been established only in 1663, with Barrow the first incumbent) at Cambridge so that Newton could have the Chair.

Newton’s first major public scientific achievement was the invention, design and construction of a reflecting telescope. He ground the mirror, built the tube, and even made his own tools for the job. This was a real advance in telescope technology, and ensured his election to membership in the Royal Society. The mirror gave a sharper image than was possible with a large lens because a lens focusses different colors at slightly different distances, an effect called chromatic aberration. This problem is minimized nowadays by using compound lenses, two lenses of different kinds of glass stuck together, that err in opposite directions, and thus tend to cancel each other’s shortcomings, but mirrors are still used in large telescopes.

Later in the 1670’s, Newton became very interested in theology. He studied Hebrew scholarship and ancient and modern theologians at great length, and became convinced that Christianity had departed from the original teachings of Christ. He felt unable to accept the current beliefs of the Church of England, which was unfortunate because he was required as a Fellow of Trinity College to take holy orders. Happily, the Church of England was more flexible than Galileo had found the Catholic Church in these matters, and King Charles II issued a royal decree excusing Newton from the necessity of taking holy orders! Actually, to prevent this being a wide precedent, the decree specified that, in perpetuity, the Lucasian professor need not take holy orders. (The current Lucasian professor is Stephen Hawking.)

In 1684, three members of the Royal Society, Sir Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke and Edmond Halley, argued as to whether the elliptical orbits of the planets could result from a gravitational force towards the sun proportional to the inverse square of the distance.

Halley writes:

Mr. Hook said he had had it, but that he would conceal it for some time so that others, triing and failing might know how to value it, when he should make it publick.

Halley went up to Cambridge, and put the problem to Newton, who said he had solved it four years earlier, but couldn’t find the proof among his papers. Three months later, he sent an improved version of the proof to Halley, and devoted himself full time to developing these ideas, culminating in the publication of the Principia in 1686. This was the book that really did change man’s view of the universe, as we shall shortly discuss, and its importance was fully appreciated very quickly. Newton became a public figure. He left Cambridge for London, where he was appointed Master of the Mint, a role he pursued energetically, as always, including prosecuting counterfeiters. He was knighted by Queen Anne. He argued with Hooke about who deserved credit for discovering the connection between elliptical orbits and the inverse square law until Hooke died in 1703, and he argued with a German mathematician and philosopher, Leibniz, about which of them invented calculus. Newton died in 1727, and was buried with much pomp and circumstance in Westminster Abbey—despite his well-known reservations about the Anglican faith.

Dhirubhai Ambani

2010-10-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Born: December 28, 1932Died: July 6, 2002Achievements: Dhiru Bhai Ambani built India's largest private sector company. Created an equity cult in the Indian capital market. Reliance is the first Indian company to feature in Forbes 500 list

Dhirubhai Ambani was the most enterprising Indian entrepreneur. His life journey is reminiscent of the rags to riches story. He is remembered as the one who rewrote Indian corporate history and built a truly global corporate group.

Dhirubhai Ambani alias Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani was born on December 28, 1932, at Chorwad, Gujarat, into a Modh family. His father was a school teacher. Dhirubhai Ambani started his entrepreneurial career by selling "bhajias" to pilgrims in Mount Girnar over the weekends.

After doing his matriculation at the age of 16, Dhirubhai moved to Aden, Yemen. He worked there as a gas-station attendant, and as a clerk in an oil company. He returned to India in 1958 with Rs 50,000 and set up a textile trading company.

Assisted by his two sons, Mukesh and Anil, Dhiru Bhai Ambani built India's largest private sector company, Reliance India Limited, from a scratch. Over time his business has diversified into a core specialisation in petrochemicals with additional interests in telecommunications, information technology, energy, power, retail, textiles, infrastructure services, capital markets, and logistics.

Dhirubhai Ambani is credited with shaping India's equity culture, attracting millions of retail investors in a market till then dominated by financial institutions. Dhirubhai revolutionised capital markets. From nothing, he generated billions of rupees in wealth for those who put their trust in his companies. His efforts helped create an 'equity cult' in the Indian capital market. With innovative instruments like the convertible debenture, Reliance quickly became a favorite of the stock market in the 1980s.

In 1992, Reliance became the first Indian company to raise money in global markets, its high credit-taking in international markets limited only by India's sovereign rating. Reliance also became the first Indian company to feature in Forbes 500 list.

