Biography

Plotinus was born in Upper Egypt, more specifically in Lycopolis in 204 CE. When he was twenty-eight he moved to Alexandria to study philosophy. While in Alexandria, he was tremendously influenced by Plato and Aristotle and therefore studied their works immensely. Subsequent to working under Ammonius for approximately ten years, he joined the Emperor Gordians … Read more

For four centuries Nostradamus’s prophecies have inspired fear and controversy. His followers say he predicted the French Revolution, the birth and rise of Hitler, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Did he, as his believers claim, predict some of history’s most monumental events – from the Great Fire of London to the launch disaster … Read more

Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas on April 6th, 1971 to Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla. Abraham was a shipping clerk for a chemical company Abraham being a well respected Mexican musician, who only sang English songs, and had his career ruined because of that. American people didnt respect him because he was Mexican, and … Read more

Kurt Donald Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington ( about 60 miles southwest of Seattle). He grew up in a mid-class society and was hyperactive as child, so his doctor put him on Ritalin ( a morphine based drug to help him concentrate in school). The drug often kept him up until 4am. So he … Read more

Martin Luther was born in Eisieben, Germany, on November 10,1483, St. Martin’s Day. He was the son of Has Luther, a coal miner, and Margarethe. Martin’s parents were of the middle class and were unbending in their disciplinary acts. He attended the best schools in his region but all of them held to the barbaric … Read more

Gaileo Galilei’s father, Vincenzo Galilei (1520-1591), who described himself as a nobleman of Florence, was a professional musician. He carried out experiments on strings to support his musical theories. Galileo studied medicine at the university of Pisa, but his real interests were always in mathematics and natural philosophy. He is chiefly remembered for his work … Read more

John Marshall was born in Fauquier County, Virginia on September 4, 1755. He was the first son of Thomas Marshall and Mary Randolph Keith. His role in American history is undoubtedly a very important one. As a boy, Marshall was educated by his father. He learned to read and write, along with some lessons in … Read more

“We could describe (Heinrich) Schliemann’s excavations on the hill of Hissarlik and consider their results without speaking of Troy or even alluding to it,” Georges Perrot wrote in 1891 in his Journal des Savants. “Even then, they would have added a whole new chapter to the history of civilization, the history of art” (qtd. in … Read more

Frederic Francois Chopin was born in Zelazowa-Wola, near Warsaw, Poland. No one is exactly sure about his birth date; he was born on February 22 or March 1, 1810. He was very gifted when it came to music and was playing the piano in public by the time he was eight years old. Soon after … Read more

Dmitri Mendeleev was one of the most famous modern-day scientists of all time who contributed greatly to the worlds fields of science, technology, and politics. He helped modernize the world and set it farther ahead into the future. Mendeleev also made studying chemistry easier, by creating a table with the elements and the atomic weights … Read more

Dylan Thomas was born on October 14, 1914, in Upland, Swansea. His father, David John Thomas, received a degree at University College Aberystwyth and was valedictorian in English, he taught English at Swansea Grammar School. His father, quick tempered and intimidating had a beautiful, sonorous voice for reading aloud (which Dylan inherited). Florence Hannah Williams, … Read more

The early twentieth century was a turning point in American history-especially in regards to the acquisition of women’s rights. While the era was considered to be prosperous and later thought to be a happy-go-lucky time, in actuality, it was a time of grave social conflict and human suffering (Parish, 110). Among those who endured much … Read more

Charles H. Keating Jr. has been the focus of criminal investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Justice Department, The Securities and Exchange Commission, and the House Banking Committee for a six-year shadow of the nation’s biggest savings-and loan debacle. The federal government proclaims that he fraudulently managed California’s Lincoln … Read more

Tycho Brahe was born on December 14th, 1546 in a town called Knudstrup in Scania, Denmark. His early years were filled with pain, as he was kidnapped by his uncle and raised in his castle in Tostrup, Scania. His education was backed by his uncle, and he went to the University of Copenhagen to study … Read more

Colonel Oleg Vladmirovich Penkovsky is a name that doesn’t ring a bell for most people. However, for many in the intelligence community this name is as about household as you can get. He is a legend in his own right. Those who lived during and through the Cuban missile crisis actually benefited from this man’s … Read more

Knowledge is gained only through experience, and experiences only exist in the mind as individual units of thought. This theory of knowledge belonged to David Hume, a Scottish philosopher. Hume was born on April 26, 1711, as his familys second son. His father died when he was an infant and left his mother to care … Read more

Rutherford was born on August 30, 1871, in Nelson, New Zealand. He was educated at the University of New Zealand and the University of Cambridge. He was a professor of physics at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec from 1989 to 1907. He was also professor at the University of Manchester in England. After 1919 he … Read more

Once in a while, a human being comes along with the genius to change the worldviews for all time to come. One such man, named Isaac Asimov, was born in Russia on January 2, 1920. He and his parents immigrated to New York City, in 1923. Asimov originally studied science in school, but later discovered … Read more

Doroteo Aranga learned to hate aristocratic Dons, who worked he and many other Mexicans like slaves, Doroteo Aranga also known as Pancho villa hated aristocratic because he made them work like animals all day long with little to eat. Even more so, he hated ignorance within the Mexican people that allowed such injustices. At the … Read more

