Top:/Social Studies/Biography

Amazing Americans: Discover the inventors, politicians, performers, activists and other everyday people who made this country what it is today.

Biographical Dictionary: A one-stop web site for brief biographical information; the Biographical Dictionaryis an excellent and fast source of information; it covers"more than 28,000 notable men and women who have shaped our world from ancient to modern times"

Biography - Website of the biography channel. Has short biographies on over 25,000 people. You can search for famous people born on your birthday.

Famous people: The online database which chronicles the lives of people throughout the world. The list includes historical figures, celebrities, and thosse individuals who have influenced the lives of others.

Life's Top 100 People: The top 100 people who shaped the last 1000 years - SEARCHABLE by keyword

TIME 100 - The 100 most important people of the 20th century (as profiled by Time magazine" Leaders & Revolutionaries; Artists & Entertainers; Builders & Titans; Scientists & Thinkers; Heroes & Icons

Abbas I of Persia...Shāh ‘Abbās, The Great born on ( January 27, 1571 - January 19, 1629) was Shah of Iran, and the most eminent ruler of the Safavid Dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad.

John Adams, Jr. (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) served as America's first Vice President (1789–1797) and as its second President (1797–1801).

Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House Movement and the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize....Known as the mother of social work, Addams was also a pacifist and a suffragette; she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Gustav II Adolph was King of Sweden from 1611 until his death in battle. His advancements in military science made Sweden the dominant Baltic power for the next one hundred years (see Swedish Empire). He is also the only Swedish monarch to be styled "the Great".

Akbar was the greatest of India's Mughal emperors.

Pope Alexander VI (1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503),( one oif the Borgias), who was Pope from 1492 to 1503, is the most controversial of the secular popes of the Renaissance and one whose surname became a byword for the debased standards of the papacy of that era.

Alexander the Great...The world's largest site on Alexander the Great: biography in 18 parts, 70 translated texts (including all relevant Babylonian and Persian texts), ...

Alexander II ...1818-1881...EMPEROR OF ALL RUSSIA 1855-1881...implemented important reforms, notably the abolition of serfdom, as well as changes in national, military and municipal organization.

Alfred the Great was king of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex from 871 to 899...his most enduring work was his legal code, called Deemings, or Book of Dooms (Book of Laws).

Muhammad Ali (c. 1769 - August 2, 1849), was Wāli of Egypt and Sudan, and is regarded as the "founder of modern Egypt".

Ethan Allen (1738-1789), the folk hero of Vermont, was an unusually flamboyant farmer-turned statesman from Connecticut.

Salvador Allende (July 26, 1908 – September 11, 1973) was President of Chile from November 1970 until his death during the coup d'état of September 11, 1973.

Amenhotep III (c.1391 - c.1354 BC...The reign of the pharaoh Amenhotep III marks the zenith of ancient Egyptian civilisation, both in terms of political power and cultural achievement.

Susan B. Anthony 1820-1906 ...Her tireless campaign for women's suffrage made her a leader in the first wave of American feminism.

Marie Antoinette was married to Louis XVI of France at age 15, and was the mother of "lost Dauphi" Louis XVII. She is perhaps best remembered for her legendary excesses, and for her death: she was executed by guillotine at the height of the French Revolution in 1793, for the crime of treason.

Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian militant and politician. As Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian National Authority, Arafat continuously fought against Israeli forces in the name of Palestinian self-determination

Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

King Arthur is a fabled British leader and a prominent figure in Britain's legendary history.

Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) was an Indian emperor, of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled from 273 BC to 232 BC. Often cited as one of India's greatest emperors...

Atahualpa (c. 1502 – July 26, 1533 Cajamarca, Peru), was the last sovereign emperor of the Tahuantinsuyu, or Inca Empire.

Ataturk was born in 1881. He is renown as the founder of the Republic of Turkey

Attalus I Soter (Greek: "Savior"; 269 BCE – 197 BCE) ruled Pergamon, a Greek polis in what is now Turkey, from 241 BCE to 197 BCE. He was the adoptive son of Eumenes I, whom he succeeded, and was the first of the Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king.

