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Abbas Mahmoud: Fondly called Abu Mazen, Abbaswon the election to Palestine president-ship as acandidate of Fatah party. He defeated MustafaBarghouti in the election.

Abdus Salam : Physicist, Pakistan’s only Nobel Prizewinner. He won it for his work on Particle physics in1979. The Abdus Salam Award was instituted bythe World Academy of Sciences in his memory.

Abdus Sattar Edhi (b. 1929): Pakistani social worker,known as Father Teresa. He is the founder of theEdhi Foundation (1966).

Aesop (600 BC): Greek author of Aesop’s Fableswhich are moral tales with animal protagonists. Thefamous tales The Tortoise and the Hare, The Foxand the Grapes were his creation.

Akihito (b. 1933): Japan’s Emperor. Ascended theChrysanthemum Throne – the world’s oldest he-reditary throne – on November 12, 1990, after thedeath of his father, Emperor Hirohito.

Akram, Wasim: Pakistani cricketer and former cap-tain. Highest wicket taker (502) in One-DayInternationals. Made the world record of maximumnumber of sixes (12) in the Test match against Zim-babwe in his 257 runs. Besides, he has to his credit414 wickets in Tests. He retired in 2003.

Aldrin, Edwin: The US astronaut, who became onlythe second man to land on the moon soon after NeilArmstrong on July 20, 1969. Dr. Edwin Aldrin hasset up a non- profit organisation, Share Space Foun-dation, dedicated to research on measures thatwould make space transportation affordable andsafer.

Alexander, the Great (356-323 BC): King ofMacedonia. He conquered Egypt and founded Al-exandria. At the age of 20 (336 BC), he started hiscampaign from Greece. His conquests extended to

Asia Minor (Turkey), Armenia, Mesopotamia, Iran,Egypt, Gandhara including the borders of India dur-ing the period 336 to 323 BC,died at Babylon.

Alonso, Fernando: TheSpanish race car driver becameFormula ones youngest everworld champion at 24. Hedrives for Reneault. His maincontentor to title in 2005 wasMclaren’s Kimi Raikonnen.

Ali, Muhammad (b. 1942):Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest boxers ofthe 20th century. He started his career in the early1960s under his original name Cassius Clay. He wasthe first man to win the world heavyweight title threetimes. He was honoured with. The presidential medalof Freedom called the nations highest civilian award.

Amin, Idi (b. 1925): Idi Amin was the eccentric anddespotic dictator of Uganda from 1971 to 1979, whenhe was deposed by exiled Ugandans with the helpof the Tanzanian army.

Amundsen, Roald (1872-1928): Roald Amundsenwas a Norwegian explorer, the first to reach the SouthPole (1911) and the first to navigate the North-WestPassage (1903-1906). He was lost in the Arctic.

Annan, Kofi (b. 1938): The seventh UN Secretary-General. Shared the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize with theUN. Selected for the Seoul Peace Prize 1998 for hiscontribution to world peace. He is from Ghana. Heis credited with creation of East Timor as an inde-pendent country. He got a unanimous support ofthe UN in June 2001 for his second five - year term.He completed his term in December, 2006.

Antony, Mark (c. 83-30 BC): Marcus Antonius,known in English as Mark Antony, was a Romanstatesman and soldier. His speech on the death of

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his friend Julius Caesar caused the conspirators whomurdered Caesar to flee from Rome.

Anwar, Saeed: The Pakistani Cricket opener whoblasted 194 against India in Chennai to become thehighest scorer in one-day cricket.

Arafat, Yasser (1929- 2004): Chairman of PalestineLiberation Organisation since 1969. Co-founder ofAl-fatah (1956). Signed agreements for Palestinianself-rule in Gaza Strip, Jerichoand West Bank in May 1994and September 1995. Recipientof Jawaharlal Nehru Award forInternational Understandingand Indira Gandhi Award forInternational Justice and Har-mony. Shared the 1994 NobelPeace Prize with the then Is-raeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and Israeli For-eign Minister, Shimon Peres. He signed a revisedWye- River accord with Israeli Prime Minister EhudBarak. Arafat died in 2004.

Archimedes (287-212 BC): Greek scientist and math-ematician known for his discovery of the uniquePrinciple of Buoyancy. Invented ArchimedeanScrew.

Aristotle (384-322 BC): The Father of Biology, wasa Greek philosopher, the greatest of the ancient phi-losophers. In 343 BC, Aristotle became tutor to Alex-ander the Great in Macedonia.

Armstrong, Neil (b. 1930):American astronaut. First manto set foot on the moon (July21, 1969). Followed by EdwinAldrin from Apollo 11.

Astor, Nancy (1879-1964):Nancy Astor was the firstwoman to be elected to theBritish Parliament (1919). Sheremained an MP until 1945.