He was a man who saved over 100,000 lives, risking his own for each one. Then he disappeared. Raoul Wallenberg was considered a great hero for many reasons: his background, heroic actions and influence on many people, including myself. Despite his fathers death, Raoul had an exceptionally privileged childhood. He was born on August 4, … Read more

John Anthony Burgess Wilson was born on February 25, 1917, in Manchester, England. He was raised up by this aunt and later by his stepmother. He studied at Xaverian College and Manchester University, where he studied English language and literature. During World War II, Burgess served at the Royal Army Medical corps. In 1942 he … Read more

Not exactly considered a “serious” poet or author, Publius Ovidius Naso, or Ovid as he is more commonly called, captured the spirit of Greek and Roman mythology in his most noted work The Metamorphoses. The stories told in this work are commonly thought of as not serious enough for adults. Therefore, many of these stories … Read more

The life of Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was one of constant activity, immense energy, and enduring accomplishments. As the twenty-sixth President of the United States, Roosevelt was the wielder of the Big Stick, the builder of the Panama Canal, an avid conservationist, and the nemesis of the corporate trusts that threatened to monopolize American business at … Read more

Milton Friedman is known as one of the top economists in the world. He has a Ph. D. from Columbia University, won a Noble Memorial Prize in economics and has also been awarded many honorary degrees by other Universities in the United States. As you can tell, Milton Friedman has played a significant part in … Read more

Madonna Born August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan to a lower-middle class Italian-Catholic household, Madonna Louise Ciccone was the third eldest daughter born. Her father Chrysler engineer Sylvio (Tony) Ciccone and French-Canadienne Madonna Fortin, for whom the future superstar was named Veronica was added to her name for confirmation. While at a young age … Read more

George Frederick Handel was born on February 24, 1685 in Halle, Germany. One of the greatest composers of the late baroque period (1700-50) and, during his lifetime, perhaps the most internationally famous of all musicians. Handel was born February 24, 1685, in Halle, Germany, to a family of no musical distinction. His own musical talent, … Read more

General Douglas MacArthur was born on Jan. 26, 1880 at Little Rock Barracks, Arkansas. He died April 5, 1964 in Washington, D. C. He was the general who commanded the Southwest Pacific Theatre in World War II, administered postwar Japan during the Allied occupation that followed, and led United Nations forces during the first nine … Read more

Every so often throughout history, great doers and thinkers come along that break the mold and set new standards. People like Caesar, Shakespeare, Napoleon and Jesus have been studied and immortalized in volumes of texts. Then there are others who are not as well known. People like Ralph Waldo Emerson. From his life, writings, associates, … Read more

Bill Gates, cofounder of the Microsoft corporation, holds 30. 7 percent of its stock making him one of the richest people in the United States. He was the marketing and sales strategist behind many of Microsoft’s software deals. Their software became the industry standard in the early 1980s and has just increased in distribution as … Read more

The 1960’s were characterized as an era full of turmoil. During this era, one of the most controversial topics was the fight over civil rights. One of the key political figures against civil rights movement and pro-segregation was George Wallace. Wallace represented the racist southern view. Many Americans were segregationist, but Wallace was adamant about … Read more

Babe Ruth, born George Ruth, Jr. , is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. Everybody knows how great a hitter Babe was and how he virtually invented the home run. Not everybody knows how great of a pitcher Babe was, even though he was one of the best left-handed … Read more

Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946, in the small town of Hope, Arkansas. He was named after his father, William Jefferson Blythe II, who had been killed in a car accident just three months before his son’s birth. Needing a way to support herself and her new child, Bill … Read more

The attitude of Warhol only confused society more. Instead of hiding his association with commercial art as other artists did, drawing and dividing the line between it and real art, he erased the line. The Pop artists did images that anybody walking down Broadway could recognize in a split second. (Warhol) Pop artist figures competed … Read more

Joseph Stalin was a man who had many accomplishments in his lifetime. He was a family man, a business man, and a political leader of one of the worlds largest super powers. He is noted for having control over more people for a greater amount of time than anyone before or since his time. He … Read more

Gwendolyn Brooks was born to Keziah Corine Wims and David Anderson Brooks on June 17, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas. Her family moved to their permanent residence on Champlin Avenue in Chicago when Brooks was four. Shortly after their move (at the age of seven), Brooks began rhyming and by the young age of thirteen she … Read more

Blaise Pascal was born at Clermont on June 19, 1623, and died in Paris on Aug. 19, 1662. His father, a local judge at Clermont, and himself of some scientific reputation, moved to Paris in 1631, for two main reasons, to prosecute his own scientific studies, and to carry on the education of his only … Read more

Henry Graham Greene was born on 2 October 1904 in Berkhamsted in England and was one of six children. At the age of eight he went to the Berkhamsted school. As a teenager he was under so immense pressure that he got psychological problems and suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1922 he was enrolled on … Read more

Arthur Neville Chamberlain was born in Birmingham, England, on March 18, 1869. After being educated at Rugby School he spent seven years managing his father’s plantation in the Bahamas. Chamberlain arrived back in England in 1897 where he went into the copper-brass business. He was active in local politics and in 1915 was elected Lord … Read more

Alexander Calder was one of the most innovative and original American artists of the twentieth century. In 1926, Calder arrived in Paris and devoted himself to a project called the Circus that occupied him for over five years. This contains characters and animals made out of wire, scraps of cloth, wood, cork, labels, bits of … Read more