Attila the Hun (405–453), also sometimes known with the nickname as Attila the Scourge of God (Flagellum Dei) or simply Attila was the most powerful king of the Huns.

Bābur (February 14, 1483 – December 26, 1530) was a Turkic-speaking Muslim Emperor from Central Asia who founded the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal Empire which strengthened the Persianate[3] culture of Muslim India. He became the first leader of the Mughal Empire, one of India's most important empires of all time.

Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, and essayist. He is also known as a proponent of the scientific revolution.

Simone de Beauvoir (January 9, 1908 – April 14, 1986) was a French author and philosopher. Her 1949 treatise The Second Sex, is a detailed analysis of women's oppression and a foundational tract of contemporary feminism.

Otto von Bismarck, (1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), was a Prussian and German statesman of the 19th century, born to a wealthy family. As Minister-President of Prussia from 1862 to 1890, he engineered the Unification of Germany.

William Blackstone...Lectures by An English Lawyer Become The Blueprint for a New Nation's Laws and Leaders

Simon Bolivar...General that organized and led military forces to free the northern portion of South America from Spanish rule in the early nineteenth century.

Boudica ( formerly better known as Boadicea) (d. AD 60 or 61 ) was a queen of the Iceni people of Norfolk in Eastern Britain who led an uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.

Aaron Burr, Jr. (6 February 1756 – 14 September 1836) was an American politician, Revolutionary War hero and adventurer. He served as the third Vice President of the United States (1801–1805).

George Herbert Walker Bush (1924-) ... America's 41st President

Augustus Caesar | First Roman Emperor...grand-nephew of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar, July 12 or July 13, 100 BC or 102 BC – March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was a leading United States Southern politician and political philosopher

Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 37 to 41 A.D.

John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and was a central developer of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism or Reformed theology.

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) was the thirty-ninth President of the United States from 1977 to 1981, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Casimir III the Great ( April 30, 1310 – November 5, 1370), King of Poland (1333-70)...built many new castles, reformed the Polish army and Polish civil and criminal law.

Fidel Castro took control of Cuba by force and has remained its dictatorial leader for over four decades. As the leader of the only communist country in the Western Hemisphere, Castro has been the focus of international controversy.

Catherine II of Russia, called the Great ( 2 May 1729 – 17 November1796) reigned as Empress of Russia for 34 years, from June 28, 1762 until her death. She exemplifies the enlightened despot of her era.

Neville Chamberlain was British prime minister between 1937 and 1940, and is closely associated with the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany.

Charlemagne [i.e. Charles the Great] is the most discussed political leader of the 8th and 9th centuries. He became rule of a vast empire in Western Europe, and from 800 on held the title of Roman Emperor

Charles IV ( 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378), born Wenceslaus (Václav), was the eleventh king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1355 until his death.

Salmon P. Chase (January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist in the Civil War era

Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was the Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. He led the national government of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 to his death in 1975.

Winston Churchill...The master statesman stood alone against fascism and renewed the world's faith in the superiority of democracy.

Cicero ( January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and philosopher. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.

William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer who accompanied Meriwether Lewis on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Claudius ( August 1, 10 BC – October 13, 54) (Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus before his accession) was the fourth Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, 41 to his death in 54.

Henry Clay (1777-1852)...became perhaps the foremost legislator America ever produced.

Georges Clemenceau, 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the prime minister of France from 1906-1909 and 1917-1920. He led France during World War I and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles.

Cleopatra (January 69 BC– November 30, 30 BC) was a co-ruler of Egypt with her father ( Ptolemy XII Auletes), her brothers/husbands Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne, and, after Caesar's assassination, aligned with Mark Antony, with whom she produced twins.

Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings.

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born on August 19, 1946) was the forty-second President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001.

Confucius...551 BCE – 479 BCE) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought and life.

Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops in 306, who ruled an ever-growing portion of the Roman Empire until his death. Best known for being the first Christian Roman Emperor

Hernán(do) Cortés Pizarro,1485–December 2, 1547) was a Spanish conquistador who initiated the conquest of the Aztec Empire on behalf of Charles V, king of Castile and Holy Roman Emperor, in the early 16th century. Cortés was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English military and political leader. His New Model Army defeated the royalists in the English Civil War. After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, Cromwell dominated the short-lived English Republic, conquered Ireland and Scotland, and ruled as Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658.

Cyrus the Great ( ca. 576 or 590 BC — July 529 BC), also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Persian Empire

Demosthenes (384–322 BC) was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens.

Deng Xiaoping August 22, 1904 – February 19, 1997) was a prominent Chinese politician and reformer, and the late leader of the Communist Party of China and is generally credited with developing China into one of the fastest growing economies in the world and vastly increased the standard of living.

Benjamin Disraeli, 21 December 1804–19 April 1881) was a British Conservative statesman and literary figure. He served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister—the first and thus far only person of Jewish parentage to do so.

Frederick Douglass was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement, which fought to end slavery within the United States

Sir Francis Drake, made his "Famous Voyage" - the circumnavigation of the world in the sixteenth century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

Stefan Dušan, Perhaps the greatest of all Serbian leaders, was one of only two true emperors (tsars) of Serbia. Under his rule Serbia reached its territorial peak and, as the Serbian Empire was one of the larger states in Europe at the time.

Amelia Earhart Web site...includes biography and rare photos...The groundbreaking career and mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart continues to captivate fans worldwide. Her journey to becoming one of history's most famous female aviators is an inspiration to all.

Queen Elizabeth I , was directly responsible for putting England (at the time of her accession in 1558 a weak, divided backwater far outside the mainstream of European power and cultural development) on the road to becoming a true world economic and political power and restoring the country's lost sense of national pride.

Leif Ericson (c. 970 – c. 1020) was a Norse explorer known to be the first European to have landed in North America

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States (1974–1977) and 40th Vice President of the United States (1973–1974).

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry.

Francisco Franco was Fascist head and later formally became head of state of Nationalist Spain from October 1936, and of all of Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975.

Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most important Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a leading author, political theorist, politician, printer, scientist, inventor, civic activist, and diplomat.

Frederick I (Holy Roman Empire) (1123?-1190), Holy Roman emperor and king of Germany (1152-1190), king of Italy (1155-1190), and as Frederick III, duke of Swabia (1147-1152, 1167-1168), known as Frederick Barbarossa (“red beard”).

Frederick II of Prussia ruled the Kingdom of Prussia from 1740 to 1786. He was the third and last King in Prussia and became the King of Prussia in 1772. He was an " enlightened monarch" or "enlightened despot". Because of his accomplishments he became known as Frederick the Great

Vasco da Gama, 1460 or 1469 – December 24, 1524 in Kochi, India) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India.

Indira Gandhi (19 November 1917 - October 31, 1984) was the Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was India's first and to date only female prime minister

MOHANDAS GANDHI...Philosophy, non-violence, photographs of mahatma gandhi, Ghandi, Mahatma, Mohandas, peace, conflict resolution.

Charles de Gaulle (November 22, 1890 – November 9, 1970), in France commonly referred to as General de Gaulle or simply le General, was a French military leader and statesman.

Geronimo was the leader of the last American Indian fighting force formally to capitulate to the United States.

Genghis Khan c. 1162–1227), born Temüjin  was the Mongol founder, Khan (ruler) and posthumously declared Khagan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history.

Gilgamesh, who appears in the Sumerian king list, was the fifth king of Uruk, the son of Lugalbanda, ruling circa 2700 BC.

William Gladstone ( 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British Liberal Party statesman and Prime Minister ( 1868– 1874, 1880– 1885, 1886 and 1892– 1894). He was a notable political reformer

Emma Goldman is known as a rebel, an anarchist, an ardent proponent of birth control and free speech, a feminist, a lecturer and a writer.