Dhirubhai Ambani was named the Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th Century by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). A poll conducted by The Times of India in 2000 voted him "greatest creator of wealth in the century".

Dhirubhai Ambani died on July 6, 2002, at Mumbai.

Mahatma Gandhi

2010-10-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Date of Birth

2 October 1869, Porbandar, India

Date of Death

30 January 1948, Delhi, India (assassination)

Birth Name

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Nickname

Bapu
Gandhiji
The Father of the (Indian) Nation

Height

5' 4½" (1.64 m)

Mini Biography

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) was born on October 2, 1869, into a Hindu Modh family in Porbanadar, Gujarat, India. His father, named Karamchand Gandhi, was the Chief Minister (diwan) of the city of Porbanadar. His mother, named Putlibai, was the fourth wife; the previous three wives died in childbirth. Gandhi was born into the vaishya (business caste). He was 13 years old when married Kasturbai (Ba) Makhanji, through his parents arrangement. They had four sons. Gandhi learned tolerance and non-injury to living beings from an early age. He was abstinent from meat, alcohol, and promiscuity.

Gandhi studied law at the University of Bombay for one year, then at the University College London, from which he graduated in 1891, and was admitted to the bar of England. His reading of "Civil Disobedience" by David Thoreau inspired his devotion to the principle of non-violence. He returned to Bombay and practiced law there for a year, then went to South Africa to work for an Indian firm in Natal. There Gandhi experienced racism: he was thrown off a train while holding a valid first class ticket and pushed to third class. Later he was beaten by a stagecoach driver for refusing to travel on the foot-board to make room for a European passenger. He was barred from many hotels because of his race. In 1894, Gandhi founded the Natal Indian Congress. They focused on the Indian cause and British discrimination in South Africa. In 1897, Gandhi brought his wife and children to South Africa. He was attacked by a mob of racists, who tried to lynch him. He refused to press charges on any member of the mob. Gandhi became the first non-white lawyer to be admitted to the bar in South Africa.

During the South African War, Gandhi was a stretcher barer. He organized the Indian Ambulance corps of 300 Indian volunteers and hundreds of associates to serve wounded black South Africans. He was decorated for his courage at the Battle of Spion Kop. At that time Gandhi corresponded with Leo Tolstoy and expressed his admiration of the Tolstoyan principles of non-violence. In 1906 Gandhi, for the first time, organized a non-violent resistance against the Transvaal government's registration act. He called upon his fellow Indians to defy the new law in a non-violent manner and suffer the punishment for doing so. He was jailed on many occasions along with thousands of his supporters. Peaceful Indian protests caused a public outcry and forced the South African General J. C. Smuts to negotiate a compromise with Gandhi. However, Gandhi supported the British in World War I and encouraged Indians to join the Army to defend the British Empire, in compliance with the full citizenship requirement.

Back in India, Gandhi became active in the struggle for Indian Independence. He spoke at the conventions of the Indian National Congress, becoming one of its leaders. In 1918, Gandhi opposed the increasing tax levied by the British during the devastating famine. He was arrested in Champaran, state Bihar, for organizing civil resistance of tens of thousands of landless farmers and serfs. In jail Gandhi was on a hunger strike in solidarity with the famine stricken farmers. Hundreds of thousands of his supporters gathered around the jail. Gandhi was addressed by the people as Mahatma (Great Soul) and Bapu (Father). He was released. Then he represented the farmers in negotiation with the British administration. His effort worked. The tax collection was suspended and all prisoners were released. He declared that all violence was evil after the Amritsar massacre of 379 civilians by British troops, which traumatized the Indian nation. As the leader of the Indian National Congress party Gandhi launched "Swaraj", a campaign for independence and non-cooperation with the British authorities. He urged Indians to replace British goods with their own fabrics and goods. He was imprisoned from 1922-1924, being released after an appendectomy. During that time a Swaraj party was formed by his anxious opponents; it later dissolved back into the Congress.

On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1929, the Indian National Congress unfurled it's flag of independence. Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru issued the Declaration of Independence on January 26, 1930. Gandhi planned to achieve stability through the secularization of India, as the only way of uniting Hindus and Muslims in one peaceful nation. The religious divide was growing under the British colonial rule, which prospered from the monopoly on the salt trade. Everyone needed salt. Gandhi wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin: "If my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of March I shall proceed with co-workers of the Ashram as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the Salt Laws. I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor man's standpoint. As the Independence movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil."