Atatürk, Kemal (1881-1938): Born in Salonika,Greece. He was the founder and first President ofthe Republic of Turkey. He served as President from1923 until his death.

Attenborough, Richard (b. 1923): British film actorcum director. Best known for his film Gandhi, whichwon eight Oscars in 1983.

Attlee, Clement (1883-1967): Clement Attlee wasthe Labour Prime Minister of England 1945-51. Dur-ing his tenure as Prime Minister, India won freedomin 1947.

Atwood, Margaret (b. 1932): One of the most pro-lific and well known authors in Canada. She baggedthe Booker Prize for 2000 for her novel The BlindAssassin.

Augustus Caesar (63 BC-AD 14): Founder of theRoman Empire and one of the most outstanding menin history. His original name was Gaius Octavianus.

Aung San Suu Kyi (b. 1945): Daughter ofMyanmarese independence hero, General Aung San.Founded Myanmar’s National League for Democ-racy (NLD) of which she is the leader. While oppos-ing the military junta she was forced to end her non-violent Gandhian protest on July 29, 1998 when theBurmese military government took her back to Ran-goon against her will. Su Kyi was released by theruling military junta after a 19 month arrest in May,2002. Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1991),Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (1991), Soli-darity Prize of the City of Bremen, and JawaharlalNehru Award for International Understanding(1993). She is also the winner of the PresidentialMedal of Freedom, America’s highest civilianhonour.

Bacon, Francis (1561-1626): Francis Bacon, Vis-count St. Albans, was an English statesman andphilosopher. Among his works are The Advance-ment of Learning and Novum Organum. His stresson inductive methods gave a strong impetus to sub-sequent scientific research.

Baden-Powell, Robert (1857-1941): Robert Baden-Powell, later Lord Baden-Powell, was a soldier anddefender of Mafeking in the Boer War (1899-1990).He founded the Boy Scouts in 1908 and, with hissister, Agnes, the Girl Guides in 1910. He is the au-thor of Scouting for Boys.

Baird, John Logie (1888-1946): John Logie Bairdwas a British television pioneer from Scotland. In1926, he demonstrated the first ever television pic-ture. Three years later the British Broadcasting Cor-poration (BBC) broadcast a 30-line television pic-ture.

Baker, Laurie (b. 1917): Lawrence Wilfred Baker,

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popularly known as Laurie Baker, is the British-bornIndian architect who specialises in low-cost build-ing. He married a Malayali and is now settled inThiruvananthapuram. In 1989, he was granted In-dian citizenship. He celebrated his 90th birth recently.

Bancroft, Ann: First woman to reach the North Pole.Was one of the six-members of the US-Canadianexpedition which reached the North Pole on dogsledges in April 1986.

Bandaranaike, Sirimavo(1917-2000): World’s firstelected woman Prime Minister (of Ceylon, now SriLanka) in 1960. Sworn in forthe third time as Prime Minis-ter in November 1994, when herdaughter, ChandrikaKumaratunga, became thePresident of the country. Shehas entered the 1999 GuinnessBook of Records for being theoldest Prime Minister in theworld.

Barnard, Christiaan (1922-2001): South Africansurgeon. Performed the first human heart transplantoperation in Cape Town in 1967.

Banville, John: Irish novelist has been awardedBooker Prize, 2005 for his book The Sea.

Beethoven, Ludwig van(1770-1827): Ludwig vanBeethoven was a German composer and musician.He was the leader of the romantic movement in mu-sic. Although stone deaf at the age of 50, he wrotemany memorable symphonies (9), songs, sonatasand concertos.

Bell, Alexander Graham (1847-922) : AlexanderGraham Bell was the Scottish-American scientist whoinvented the telephone in 1867.

Bellow, Saul: Famous American novelist and nobellaureate. Adventures of Augie March, Humboldl’sgift, Henderson and the rain king are his mainnovels. He received Nobel prize and Pulitzer prizefor Humboldt’s gift. He died on 2005.

Benedict XVI, Pope: After the demise of Pope JohnPaul II, the College of Cardinal selected CardinalJoseph Ratzinger of Germany as the new pope. Hetook the title ‘Benedict XVI’. He is second Germanto become pope after victor II.

Benenson, Peter: The founder of ‘AmnestyInternational’-the human right activist organisa-tion-passed away in 2005. Amnesty was started in 1961.

Benigni, Roberto (b. 1952): This Italian actor, writerand director won the Oscar for Best Actor in 1999for his film Life is Beautiful at the Academy Awardsceremony. He became the first star of a foreign filmto win the Best Actor Award.