"Al" Gore, Jr. (born March 31, 1948) was the forty-fifth Vice President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton.A prominent environmental activist, he shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Gore was the Democratic nominee for president in the 2000 election in which he won the popular vote by a plurality. A legal controversy over the Florida election recount, ultimately settled in favor of George W. Bush by the Supreme Court, made the election one of the most controversial in American history.

Che Guevara or el Che, was an Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary, political figure, and leader of Cuban and internationalist guerrillas.

Alexander Hamilton was one of the most influential of the United States' founding fathers.

Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called Hammurabi's Code, one of the first written codes of law in recorded history.

Hannibal Barca ( 247 BC – c. 183 BC;) was a Punic military commander and politician, later also working in other professions, who is popularly credited as one of the finest commanders in history.

Stephen Harper(born April 30, 1959) is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada, and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Warren Gamaliel Harding... twenty-ninth President of the United States

Hatchepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. She was believed to have been co-regent from about 1479 to 1458 BC (years 7 to 21 of Thutmose III) . She is regarded as the earliest know queen regnant in history and as the first great woman in recorded history.

Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England ... the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII. Henry VIII is famous for having been married six times. He wielded perhaps the most unfettered power of any English monarch, and brought about the English Reformation

Henry the Navigator ..( March 4, 1394 –November 13, 1460).was an infante (prince) of the Portuguese House of Aviz and an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire, being responsible for the beginning of the European worldwide explorations.

Theodor Herzl 1860-1904 Although he did not invent Zionism, Theodor Herzl is considered the father of the movement that eventually led to the founding of a Jewish state.

Hirohito (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25, 1926 until his death in 1989.

Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (The Nazi party). He was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, and became Fuhrer (leader) in 1934, remaining in power until his suicide in 1945.

Ho Chí Minh (May 19, 1890 – September 2, 1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary, who later became Prime Minister (1946–1955) and President (1946–1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).

Hulagu c. 1217 – 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia. A grandson of Genghis Khan and the brother of Arik Boke, Mongke and Kublai Khan, he became the first khan of the Ilkhanate of Persia.

Imhotep, was the world's first named architect who built Egypt's first pyramid, is often recognized as the world's first doctor, a priest,. scribe, sage, poet, astrologer, and a vizier and chief minister.

Isabella I of Castile (April 22, 1451 – November 26, 1504) was Queen regnant of Castile and Leon. She and her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon, laid the foundation for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Carlos I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor).

Ivan III the Great (22 January 1440, – 27 October 1505, ), was a Grand Prince of Moscow who first adopted a more pretentious title of the "grand duke of all the Russias." He quadrupled the territory of his state, claimed Moscow to be a Third Rome, built the Moscow Kremlin, and laid foundations for the Russian autocracy.

Ivan IV ( August 25, 1530, Moscow – March 18, 1584, Moscow) was the Grand Duke of Muscovy from 1533 to 1547 and was the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of tsar. His long reign saw the conquest of Tartary and Siberia and subsequent transformation of Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state.

Andrew Jackson...A brief biography of Andrew Jackson who became a national hero during the War of 1812, was a Congressman, a US Senator, a Judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court and President of the US

Thomas Jefferson Online...This PBS site explores the storied and controversial life of Thomas Jefferson through photo essays, background information, and classroom activities.

Jiang Zemin... born August 17, 1926) was the "core of the third generation" of Communist Party of China leaders, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004.

Joan of Arc, (c. 1412 – May 30, 1431) was a 15th century national heroine of France.

Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the thirty-sixth President of the United States (1963–1969).

Kangxi was the fourth emperor of the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty and he is considered one of the most important monarchs in China's history because of his triple role as military commander, statesman and scholar.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Jomo Kenyatta (October 20, 1894?[1] – August 22, 1978) served as the first Prime Minister (1963–1964) and President (1964–1978) of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation.

