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Alec Guinness went from being an ad copywriter, to a Shakespearean stage actor, to delivering an Academy Award-winning performance as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai. He was part of the Royal Naval Reserve during World War II and received the knighthood for his contribution to arts.
Michael Faraday was an English scientist known for his contribution to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. Considered one of the most influential scientists ever, Faraday's inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices established the basis for electric motor technology. His research also helped understand the concept of the electromagnetic field. Ernest Rutherford called him one of the greatest scientific discoverers ever.
Aziz Shavershian was a Russian-born Australian personal trainer, bodybuilder, and model. He started posting videos on YouTube in 2007, establishing a cult following. Aziz was the poster boy of aesthetics, a subculture of amateur bodybuilding. Before his death, due to a heart attack, Aziz Shavershian had established a clothing line and his own protein label called Protein of the Gods.
Soichiro Honda was a Japanese industrialist and engineer. He is credited with establishing the world-renowned automobile manufacturer, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. He is also credited with overseeing the company's growth from a wooden shack manufacturing unit to a multinational conglomerate manufacturer of motorcycle and automobile. Soichiro Honda was made an inductee of the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1989.
A pioneering leader of the women’s suffrage movement in Britain, Millicent Fawcett also co-established the Newnham College, Cambridge, which was one of the first English women’s universities. She also served as the president of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and investigated British concentration camps during the South African War.
Former archbishop of Paris, Aaron Jean-Marie Lustiger was the inspiration behind the film The Jewish Cardinal. Born a Jewish, he was converted to Catholicism at 13 but lost his mother at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during the Nazi Holocaust. He won the Nostra Aetate Award for improving Catholic-Jewish ties.
Apart from being a qualified physician, Frederick Cook was also a passionate explorer. He was initially the surgeon on explorer Robert E. Peary’s team. He later created controversy by conflicting with Peary, saying it was him and not Peary who had first explored the North Pole, though his claims were denounced.
Friedrich Engels was a German philosopher, political scientist, and revolutionary socialist. Along with Karl Marx, Engels helped develop Marxism, which has had a profound impact on fields like philosophy and anthropology. Engels is credited with helping Marx publish Das Kapital, a foundational theoretical work in politics, economics, and materialist philosophy. He also co-authored influential political documents like The Communist Manifesto.
Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht was not just a national junior champion but also made it to the 2018 Vuelta a España starlist. The Lotto–Soudal member was just 22 when he died of internal hemorrhage after crashing into a concrete culvert during the 3rd stage of the 2019 Tour de Pologne.
James Gibbs, one of the most significant architects of his time, was trained in Rome and later merged the Italian and English styles of architecture. His best-known work includes the East Anglican St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London. While his works had elements of Baroque architecture, he was also influenced by Palladianism.
Post-Keynesian economist Joan Robinson specialized in monetary economics and is remembered for her research and academic activities in India, China, and Korea. Initially a Cambridge lecturer, she later taught at Girton College and became the first woman to be made an honorary fellow of King's College.
Nicknamed Killer Caldwell, Australian military aviator Clive Caldwell, who served during World War II, is known to have shot down many enemy aircrafts. He also commanded RAF and RAAF units. He later resigned in protest of misuse of Australian fighter units and was then court-martialed for liquor transactions.
Anglo Saxon king Oswald of Northumbria, son of King Aethelfrith, was the first to build Celtic Christian missionaries in his kingdom. He and his brother had converted to Christianity after being expelled from Northumbria by their uncle, King Edwin. Oswald was eventually killed by pagan king Penda.
Recipient of the People's Artist of the USSR honour and the USSR State Prize (posthumously), Soviet and Russian actor Anatoli Papanov rose to fame starring in the war-film The Alive and the Dead. He is however best-remembered for playing comedic roles in films like The Diamond Arm. Papanov was also a highly sought-after voice-actor and contributed to over hundred cartoons.
Otto Kretschmer was a German submarine and naval officer who played an important role in World War II. Nicknamed Silent Otto, Kretschmer was a pioneer in using the silent running feature of naval submarines. From 1939 to 1941, Kretschmer sank 44 ships, for which he was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Amos Whitney was in his early teens when he apprenticed at a machine company. He is best remembered for his manufacturing company Pratt & Whitney, which he set up with Francis A. Pratt. He had designed a number of innovative machine parts for sewing machines, guns, and typewriters.
Robert Muldoon was a New Zealand politician remembered for serving as the Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984. He also served as the Minister of Finance from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1984. In 1984, Robert Muldoon became the second New Zealand Prime Minister to be honored with a knighthood while still in office.
Heinrich Otto Wieland was a German chemist known for his research into bile acids, for which he won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He studied under prominent chemist and professor Johannes Thiele at the University of Munich. He had a brilliant academic career and worked actively to protect Jewish students after the passage of the Nuremberg Laws.
Polish mathematician and statistician Jerzy Neyman is remembered for pioneering theoretical statistics and also taught at prestigious institutes such as UCB and UCL. The National Medal of Science winner established the theories of estimation and hypotheses testing, which have been widely used in areas such as medicine and genetics.
John Willie was a British fetish photographer and artist. He is credited with editing and publishing the first 20 copies of a fetish magazine named Bizarre. The magazine had a major impact on several future fetish-themed publications. In 2009, John Willie was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.
