Biographies of people who made a difference and shaped our world. Short profiles for children on men and women who changed our world with path breaking ideas and actions. Personalities include statesmen, leaders, political thinkers, inventors, scientists, artists, writers, actors, sports persons and achievers.
63 items in this section. Displaying page 1 of 7
Michelangelo: The Greatest Artist in Human History
Michelangelo (1475 – 1564): More than 500 years ago a young artist studied dead bodies, even went through their organs, and their muscles and bones, so that he could turn a block of white marble into the shape of a living, breathing man. That young man was an Italian sculptor and painter Michelangelo. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, best known as Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. His work has deeply influenced Western Art and he is the best-documented artist of the 16th century given the sheer volume of his work....
Emmeline Pankhurst: Leading the battle for Women's right to vote
Emmeline Pankhurst (1858 - 1928): It was a little over 100 years ago that women were first allowed to vote in the United Kingdom of Britain. Till 1918, only men were allowed to vote in the British elections to Parliament. The battle for universal suffrage, or men and women voting as equals, was led by the British political activist Emmeline Pankhurst. She fought a long and hard battle during which she was arrested more than seven times, and had to leave her three daughters with cousins so that she could continue the fight....
Louis Pasteur: The man who discovered vaccination
Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895): The next time you chomp on cheese or sip some wine, remember the French scientist Louis Pasteur who discovered that spoiled milk, fermented beer and wine, and many diseases are caused by bacteria. Millions of people are saved from bites from rabid dogs because of the rabies vaccine developed by Louis Pasteur. Bacteria are tiny, living organisms that are only visible under a microscope. More than 150 years ago, Pasteur discovered that heating milk between 60 to 100 degrees Celsius kills the bacteria....
Subhas Chandra Bose: The first man to set up a government of free India
Subhas Chandra Bose (1867 to 1945): Can the enemy of your enemy be your friend? Would you ask your enemy’s enemy for help even if they had done things that were terrible? The famous Indian freedom fighter, Subhas Chandra Bose made this troubling choice in his fight to liberate India of British rule during World War II. He reached out to Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in order to fight against British rule. He did not live to see India gain independence....
Galileo Galilei: The Italian who figured that planets revolve around the sun
Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642): Nearly 400 years ago, an Italian mathematician told the world that the planets revolve around the sun. And he was severely punished for it. But he stood by his words and spent the last days of his life under house arrest. This was Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaulti de Galilei, or Galileo Galilei. Born on the 15th of February, 1564, Galileo was an Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer. Galileo has been called the father of observational astronomy, the father of modern physics, the father of modern science, and the father of scientific method....
B.R. Ambedkar: Father of the Indian Constitution
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891 – 1956): The slogan “Jai Bhim” is a salute to the man who spent his life fighting for the rights of the weakest citizens of India. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is remembered as the father of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution of India is a guiding light for the values that should govern India. After independence, the responsibility of leading the task of writing the Constitution was given to Ambedkar. He was India’s first Minister of Law and Justice and fought tirelessly against social discrimination of India’s poorest minority class....
Florence Nightingale: The Lady With A Lamp
Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910) Today, it is common knowledge that female nurses play an important role in treating patients. However, this was not always the case. Florence Nightingale helped build the reputation of nurses as we know it today. She was a social worker, statistician and founder of modern nursing. Nightingale used to train nurses during the Crimean war and would often treat soldiers under the cover of darkness. This led to English society giving her the title, The Lady With A Lamp....
Confucius: The philosopher-teacher who taught kings how to govern
Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC): When the world thinks of traditional Chinese philosophy, they think of Confucius. He was the philosopher-teacher who taught kings and officials on how to govern. He was the man people turned to understand how to be good human beings. Some may think Confucius was a traditional old man. After all, he was the master of rituals and believed deeply in their value. But Confucius wasn’t so simple. According to him, ritual and music were a way to learn values....
Buckminster Fuller: A Scholar, a Scientist and an Inventor
Buckminster Fuller (1895 – 1983): Imagine if you were a scientist, working in the freezing South Pole. You would be staying in a curious, dome-like structure that must be capable of standing up to strong winds and blizzards. It is likely that you would be staying in a Geodesic dome. The Geodesic dome is one of the many inventions of Richard Buckminster Fuller. It originated from an elegantly simple idea. Fuller understood that the triangle is an extremely stable shape....
William Shakespeare: The Father of The English Language
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616): “Neither here nor there”, “with bated breath”, “vanish into thin air”… Words we use today, but they were written by one very talented writer nearly 500 years ago. The English language as we know it today owes a lot to William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is considered the greatest writer in the English language and the greatest playwright to have ever lived. Born on the 26th of April 1564, his complete works include 39 plays and 154 sonnets....
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