Aga Khan IV(born December 13, 1936) is the current (49th) Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He has been in this position, and held the title of Aga Khan, since July 11, 1957.

Kublai Khan...The founder of China's Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty and a brilliant general and statesman. He was the grandson of the great Mongol conqueror, Genghis Khan, and he was overlord of the vast Mongol Empire.

Nikita Khrushchev ( April 17,1894 – September 11, 1971) was the chief director of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. He was First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964.

Khufu (2589-2566 BC) was the 4th Dynasty (2613-2498) pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Ayatullah Ruhullah Khomeini (September 21, 1902 [1]– June 3, 1989) was a senior Shi`i Muslim cleric, Islamic philosopher and marja and the political leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader—the paramount political figure of the new Islamic Republic until his death.

Kim Il-sung (15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was the North Korean Communist leader from its founding in early 1948 until his death

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a vital figure of the modern era... was a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement.

Manuel I Komnenos,( November 28, 1118 – September 24, 1180, was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean.

Abraham Lincoln Institute - Abraham Lincoln's life & politics...Civil War & Emancipation Proclamation

John Locke, (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was an English philosopher. he is widely regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and contributors to liberal theory. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, as well as the American revolutionaries. This influence is reflected in the American Declaration of Independence.

Louis XIV's reign spanned seventy-two years, the longest of any major European monarch. He is known as Louis the Great

Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was an African anti-colonial leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped to win its independence from Belgium in June 1960.

Ts'ai Lun (ca. AD 50–121), was a Chinese eunuch, who is conventionally regarded as the inventor of paper and the papermaking process, in forms recognizable in modern times as paper

Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk, theologian, and church reformer. He is also considered to be the founder of Protestantism.

Douglas MacArthur, liberator of the Philippines, shogun of occupied Japan, mastermind of the Inchon invasion, was an admired national hero when he was suddenly relieved of his command.

Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 in Florence, Italy. Machiavelli was a political philosopher and diplomat during the Renaissance, and is most famous for his political treatise, The Prince (1513), that has become a cornerstone of modern political philosophy.

James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836), was an American politician and the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817), and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Considered to be the "Father of the Constitution", he was the principal author of the document.

Nelson Mandela...1918- ...He roused South Africa's black majority--and sympathizers abroad--to rebel against the system of racial tyranny known as apartheid.

Mao Zedong December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976) was a Chinese military and political leader, who led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War, and was the leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976.

Maria Theresa was Holy Roman empress, archduchess of Austria, and also queen of Hungary and Bohemia.

Imelda Marcos (born July 2, 1929 in Manila) was the wife of Ferdinand Marcos, former First Lady, and an influential political figure in the Philippines. She is known as the "Steel Butterfly" and remains a controversial figure not only in her home country, but around the world.

José Julián Martí (28 January, 1853–19 May 1895) was a leader of the Cuban independence movement from Spain and as well a renowned poet and writer. He is considered the national hero of Cuba and often referred to as the "Apostle of Cuban Independence".

Karl Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary.

Mary, Queen of Scots was one of the most fascinating and controversial monarchs of 16th century Europe.  At one time, she claimed the crowns of four nations
Margaret Mead, Derek Freeman, and the issue of evolution- argues that the central issue in the Mead-Freeman controversy is evolution and that Margaret Mead was anti-evolutionary
Margaret Mead: Human nature and the Power of culture- the Library of Congress presents a selection of materials from its extensive Mead collection, which came to the Library after her death. The corpus of notes and other field materials that Mead preserved are available to scholars.

The Medici family was a powerful and influential Florentine family from the 13th to 17th century. ...they dominated their city's government and were able to bring Florence under their family's power allowing for an environment where art and humanism could flourish. They led the birth of the Italian Renaissance

Catherine de' Medici (April 13, 1519 – January 5, 1589) Her parents were Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, countess of Boulogne. She was queen consort of King Henry II of France from 1547 to 1559...then a dominant force in the uccessive reigns of her three sons. Lurid tales printed about Catherine in the pamphlets of the day gave birth to "the black legend" of the wicked queen.