Bentinck, Lord William (1738-1809): LordBentinck was the Governor-General of India famousfor the Sati reforms (1829) and suppression of hu-man sacrifice, suppression of Thuggees and sup-pression of female infanticide.

Bertolucci, Bernardo (b. 1940): I t a l i a nfilm director. His film The Last Emperor won nineOscars in 1978. Conferred the Lifetime AchievementAward at the 30th International Film Festival of In-dia at Hyderabad in January 1999.

Bhutto, Benazir (b. 1955):Pakistan’s former Prime Min-ister. Was co-Chairperson ofPakistan People’s Party. Swornin as Prime Minister for the sec-ond time on October 9, 1993.First woman in the Muslimworld to be Prime Ministertwice. Presently in self-im-posed exile in the United Kingdom.

Bhutto, Z.A. (1928-79): Zulfikar Ali Bhutto wasPresident of Pakistan 1971-73 and subsequentlyPrime Minister 1973-77. He was deposed by an armycoup led by Zia Ul-Haq and was executed in 1979.He was the father of Benazir Bhutto. If I Am Assas-sinated and The Great Tragedy are his books.

Birna, Unnur: In the Miss World contest held inSouthern Chinese city of Sanya, Miss Iceland UnnurBirna Vilhajalmsdotter was crowned the Miss World2006.

Bismarck, Otto von (1815-98): Otto von Bismarckwas a German statesman known as the Iron Chan-cellor for his ‘blood and iron’ policies. By uniting(mostly by force) all the tiny kingdoms in Germany,he founded the German Empire in 1870.

Blair, Tony (b. 1953):The Labour Party leader who,in 1997, led his party to a landslide victory over the

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Conservatives to become Prime Minister of Britainin 2005. He won his third term as Prime Minister.

Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna (1831-91): HelenaPetrovna Blavatsky, known as Madame Blavatsky,was a Russian theosophist. She helped to foundthe Theosophical Society in New York (1875). Latershe set up the Theosophical Society in India whichAnnie Besant joined and enlarged.

Bolivar, Simon (1783-1830):Simon Bolivar was a SouthAmerican revolutionary, called‘The Liberator’. He is the na-tional hero of Colombia, Bo-livia, Venezuela, Ecuador andPeru.

Booth, John Wilkes (1839-65): John Wilkes Booth was the assassin of US Presi-dent Lincoln.

Booth, William (1829-1912): William Booth wasthe British founder of the Salvation Army (1865).The main aim of Booth’s Salvation Army was tosave people from alcoholism through prayer.

Borlaug, Norman Ernest (b.1914): He is the world’s onlyagricultural scientist to win aNobel Prize for Peace, whichwas awarded to him in 1970. Heis the brain behind the im-mensely successful GreenRevolution. He establishedWorld Food Prize in 1986

Botha, P.W. (b. 1916): P.W.Botha was President of South Africa 1984-89. He isconsidered the last of the apartheid leaders of SouthAfrica.

Bradman, Donald (1908-2001): Australia’scricketing knight. World famous test batsman. Re-tired from active cricket in the late forties, scoring asmany as 117 centuries. Cricket’s finest batsman, SirDonald Bradman scored three figures 29 times attest level and finished his career with 6,996 runs in90 test innings at the extraordinary average of 99.94.He died in Adelaide on February 25, 2001 when hewas 92.

Brundtland, Gro Harlem (b. 1939): Twice PrimeMinister of Norway and the first Chairperson of

United Nations-appointed Commission on Environ-ment and Development. Recipient of the Indira Gan-dhi Peace Prize and also the Third World Prize (1988)for her contribution to the field of environmentalprotection and for the concept of ‘sustainable de-velopment’. First woman Director-General of WorldHealth Organisation (WHO).

Buck, Pearl S. (1892-1973): Pearl S. Buck was anUS writer who won the 1938 Nobel Prize for Litera-ture for The Good Earth, which she wrote in 1931.Letter from Peking, The Patriot, Death in the Castle,The Mother, All Under Heaven and Child WhoNever Grew are her books.

Bush, George W. (b. 1946): George Walker Bush isthe 43rd President of USA, sworn in on January 20,2001. Son of 41st President, George Bush. Previ-ously Governor of Texas. It is the second time in thehistory of USA that both father and son have be-come president of the country, after John Adams(1797-1801) and John Quincy Adams (1825-29). Bushdethroned Taliban and installed an interim Govern-ment under Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan as a re-prisal to September 11, 2001 World Trade Centreattack. Bush government attacked Iraq and toppledSaddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. George W. Bushre-elected for a second term in the presidental elec-tion held in 2004.

Byron, Lord (1788-1824): George, 6th Baron Byronof Rochdale, known as Lord Byron, was one of thegreatest of English poets. Among his works areChilde Harold’s Pilgrimage and Don Juan.