From March 12 to April 6, 1930, Gandhi made the famous Satyagraha ("Satya" - truth, "Agraha" - persuasion), The Salt March to Dandi. He walked on foot to the ocean in protest against the British salt monopoly and salt tax. He led thousands of Indians on a 240 mile (400 km) march from Ashram Ahmetabad to the village of Dandi on the ocean to make their own salt. For 23 days the two-mile long procession was watched by every resident along the journey. On April 6, Gandhi raised a grain of salt and declared, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." Gandhi's plan worked because it appealed to people in every region, class, religion, and ethnicity. The successful campaign led to the reaction of the British government and imprisonment of over 60,000 people for making or selling salt without a tax. The British opened fire on the unarmed crowd and shot hundreds of demonstrators. Gandhi was arrested in his sleep on the night of May 4th, 1930. Eventually the British government, represented by Lord Irwin, signed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in March 1931, agreeing to free all political prisoners. Gandhi was invited to London as the leader of the Indian National Congress, but he was disappointed with the British attempts to destroy his influence by dividing him from his followers.

Gandhi campaigned to improve the lives of the untouchables, whom he called Harijans (the children of God). He promoted equitable rights, including the right to vote in the same electorates as other castes. In 1934 Gandhi survived three attempts on his life. In 1936, he briefly resigned from the party, because his popularity was stifling the diversity of membership; ranging from communists and socialists to religious conservatives and pro-business groups. He returned to the head of the party with the Jawaharlal Nehru presidency. At the beginning of the Second World War Gandhi declared that India could not be a party to this war, unless it has independence. His "Quit India" campaign led to mass arrests on an unprecedented scale of struggle. He was arrested in Bombay (Mumbai) and was held for two years. During his captivity his wife passed away and his secretary also died. Gandhi was released in May of 1944, due to a necessary surgery. His campaign led to a release of over 100,000 political prisoners before the end of the war.

India won independence in 1947, followed by the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, and partition of India. Gandhi said, "Before partitioning India, my body will have to be cut into two pieces." About one million people died in the bloody riots until partition was reluctantly asserted by Gandhi as the only way to stop the Civil War. He urged the Congress Party to accept partition, and launched his last "fast-into-death" campaign in Delhi, calling for a stop to all violence. Gandhi also called to give Pakistan the 550,000,000 rupees in honor of the partition agreement. He tried to prevent instability and anger against India.

Gandhi was shot three times in the chest and died while on his way to a prayer meeting, on January 30, 1948. His assassins were convicted and executed a year later. The ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were split in portions and sent to all states of India to be scattered in rivers. Part of Gandhi's ashes rest in Raj Ghat, near Delhi, India. Part of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes are at the Lake Shrine in Los Angeles.

Spouse

Kasturba Gandhi

(May 1882 - 22 February 1944) (her death) 4 children

Trade Mark

Pinze-nez glasses.

Trivia

His own interpretation of the Seven Deadly Sins were: Wealth without Work, Pleasure without Conscience, Science without Humanity, Knowledge without Character, Politics without Principle, Commerce without Morality, and Worship without Sacrifice.

Pictured on 2 US postage stamps (4¢, 8¢) in the Champions of Liberty series, issued 26 December 1961.

He is referred to as 'the father of the Nation' in India.

The railway station at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa is named in his honor (Mahatma Gandhi Station) because it was here that in 1891 he was unceremoniously thrown out of a first class train compartment just for being a colored person. This was his first experience of racism and became a turning point in his life.

Had 4 sons - Harilal (b. 1888), Manilal (b. 1892), Ramdas (b. 1897) and Devdas (b. 1900).

After his death India went into mourning for 13 days!

Gandhi was a veteran of two British Empire wars - the Boer War (1899) and the Zulu Wars (c.1904), where he helped in organising the transport of wounded soldiers on stretchers.

He died at 5:20 pm after being shot in the chest by Nathuram Godse, at Birla House in New Delhi.

He had 2 elder brothers (Laxmidas & Karsandas) and one younger sister (Raliatbehn).

He was imprisoned by the British 4 times as a political prisoner.

His birthday (October 2nd) is celebrated as a national holiday in India and is called 'Gandhi Jayanthi'.

His famous last words were "He Ram!" (O God!).

