62 items in this section. Displaying page 6 of 7
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected the 40th president of the United States on November 4, 1980. At the age of 69, he was the oldest man and the first movie star ever sworn into that office. During his two terms in office, the popular president helped raise the nation’s spirits. He also oversaw the creation of large budget and trade deficits and ultimately effected a historical truce in cold war with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics....
Mikhail Gorbachev
He was born in Privol’noye, Russia. In 1985 Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party, and in 1988 he became president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Between 1985 and 1990, Gorbachev sought to reform Soviet society by introducing perestroika (restructuring) of the economy and glasnost’ (openness) in political and cultural affairs. He transferred power from the Communist Party to popularly elected legislatures in the union republics. Gorbachev also withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan, normalized relations with China, signed a series of arms control agreements with the United States, and cooperated with the U....
Margaret Sanger
Born into an Irish working class family on Sept 14, 1879 in Corning, New York, Margaret Sanger is known for her crusade to legalise birth control which later spurred the movement for women’s liberalisation. As a young girl Margaret witnessed her mother’s slow death worn out after 18 pregnancies and 11 live births. Later while working as a nurse and midwife in the poorest neighbourhoods of New York city before World War I she saw women deprived of their health, sexuality and ability to care for children already born....
Vladimir Ilich Lenin
Vladimir Ilich Lenin, founder of the Russian Communist party, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and first head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was also a masterly political thinker whose theories shaped Communist thought and influenced all factions of the Marxist movement. Lenin was born Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov on April 22, 1870, in the provincial city of Simbirsk on the Volga River. By all accounts, Lenin’s middle-class family was warm and loving....
Marilyn Monroe
Born Norma Jeane Baker on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, Marilyn Monroe became one of the most celebrated film personalities of her time. Though much has been made of Marilyn’s personal history, her life was the classic show-business tragedy. Stardom seemed a burden; being an international sex goddess, even more so. In 1946 she decided to change her name to Marilyn Monroe. Her career was launched with a role in All about Eve in 1950....
The Unknown Soldier
The year was 1989. China witnessed a major pro-democratic student uprising. The Chinese leaders in a horrific show of force vented their fury and frustration on student dissidents and their pro-democracy supporters who had gathered in the Tiananmen Square. Several hundred people were killed and thousands wounded when the People’s Liberation Army moved on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. As the first armoured vehicles smashed their way through a ring of burning buses into Tiananmen Square itself, student occupiers began to fight....
Satyajit Ray
One of India’s most distinguished film directors Satyajit Ray, was born on May 2, 1921 in West Bengal. Ray’s films are of universal interest despite the fact that most of his films were made in Bengali. His films are essentially about those things that make up the human race – relationships, emotions, struggle, conflicts, joys and sorrows. Satyajit Ray, the master story teller, has left cinematic heritage that belongs as much to India as to the world....
Here's Lucy
Some of you must have watched I Love Lucy, a popular serial on television featuring the wonderful scatter-brained redhead named Lucy. The show is a perennial favourite of people around the globe and its lead character, Lucy, is one of the most popular comedienne the world has seen. Lucille Desiree Ball was born on August 6, 1911, in Celoron, New York. She modelled as a teenager, winning national exposure as the Chesterfield Cigarette Girl in 1933....
Magic Johnson
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson was born in Lansing, Michigan on August 14, 1959 and is one of professional basketball’s premier guard. Magic Johnson is famous for his brilliant passing skills, all-round sublime talent and engaging personality. At 6ft 9 inches he was the tallest point guard in League history and his illuminating smile made him the most admired as well. He became an instant legend and left people in awe of his skills even as a 15-yr-old high school player....
Bruce Lee
The Chinese American actor Bruce Lee, was born in San Francisco on November 27, 1940. Born a sickly child, he was named Li Jun Fan a female name by his mother to ward off evil spirits. His dad an Hong Kong opera singer returned back to Hong Kong along with his family in 1941. As a kid martial arts and bodybuilding were his only preoccupation, studies didn’t interest him. In 1946 he appeared in first of many films as a child actor....