Argentine Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara, was a major figure of the Cuban Revolution. A physician by profession, he developed radical views upon witnessing the injustices in the world and joined Fidel Castro’s revolutionary 26th of July Movement. Assassinated in 1967, he remains both a revered and reviled historical figure.
Oskar Schindler was a German industrialist who displayed extraordinary dedication and courage to save the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. Oskar Schindler's act is viewed by many as the kind of act that restores faith in humanity. His inspirational and heart-warming story was adapted into an Oscar-winning film titled Schindler's List.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American recording artist, guitarist, and singer-songwriter. Characterized by a mixture of electric guitar and spiritual lyrics, Tharpe's music played an influential role in the development of rock and roll. Her music influenced several rock-and-roll musicians like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Chuck Berry. She is often referred to as the Godmother of rock and roll.
Benjamin Banneker was born to a free African-American mother and a former slave father, and was largely self-educated. While he showed immense talent in both mathematics and astronomy, having predicted a solar eclipse with precision, he also wrote essays on civil rights and rallied against slavery.
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer, actor, director, and songwriter. He is remembered for composing and performing thoughtful, literate, and theatrical songs. Apart from inspiring French musicians, Brel's works have also had a major influence on English-speaking performers like David Bowie, Scott Walker, Rod McKuen, Marc Almond, and Alex Harvey. Brel is the third-best-selling Belgian music artist of all time.
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher remembered for developing deconstruction, a form of semiotic analysis. Derrida is one of the most influential figures associated with postmodern philosophy and post-structuralism. He also had a major influence on academic disciplines like philosophy, law, political theory, anthropology, applied linguistics, and historiography. He also influenced music, art criticism, art, and architecture.
Miriam Hopkins was an American actress widely regarded as a pioneer of TV drama. She became the first performer to earn an Academy Award nomination for a performance in a color film; she was nominated under the Best Actress category for her portrayal of the title role in the 1935 historical drama film, Becky Sharp.
Anna Freud was a British psychoanalyst. The daughter of Sigmund Freud, Anna followed in the footsteps of her father and made important contributions to the field of psychoanalysis. Alongside Melanie Klein and Hermine Hug-Hellmuth, Anna Freud is counted among the founders of psychoanalytic child psychology. Her work and contributions were featured in a documentary titled The Century of the Self.
Joseph Pilates was a German physical trainer. He is credited with developing and popularizing the Pilates method of physical training. Originally a bodybuilder and gymnast, Pilates studied the movements of animals, especially cats, and modeled his fitness training based on this. He was featured in a documentary movie titled A Movement of Movement.
Pope Pius XII served as the head of the Catholic Church and the sovereign of the Vatican City from 1939 till 1958. Of the many positions he had held, one was the secretaryship of the Department of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. He is remembered for negotiating the treaty of Reichskonkordat.
Ioannis Kapodistrias was a Greek statesman who served as the first Governor of Greece from 1828 to 1831. One of the most distinguished diplomats and politicians of Europe, Kapodistrias had served as the Foreign Minister of Russia from 1816 to 1822. Considered an architect of Greek independence, Ioannis Kapodistrias is also regarded as the founder of the modern Greek state.
Pieter Zeeman was a Dutch physicist whose discovery of the Zeeman effect earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physics in 1902, which he shared with Hendrik Lorentz. Over the course of his career, Zeeman received several other awards, such as the Matteucci Medal in 1912, Henry Draper Medal in 1921, Rumford Medal in 1922, and Franklin Medal in 1925.
Alec Douglas-Home was a British politician. He served as the United Kingdom's prime minister for 363 days, becoming the second briefest prime minister of the 20th century. During his premiership, his government passed the abolition of resale price maintenance legislation in 1964.
Alexander I of Yugoslavia reigned as the king of Yugoslavia from 1921 until his death in 1934. During a state visit to France, Alexander was murdered by Bulgarian Vlado Chernozemski. The assassination inspired the opening of Christopher Hyde's book, The Second Assassin. Alexander's life and career inspired a TV series titled Alexander of Yugoslavia.
Marek Grechuta was a Polish singer, composer, songwriter, and lyricist. He is credited with co-founding a cabaret called Anawa when he was still studying at Kraków's Tadeusz KoÅ›ciuszko University of Technology. In 1971, he exited from Anawa and founded a band called WIEM. Marek Grechuta was prolific and produced a large number of hits during his career.
Initially a businessman, who redefined the confectionery and chocolate industry of Finland and led to the development of the innovative chocolate brand Fazer Blue, Karl Fazer was also a talented sport shooter. He was part of the Finnish shooting team at the 1912 Olympic games. He also established several natural parks.
Sixteenth-century Italian anatomist Gabriele Falloppio was also a Catholic priest. Of his many discoveries, the most well-known are the tubes which link the ovaries to the uterus, named fallopian tubes. He was also the first to offer written description of a condom as a protective measure against syphilis.
French architect Claude Perrault is best known for his design of the Louvre’s eastern façade. Trained in math and medicine, he began his career as a physician. He was also part of the Academy of Sciences. Apart from designing the Colonnade, he had also designed the Paris Observatory.
Morris West was an Australian writer and playwright who often focused on international politics in his works. He was highly acclaimed as a novelist and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. Before becoming a professional writer, he ran his own radio production company. He was honored with the title of Officer of the Order of Australia.
Maurice Allais was a French economist and physicist. Much revered and respected within the realm of economic analysis, Maurice Allais was honored with the prestigious Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1988. Allais' works served as a major influence on popular French economists like Jacques Lesourne, Gérard Debreu, Marcel Boiteux, and Edmond Malinvaud.
Suidger, better known as Pope Clement II, had initially served as the bishop of Bamberg. He ushered in many reforms and brought in regulations against simony. His death after a trip to Germany was attributed to poisoning with lead sugar, probably by the supporters of his successor, Benedict IX.
Georgi Sava Rakovski was a Bulgarian revolutionary, writer, and freemason. He played an important role during the Bulgarian National Revival and took an active part in the resistance against Ottoman rule in Bulgaria. Georgi Sava Rakovski is best remembered for his work Gorski Patnik, which he wrote while hiding from Turkish authorities during the Crimean War.
Carl Gustaf Mannerheim was a Finnish entomologist who devoted much of his time to acquire a large scientific collection of Coleoptera. He is also remembered for his service as the chief judge of the Imperial Court of Appeals from 1839 until his death in 1854.
Recipient of the ASME Medal, Belizean-born American mechanical engineer Max Faget, considered an engineering genius, began research for human spaceflight during his time at the NACA. He was the principal designer of the Mercury spacecraft and also worked on the Gemini and Apollo vehicles and the Space Shuttle and retired from NASA as chief of engineering and operations.
English medical missionary to Newfoundland Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell KCMG, is noted for his years of service to the people of the colony. His relentless efforts in such pursuit led him to form the philanthropic organization Grenfell Mission and the International Grenfell Association to provide different services, including medical, social, educational, religious, and rehabilitation to the people there.