On 12th March, 1930 Gandhi along with his followers started a 386 km (241 mile) march from Ahmedabad to Dandi, on the banks of the Arabian Sea. He was protesting the taxes levied by the British Raj on salt and decided that he would make his own salt from the sea. He reached his destination after 24 days on 6th April, 1930. This event became known the world over as 'The Dandi March' or 'Salt Satyagraha'.

The father of the 'father of the nation' was Karamchand Gandhi and his mother was Putalibai.

There are several major roads in most of the larger metropolitan cities in India named in his honour, as M.G. Road (short for Mahatma Gandhi).

He used to write letters to Leo Tolstoy, with whom he was friends. He even named his ashram in his honor - Tolstoy Farm.

After his assassination Albert Einstein said: "Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth!".

Gandhi had spent a total of 2,338 days (over 6 years) in jail as a political prisoner during his lifetime.

The title "Mahatma" (meaning "great-souled") was given to him in 1915 by his friend Rabindranath Tagore. He never accepted the title because he considered himself unworthy of it.

He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times between 1937 and 1948. After his death the Nobel Committee publicly declared its regret for never awarding him the Prize. When the The Dalai Lama was awarded the Peace Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that this was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi".

Was a vegetarian

Grandfather of Arun Gandhi and Rajmohan Gandhi. Great-grandfather of Tushar Gandhi.

Time Magazine's Person of the Year (1930).

Personal Quotes

To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

An eye for an eye will only end up making the whole world blind.

[on being asked why he visited King George V in only a loincloth] He wore enough for the both of us.

If we Indians could only spit in unison, we would form a puddle big enough to drown drown 3,000,000 Englishmen.

I always get the best bargains from behind prison bars.

Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.

I am not strange, I am just not normal.

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Alexander the Great

2010-10-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Alexander the Great, who would become the Conqueror of the Ancient World, was born at Pella, Macedonia in 356 B.C.E. His father was King Phillip II and his mother was Olympias, a deeply spiritual woman who taught her son that he was a descendant of Achilles and Hercules. From the earliest age, then, Alexander was conditioned for conquest and kingly glory. He, thus, became focused on being a great ruler.

When he was 13, Alexander became student to the great Greek philosopher Aristotle. Under Aristotle’s tutorship he gained an interest in philosophy, medicine and science. However, Aristotle’s concept of small city-state government would not have gone down well with the young prince who was bent on world domination. Aristotle did, however, cultivate Alexander’s interest in reading and learning.

At age 16 Alexander was called to Macedonia to put down a Thracian rebellion while his father was away. Distinguishing himself immediately, Alexander quelled the rebellion, stormed the rebel’s stronghold and renamed it Alexandroupolis, after himself.

In 336 B.C.E. Phillip was assassinated and 20 year old Alexander took the throne of Macedonia. Within two years he had embarked on his campaign of conquest. His army of 30,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 cavalreymen was small but efficient. Along with the army he took engineers, surveyors, architects, scientists and even historians.

The first engagement was against the Persians at the Granicus River in modern day Turkey. Defeating the Persians he swept through western Asia Minor. The next Autumn the second major encounter against the Persians took place at Issus, in the south eastern corner of Asia Minor. Persian king Darius III had amassed an army of about half a million to wipe out the Greek threat. But the vicious and tactically superb attack mounted by Alexander routed the Persians, despite being outnumbered about 13 to 1.

Alexander now turned south, marching along the Mediterranean coast His only resistance came from the island city of Tyre. Alexander began a siege that would last for seven months. Finally Tyre was completely destroyed in July, 332 B.C.E.

Alexander now pushed further south, conquering Gaza and then moving into Egypt where the people welcomed him as a deliverer from their Persian rulers. Now Alexander turned north east, moving through Palestine towards the Tigris River. In 331 B.C.E. he met the Persians for the third time. The Battle of Gaugamela saw him defeat superior odds once more. Persian King Darius was later killed by his own people. Swiftly Alexander pushed through to take the Persian Capital at Babylon. He humiliated the Persians by burning their great palace at Xerxes. Before long the entire Persian domain was under Alexander’s control. He now crossed the Indus River and entered the region bordering the Persian province of Taxila. Here he met the feared Indian Monarch Porus who, with 25,000 men and 200 elephants nearly did what the entire Persian Kingdom could not. After fierce fighting, however, Alexander was once more victorious. Porus surrendered and became an ally.

After an eight year campaign Alexander was now ruler of a massive empire. He was keen to push further west but his men were weary and intent on returning to their families. Reluctantly he complied with their wishes.