Golda Meir was Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Israel, one of the most visible women in international affairs from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (May 15, 1773 – June 11, 1859) was a German-Austrian politician and statesman, and one of the most important diplomats of his era.

Mobutu (October 14, 1930 – September 7, 1997), , was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) for 32 years (1965–1997), in which he rose to power after deposing Joseph Kasa-Vubu.

Montezuma I (1397-1469), who ruled the Aztecs from 1440 to 1469, is best known for his expansion of the empire and for his building projects.

Moses was a 13th century BCE Biblical Hebrew religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, and military leader

Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997) was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work.

Benito Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) was the prime minister of Italy from 1922 until 1943, when he was overthrown. He established a Fascist regime that valued nationalism, militarism and anti-communism combined with strict censorship and state propaganda.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)...One of the greatest military leaders in history, and emperor of France he conquered much of Europe.

Jawaharlal Nehru (November 14, 1889 – May 27, 1964) was a political leader of the Indian National Congress, a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement and the first Prime Minister of Independent India.

Horatio Nelson, (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British admiral famous for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars, most notably in the Battle of Trafalgar, a decisive British victory in the war, during which he lost his life.

Nero (December 15, 37 – June 9, 68), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, was the fifth and last Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Florence Nightingale...Founder of the nursing profession as a trained profession. Head British nurse, Crimean War.

Kwame Nkrumah (September 21, 1909 - April 27, 1972), one of the most influential Pan-Africanists of the 20th century, served as the founder, and first President of Ghana.

Nostradamus...(December 14, 1503 – July 2, 1566), was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous world-wide.

Osman I (1258–1326) was the leader of the Ottoman Turks, and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire.

Thomas Paine (Thetford, England, 29 January 1737 – 8 June 1809, New York City, USA) was a pamphleteer, revolutionary, radical, liberal and intellectual.

Georgios Papadopoulos (May 5, 1919 – June 27, 1999) was the head of the military coup d'état that took place in Greece on April 21, 1967 and leader of the military government that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974.

Rosa Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African American civil rights activist whom the U.S. Congress later called "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement".

Vallabhbhai Patel ( 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950) was a political and social leader of India who played a major role in the country's struggle for independence and guided its integration into a united, independent nation.

Pericles was the leading statesman of Athens for some forty years, during which period she reached her highest point of power and splendour.

Eva Peron was one of the most powerful women of our time. From a poverty stricken, illegitimate child to the First Lady of Argentina, Evita traveled a long road.

Juan Peron (October 8, 1895 – July 1, 1974) was an Argentine general and politician, elected three times as President of Argentina and serving from 1946 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974.

Peter the Great is credited with dragging Russia out of the medieval times to such an extent that by his death in 1725, Russia was considered a leading eastern European state.

Philip II ( May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598) was the first official King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, king of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until 1598, King of England (co-regent with Mary I) from 1554 to 1558, King of Portugal and the Algarves (as Philip I) from 1580 until 1598 and King of Chile from 1554 until 1556.

Józef Klemens Piłsudski ( December 5, 1867 – May 12, 1935) was a Polish revolutionary and statesman, Field Marshal, first Chief of State (1918–1922) and dictator (1926–1935), of the Second Polish Republic, as well as the leader of its armed forces.

Augusto Pinochet (November 25, 1915 – December 10, 2006) was President of Chile from 1974 to 1990, and was the President of the Government Junta from 1973 to 1981. His regime instituted a highly controversial campaign against leftist political parties, including the repression of the civil liberties.

Plato (428/427 BC – 348/347 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher. Together with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the philosophical foundations of Western culture.

Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner traveled on the Silk Road.

Pol Pot's death heralded the end of the career of a man responsible for overseeing one of the worst genocides of the 20th century.