Alexander was a caring military leader. He would visit his men after the battle, examining their wounds and praising them for their valiant efforts. He would also arrange extravagant funerals for the fallen. He would arrange games and contests for his men. The affection for their leader was what galvanized his troops.

Returning to Babylon Alexander assumed the role he had coveted for so long – The great Conqeuror. Eventually, however, he gave way to a licentious lifestyle of excessive drinking. He also gave way to fits of rage and paranoid suspicion. One night he even murdered his closest associate, Clitus, in a fit of rage. This act was to haunt for the remainder of his short life.
In June, 332 B.C.E Alexander fell victim to malarial fever. He never recovered.

The man who no man could defeat died on June 13, 323 B.C.E. He was just 32 years and 8 months old.

Adolf Hitler

2010-10-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Adi, as he was known in his youth, spent his childhood in Austria. His father, Alois, retired from civil service in 1895, when Hitler was only six, which created a tense, strict atmosphere at home.

When Hitler was 13, his father passed away and his mother, Klara, had to care for Hitler and his siblings by herself. Times were tough for the Hitler household. In 1905, at age 16, Adolf quit school and never returned.

Hitler as an Artist

Hitler dreamed of becoming an artist, so in 1907 he applied to the painting school at the Vienna Academy of Art. He did not pass the entrance exam. In 1908 he again tried to apply to the Vienna Academy of Art but this time was not even allowed to take the test. Two months later, his mother passed away from breast cancer.

Hitler spent the next four years in Vienna, living off what little he earned from selling postcards of his architectural drawings and the small inheritance from his mother. During this period of time, Hitler started to dabble in politics and became especially influenced by pan-Germanism.

Hitler Serves in World War I

To avoid military service in the Austrian army, Hitler moved to Munich, Germany in May 1913 but as soon as World War I broke out, Hitler asked for and received special permission to serve in the Bavarian-German army.

Adolf Hitler quickly proved to be a courageous soldier. By December 1914, he was awarded the Iron Cross (Second Class), in October 1916 he was wounded by a grenade splinter, and in August 1918 he was awarded the Iron Cross (First Class).

On October 13, 1918, a gas attack caused him to go temporarily blind. While recuperating in a hospital, Hitler heard the news of the end of the war and of Germany's defeat. His anger and feelings of betrayal shaped his and the world's future.

Hitler Gets Political

After the war, many in Germany felt betrayed by the German government for their sudden and unexpected surrender. The subsequent inflation made even finding a job and day-to-day living difficult for the average German citizen.

In 1919, Hitler was working for an army organization in which he checked-up on burgeoning local political groups. While spying on these groups in September 1919, Hitler found one he liked. Soon after joining the group (he became the 55th member), he was leading it.

Hitler's Coup

Hitler believed that he could provide a stronger government that would bring strength and prestige back to Germany. So, on November 9, 1923, he attempted a coup of the government, the Beer Hall Putsch. It failed and Hitler was sentenced to five years at Landsberg Prison. Though he only served nine months of his term, he used this time to formulate his thoughts about a new Germany, which he made into a book, Mein Kampf. Once he was released, he continued on his road to ultimate power.

Hitler Comes to Power in Germany

By July 1932, Hitler had enough support to run for president of Germany, though he lost the election to Paul von Hindenburg. However, on January 30, 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany. Within a year and a half, Hitler was able to take over both the position of president (Hindenburg died) and chancellor and combine them into one position of supreme leader, the Führer.

After legally gaining power in Germany, Hitler quickly began solidifying his position by putting those that disagreed with him into concentration camps. He created massive amounts of propaganda that strengthened German pride by blaming all their problems on Communists and Jews. The concept of pan-Germanism inspired Hitler to combine German peoples in various countries in Europe as well as look east for lebensraum.

Hitler Starts World War II

Since the world was extremely sensitive about the possibility of starting another world war, Hitler was able to annex Austria in 1938 without a single battle. But when he had his forces enter Poland in August 1939, the world could no longer stand aside and just watch -- World War II began.

From the Nuremberg Laws in 1935 to Kristallnacht in 1938, Hitler slowly removed Jews from German society. However, with the cover of World War II, the Nazis created an elaborate and intensive system to work Jews as slaves and kill them. Hitler is considered one of the most evil people in history because of the Holocaust.