Puyi...(February 7, 1906–October 17, 1967) of the Manchu Aisin-Gioro ruling family was the last Emperor of China

Muammar Qaddafi or Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi ( born 1942) has been the de facto leader of Libya since a 1969 coup..

Qin Shi Huang is regarded by many today as the founding father in Chinese history whose unification of China has endured for more than two millennia

Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552 – 29 October 1618), was a famed English writer, poet, courtier and explorer.

Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses The Great) was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as Egypt's greatest and most powerful pharaoh.

Syngman Rhee(March 26, 1875 – July 19, 1965) was the first president of South Korea. His presidency, from August 1948 to April 1960, remains controversial, affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere.

Richard I was a king of England known as the Lion-Heart and famous for his exploits in the Third Crusade

Cardinal Richelieu (September 9, 1585 – December 4, 1642), was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman. He is sometimes considered to be the world's first Prime Minister, in the modern sense of the term.

Maximilien Robespierre, is one of the most controversial and perhaps misunderstood figures of the French Revolution. His name has become symbolic for that period of the Revolution known as the Reign of Terror

Eleanor Roosevelt made many lasting and meaningful contributions to the welfare of mankind which have stood the rigorous test of time. Her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the oppressed and the poor earned her the love of millions throughout the world.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), was the thirty-second President of the United States. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945, and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. A central figure of the 20th century during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war, he has consistently been ranked as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) was a philosopher of the Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of both liberal and socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism.

Anwar Sadat,(December 25, 1918 - October 6, 1981) was the third President of Egypt, serving from October 15, 1970 until his assassination.

Saddam Hussein al-Majid al-Tikriti ( April 28, 1937 – December 30, 2006), was the President of Iraq from July 16, 1979, until April 9, 2003. Saddam was deposed by the U.S. and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and executed on December 30, 2006.

Saladin,...c. 1138 – March 4, 1193), Sultan of Egypt and Syria, was a 12th-century KurdishMuslim political and military leader from Tikrit, Iraq. ... ruled over Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Hejaz, and Yemen. He is renowned for leading Muslim resistance to the European Crusaders and eventually recapturing Palestine from the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Ibn Saud , c.1880-1953, founder of Saudi Arabia and its first king.

Haile Selassie I July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was de jure Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 and de facto from 1916 to 1936 and 1941 to 1974. He is also considered to be the religious symbol for God incarnate among the Rastafari movement

Shaka (ca. 1787 – ca. 22 September 1828) is widely credited with transforming the Zulu tribe from a small clan into the beginnings of a nation that held sway over that portion of Southern Africa between the Phongolo and Mzimkhulu rivers.

Adam Smith's work helped to build the foundation of the modern academic discipline of free market economics and provided one of the best-known intellectual rationales for free trade, capitalism, and libertarianism.

Socrates ( c. 470 BC–399 BC) was a Classical Greek philosopher. He is best known for the creation of Socratic irony and the Socratic Method

Anastasio Somoza García (February 1, 1896 – September 29, 1956) was officially the thirty-fourth and thirty-ninth President of Nicaragua, but ruled effectively as dictator from 1936 until his assassination.

Josef Stalin, One of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history, was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century.

Pieter Stuyvesant (c. 1612 – August 1672) often Anglicized to Peter Stuyvesant, served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664. He was a major figure in the early history of New York City.

Sukarno (June 6, 1901 – June 21, 1970) was the first President of Indonesia. He helped the country win its independence from the Netherlands and was President from 1945 to 1967

Suleiman I (November 6, 1494 – September 5/6, 1566), was the tenth and longest‐serving Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1520 to 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent[1] and in the Islamic world, as the Lawgiver

Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader often referred to as the "father of modern China".

William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was an American politician, the twenty-seventh President of the United States, the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, ...

Talleyrand (February 2, 1754 – May 17, 1838), the Prince of Diplomats, was a French diplomat. He worked successfully from the regime of Louis XVI, through the French Revolution and then under Napoleon I, Louis XVIII and Louis-Philippe. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile and influential diplomats in European history.