During the beginning of World War II, the German war machine seemed unstoppable. However, the tide turned at the Battle of Stalingrad in the beginning of 1943. As the Allied Army got closer to Berlin, Hitler continued to control his regime from the safety of an underground bunker. Soon, even that was no longer safe. After writing his last will and political testament on April 29, 1945, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide on April 30, 1945.

Che Guevara

2010-10-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Ernesto Che Guevara’s birth happened under a garb of ambiguity. Guevara’s birth certificate records his birthday as June 14, 1928. His real birth date was May 14, 1928. In a way this typified the way Che spent most of his adult life.

The birth certificate was doctored because the family wanted to protect Che’s mother from scandal that would come about due to her being pregnant at the time of her marriage.

Che was born in Rosario, Argentina. He was the eldest of his 4 siblings. Che is a nickname that was acquired when Guevara was studying. It means "mate" or "friend" in South America. Che studied medicine in the University of Buenos Aires. He completed his studies in 1953.

It was at this point in time that Che’s life changed forever. Unable to watch Fulgencio Batista oppress the poor people of Cuba, Che Guevara left the medical profession and joined the forces of Fidel Castro. Castro and his forces which now included Che, crossed the Caribbean in 1956, in a treacherous journey aboard the yacht –Granma. The invading party landed and fought bravely to conquer The Sierra Maestra.

Che Guevara was a natural at warfare. He was soon made commander of Castro’s forces. A large part of the Guerilla forces led by Castro and Guevara, sometimes above 80 percent, were peasants, some dispossessed, all abused by feudal land arrangements of Cuba before the revolution. The guerrilla warfare spanned over a period of two years, Che’s men eventually vanquished Batista’s forces.

Guevara took special delight in torturing and killing traitors and informants. Executions were personally done. He published a book called Guerilla Warfare. It became the definitive work on that form of battle. It documented how a small group of irregulars could defeat the organized army of the Government by drumming up support from the common man on the street.

The only quality required to take on a strong oppressor was to have the will to do so. The cult that was to surround Che Guevara for the rest of his life and death was beginning to build.

Gradually the battle in Cuba changed from one that was purely centered on the ouster of Batista to one that was concerned with the social and economic development of the country. Che wanted to cut down the land lords to size. He was a great believer in the Zapatista phrase "Land for those who work it." On October 7, 1959, Che became the director of the industrialization program of the National Agrarian Reform Institute.

However he left the job a month later because he became the head of the National Bank of Cuba. Che realized that monetary funding was essential to the revolution. He began changing the banking system at a fundamental level. Che Guevara’s greatest contribution was to implement controls over the foreign currency reserves held by Cuba.

Six years later in 1965, Che dropped out of public life completely. He was last seen after his return to Cuba from a tour to China, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, and Congo. Initially there was great curiosity over the mystery of the missing second in command. It was learnt later that he had resurfaced in Bolivia to lead the revolution against President René Barrientos. Guerrilla warfare commenced again in the jungles of Bolivia. But the Bolivian army was trained by foreign military experts. They were prepared for everything that Che had to throw at them.

Che Guevara was executed in Vallegrande. He was 39 years old. The circumstances surrounding his death have added to his mystique. He was taken to an old school house and was tied to a board. Che Guevara’s alleged last words to the firing squad were "Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man".

Over the years Che Guevara has been lionized in Latin America and immortalized all over the world. Che has been portrayed in the musical play, Evita where he is the narrator. A 1960’s photograph of his by the photographer Alberto Korda has become one of the most easily recognizable images.

It has become a symbol for freedom and liberty. There were many political parties that were started by similar minded idealists all over the world. These parties espoused Che’s values but most of them have died natural deaths.

Today, it has become cool to own a part of Che. It could be in the form of a T-shirt, cap, football or bumper car sticker. Not many people understand or even attempt to understand what he stood for but they know that being part of the Che cult is the thing to do.

Abraham Lincoln

2010-10-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Full Name: Mr. Abraham Lincoln / Abe LincolnDate of Birth: February 12, 1809
Place of Birth: Hodgenville, Kentucky, USADied: April 15, 1865Place of Death: Washington, D.C., USAClassification: Leaders & Revolutionaries

Being born on a farm in rural Hardin, Kentucky didn’t inhibit Abraham Lincoln. Working on his father’s farm and digesting all the literature he could in his spare time, Lincoln’s self-taught education was probably better than anything he would have received at school. And, being born to parents who thought the slave trade despicable, Lincoln’s hard path to abolish slavery in the entire country led him to become the most impressive, well remembered, and perhaps greatest president of the United States of America.