Margaret Thatcher was Britain's first female prime minister and served three consecutive terms in office. She is one of the dominant political figures of 20th century Britain, and Thatcherism continues to have a huge influence.

Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty...the first 22 years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut. After her death and his subsequent gain of power over his kingdom, he created the largest empire Egypt had ever seen.

Timur (1336 – February 1405) was a 14th century Central Asian conqueror of much of western and central Asia

Josip Broz Tito ( May 7, 1892, – May 4, 1980) was the leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until his death. During World War II, Tito organized the anti-fascist resistance movement known as the Yugoslav Partisans.

Toussaint Louverture was the preeminent figure of the Haitian Revolution. A former slave, he became a brilliant general and capable administrator, defeating British, Spanish, and French troops, emancipating the slave population, and overseeing the country's initial attempts at reforming its political and social structure.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is the most significant figure in Japanese history, as far as the Japanese are concerned. (1536-1598). Even in his lifetime he was considered one of the greatest of the Japanese, and he was made a Shinto deity shortly after his death and given the title, Hokoku, or "Wealth of the Nation."

Pierre Elliott Trudeau (18 October 1919 – 28 September 2000), was the fifteenth Prime Minister of Canada from 20 April 1968 to 4 June 1979, and from 3 March 1980 to 30 June 1984.

Rafael Trujillo (October 24, 1891–May 30, 1961) ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961...His tyranny, historically known as "La Era de Trujillo" or "The Trujillo Era", is considered one of the bloodiest of the 20th century

Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953). As vice president, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Many U.S. scholars today rank him among the top ten presidents.

Sojourner Truth (c. 1797–November 26, 1883) was the self-given name, from 1843, of Isabella Baumfree, an American abolitionist and women's rights activist.

Harriet Tubman was a runaway slave from Maryland who became known as the "Moses of her people."

Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga (1571–1622)was a Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyo of Sendai. He led an embassy to Mexico and then Europe between 1613 and 1620 He was the first-ever Japanese official ambassador to the Americas and arguably Europe, and became the key protagonist in the first recorded instance of Franco-Japanese relations.

Tz'u-hsi (1835-1908), concubine to the Hsien-feng emperor and later empress dowager, was the power behind the throne in China from 1860 to 1908

Getulio Dornelles Vargas (1883-1954), certainly the most important Brazilian political leader of the 20th century, brought about fundamental changes in the economy, society, and politics of his native land.

Queen Victoria was the longest reigning British monarch and the figurehead of a vast empire. She oversaw vast changes in British society and gave her name to an age

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! George Washington - A wide variety of primary documents, images, video, etc. about GW.

Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852), was a leading American statesman during the nation's antebellum era.

William Wilberforce ( 24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and abolitionist who led the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade.

Wilhelm II... (27 January 1859–4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (German: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling both the German Empire and Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918.

William I of England (William the Conqueror; born c.1028; died 9 September 1087) was a medieval monarch. He ruled as the Duke of Normandy from 1035 to 1087 and as King of England from 1066 to 1087.

William I of Orange- Nassau ( April 24, 1533 – July 10, 1584), also widely known as William the Silent), was born in the House of Nassau, and became Prince of Orange in 1544. He was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648.

Woodrow Wilson...Explore the transformation of a history professor into one of America's greatest presidents. From PBS.

Mary Wollstonecraft (27 April 1759 – 10 September 1797) was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and feminist. Wollstonecraft is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), in which she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education.

The Wright Story...A biography of Wilbur and Orville Wright, the Wright brothers, and the history of the invention of the airplane.

Xerxes I of Persia (sometimes known as Xerxes the Great, ) was a king of Persia (reigned 485–465 BC)

Yagan (c. 1795– 11 July 1833) was a Noongar warrior who played a key part in early indigenous Australian resistance to European settlement and rule in the area of Perth, Western Australia.

Zheng He was the greatest explorer in Chinese history. ...The Admiral Of the Western Seas