Lincoln had to work twice as hard as someone from a wealthy or well-connected family to attain his post as a lawyer in Illinois, and later as a congressman for the state. Without a formal education behind him, his oratory skills and debates won him national recognition. In his debate with Stephen Douglas in 1858, he won the backing of the Republican Party and a nomination for president. With a drive that knew no limit, he began his crusade to become the first Republican President of the United States.

When a group of Southern States seceded from the Union States to create The Confederate States of America, Lincoln in his Inaugural Address states, “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you.”

With a country on the brink of civil war, Lincoln, with great care and planning, was able to keep the Union States staunchly cemented in their cause, where he called for nearly 100,000 soldiers to fight for the preservation of their country. The Confederate’s attack on Fort Sumter was the final straw that led the United States to war.

In 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States that declared all slaves free men. With the end of the civil war in 1864, Lincoln was re-elected president for a second term. His southern re-building efforts, to this day, have gone down in history as amazingly generous, allowing time to heal, and encouraging southerners to move ahead with the all the great prosperity and liberties they had enjoyed before.

During Abraham’s terms in office, he set up the Department of Agriculture, the income tax, started the transcontinental railroad, and set up a model that influenced the operation of all State-run universities.

With a continued fervor of re-building the United States, Lincoln continued his second term in office. However, upon a visit to the Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln at point-blank range. Booth escaped, but 12 days later was hunted down by federal agents and shot. After nine hours in a coma, Abraham Lincoln passed into history as the savior of the United States and ultimately as the “Great Emancipator” of slavery.

Bill Gates

2010-10-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates is one of the most influential people in the world. He is cofounder of one of the most recognized brands in the computer industry with nearly every desk top computer using at least one software program from Microsoft. According to the Forbes magazine, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world and has held the number one position for many years.

Gates was born and grew up in Seattle, Washington USA. His father, William H. Gates II was a Seattle attorney and his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates was a school teacher and chairperson of the United Way charity. Gates and his two sisters had a comfortable upbringing, with Gates being able to attend the exclusive secondary "Lakeside School".

Bill Gates started studying at Harvard University in 1973 where he spent time with Paul Allen. Gates and Allen worked on a version of the programming language BASIC, that was the basis for the MITS Altair (the first microcomputer available). He did not go on to graduate from Harvard University as he left in his junior year to start what was to become the largest computer software company in the world; Microsoft Corporation.
Bill Gates and the Microsoft Corporation "To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential." Microsoft Mission Statement
After dropping out of Harvard Bill Gates and his partner Paul Allen set about revolutionizing the computer industry. Gates believed there should be a computer on every office desk and in every home.

In 1975 the company Micro-soft was formed, which was an abbreviation of microcomputer software. It soon became simply "Microsoft"® and went on to completely change the way people use computers.

Microsoft helped to make the computer easier to use with its developed and purchased software, and made it a commercial success. The success of Microsoft began with the MS-DOS computer operating system that Gates licensed to IBM. Gates also set about protecting the royalties that he could acquire from computer software by aggressively fighting against all forms of software piracy, effectively creating the retail software market that now exists today. This move was quite controversial at the time as it was the freedom of sharing that produced much innovation and advances in the newly forming software industry. But it was this stand against software piracy, that was to be central in the great commercial success that Microsoft went on to achieve.
Bill Gates retired as Microsoft CEO in 2008.
Bill Gates Criticism
With his great success in the computer software industry also came many criticisms. With his ambitious and aggressive business philosophy, Gates or his Microsoft lawyers have been in and out of courtrooms fighting legal battles almost since Microsoft began.

The Microsoft monopoly sets about completely dominating every market it enters through either acquisition, aggressive business tactics or a combination of them. Many of the largest technology companies have fought legally against the actions of Microsoft, including Apple Computer, Netscape, Opera, WordPerfect, and sun Microsystems.
Bill Gates Net Worth
With an estimated wealth of $53 billion in 2006, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world and he should be starting to get used to the number spot as he has been there from the mid-ninties up until now. The famous investor Warren Buffett is gaining on Gates though with an estimated $46 billion in 2006.

Microsoft hasn't just made Bill Gates very wealthy though. According to the Forbes business magazine in 2004 Paul Allen, Microsoft cofounder was the 5th richest man in the world with an estimated $21 billion. While Bill Gates' long time friend and Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer was the 19th richest man in the world at $12.4 billion.

See more information the Bill Gates Net Worth page.
Bill Gates Philanthropy
Being the richest man in the world has also enabled Gates to create one of the world's largest charitable foundations. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has an endowment of more than $28 billion, with donations totaling more than $1 billion every year. The foundation was formed in 2000 after merging the "Gates Learning Foundation" and "William H. Gates Foundation". Their aim is to "bring innovations in health and learning to the global community".

Bill Gates continues to play a very active role in the workings of the Microsoft Company, but has handed the position of CEO over to Steve Ballmer. Gates now holds the positions of "Chairman" and "Chief Software Architect". He has started that he plans to take on fewer responsibilities at Microsoft and will eventually devote all his time to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 2006, the second richest man in the world, Warren Buffett pledged to give much of his vast fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bill Gates Receives a KBE
In March 2005 William H. Gates received an "honorary" knighthood from the queen of England. Gates was bestowed with the KBE Order (Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his services in reducing poverty and improving health in the developing countries of the world.
After the privately held ceremony in Buckingham Palace with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Gates commented on the recognition.."I am humbled and delighted. I am particularly pleased that this honor helps recognize the real heroes our foundation (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) supports to improve health in poor countries. Their incredible work is helping ensure that one day all people, no matter where they are born, will have the same opportunity for a healthy life, and I'm grateful to share this honor with them."

The KBE Order of the British Empire is the second highest Order given out, but it is only an honorary knighthood as only citizens that are British or a part of the Commonwealth receive the full Order. This means that Gates does not become Sir Bill Gates.

Bill Gates lives near Lake Washington with his wife Melinda French Gates and their three children. Interests of Gates include reading, golf and playing bridge.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

2010-10-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (Born 15 October 1931 in Rameshwaram, Madras Presidency, British India), usually referred to as Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam , was the 11th President of India, serving from 2002 to 2007, he was elected during the tenure of the National Democratic Alliance (India) coalition government, under prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. During his term as President, he was popularly known as the People's President.

Before his term as India's president, he worked as an aeronautical engineer with DRDO and ISRO. He is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology.In India he is highly respected as a scientist and as an engineer.

Kalam played a pivotal organisational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974. He is chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (Thiruvanthapuram), a professor at Anna University (Chennai) and adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India.

Political views

In his book India 2020 APJ Abdul Kalam strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and into adeveloped nation by the year 2020. He regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.

It has been reported that there is considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books authored by him .

Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology. He has proposed a research programme for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of Open source software over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of open source software on a large scale will bring the benefits of information technology to more people .

As an aerospace engineer

After graduating in Physics from St. Joseph's College in Tiruchirapalli, Abdul Kalam graduated with a diploma in the mid-1950s from Madras Institute of Technology specializing in Aeronautical Engineering . As the Project Director, he was heavily involved in the development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III). As Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme(IGMDP), he also played a major part in developing many missiles of India including Agni and Prithvi. Although the entire project has been criticised for being overrun and mismanaged. He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister and Secretary, Defence Research and Development Organisation from July 1992 to December 1999. Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period, and have been associated with Kalam although he was not directly involved with the nuclear programme at the time.

Honours

On April 29, 2009, he became the first Asian to be bestowed the Hoover Medal, America's top engineering prize, for his outstanding contribution to public service. The citation said that he is being recognised for making state-of-the-art healthcare available to the common man at affordable prices, bringing quality medical care to rural areas by establishing a link between doctors and technocrats, using spin-offs of defence technology to create state-of-the-art medical equipment and launching tele-medicine projects connecting remote rural-based hospitals to the super-specialty hospital. A pre-eminent scientist, a gifted engineer, and a true visionary, he is also a humble humanitarian in every sense of the word, it added.

On 13 September 2009, he was a recipient of the International von Kármán Wings Award.

The Government of India has honoured him with the nation's highest civilian honours: the Padma Bhushan in 1981; Padma Vibhushan in 1990; and the Bharat Ratna in 1997 for his work with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Indian government.

Kalam is the third President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna before being elected to the highest office, the other two being Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain. He is also the first scientist and first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan.

After his tenure as the president he is now a visiting guest professor at JSS University, Mysore. He has agreed to deliver a minimum of four lectures every year.