Caesar, Julius (c. 100-44 BC): Julius Caesar was aRoman general and statesman. He took the title‘dictator for life’ in 44 BC. However he was mur-dered by a group of trusted friends, led by Brutus,who thought he was over-ambitious.

Campbell, Kim (b. 1946): First woman Prime Minis-ter of Canada (1993).A former lecturer in PoliticalScience.

Camus, Albert (1913-60): French existentialistwriter, winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature.Earned an international reputation with hisL’Etranger (‘The Outsider’, 1942). Other works in-clude The Plague and The Fall.

Canning, Lord (19th Century): Lord Canning wasthe last Governor-General of East India Company

The Liberator

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and first Viceroy of British India. Carlyle, Thomas (1795-1881): British writer, most

famous for his The French Revolution. Carroll, Lewis (1832-98): Pseudonym of Charles

Dodgson, author of Alice Through the LookingGlass and Alice in Wonderland.

Carter, Jimmy (b. 1924): 39th President of UnitedStates (1977-81). His major contributions includesthe Camp David Accords between Isreal and Egypt,peace in Haiti etc. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for2001 for his effort to find peaceful solutions in inter-national conflicts. His most significant work hasbeen through the Carter Center, an Atlanta basedthink tank and activity policy center founded byhim and his wife Rosalynn in 1982. He was awardedthe 1997 Indira Gandhi Prize.

Castro, Fidel (b. 1926): PrimeMinister of Cuba (1959-78),President of Cuba since 1979.Was Chairman of NAM (1979-83). Under his leadership,Cuba emerged as the first full-fledged socialist state in Cen-tral America. After undergoinga major surgery in 2006 hetransferred the responsiblitiesto his brother Raul Castro.

Cavendish, Henry (1731-1810): Henry Cavendishwas a British physicist and chemist. In 1760 he stud-ied ‘inflam-mable air’, now known as hydrogen gas.

Cerman, Eugene A: The last moon walker whoselast voyage was in December 1972 as Commandorof Apollo-17 Mission.

Chadwick, Sir James (1891-1974): Sir James wasthe British physicist who discovered neutrons. Hewas awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1935.

Chappel, Greg: Former Aus-tralian captain was appointedthe new coach of Indiancricket team. Cricket, the Mak-ing of Champions is written byhim.

Chaplin, Charlie (1889 -1977): Sir Charles SpencerChaplin, born in London, was

a comedian, film actor, director, producer and com-poser. His famous films are Making a Living, TheKid, The Champion, The Pilgrim, City Lights, Lime-light, The Gold Rush, The Great Dictator, The Cir-cus etc. My Life in Pictures is his autobiography.

Chaucer, Geoffrey (1345-1400): One of the earliestEnglish poets who helped the language into a liter-ary channel. He is considered the Father of EnglishPoetry. Romance of the Rose is his first work (trans-lation). His Canterbury Tales is a classic both forlovers of literature and scholars of English language.Another famous work is Troilus and Criseyde.

Chaudhry, Mahendra: Mahendra Chaudhry was thePrime Minister of Fiji. He is of Indian ethnic origin.In July 2000 he was ousted from power by a coupled by George Speight, a desperate businessman.

Chavez, Hugo: Chavez is the 53rd andcurrent President of Venenzuela. As the leader tothe ‘Bolivarian revolution’. Chavez is known for hisdemocratic socialistic governance, his promotion ofLatin American integration and his radical criticismof neoliberal globalisation and United States foreignpolicy.

Chekhov, Anton (1860-1904): Russian playwrightand master of the short story. His masterpieces areThe Seagull, The Three Sisters and The Cherry Or-chard.

Chelmsford, Lord: Lord Chelmsford was the Vice-roy of India during 1916-21.

Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975): Chiang Kai-shek,was a Chinese revolutionary leader. He was theeffective head of the Nationalist Republic (1928-49)and thereafter the head of the Nationalist Party inTaiwan. In 1918, he joined the forces of Sun Yat-senand in 1925 launched an expedition against theBeijing government and in 1928 entered Beijing. Buthis supporters steadily moved to the Communistsand in 1949 he was forced to flee to Taiwan.

Chirac, Jacques (b. 1932):Current French President. Hewas elected in 1995 and re-elected in 2002 and his currentterm expires in 2007.

Chomsky, Noam (1928-):American Linguis who origi-nated Transformational Gen-

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Indian Cricket coach

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erative Grammer Chomsky claims the every humanbeing known the general principles at birth. He thinksthese principles make up a universal grammar.Chomsky’s books include Syntactic structures,Language and Mind and Language and Problemsof Knowledge.

Chou En-lai (1898-1975): Chinese statesman. Alsoknown as Zhou Enlai. Was one of the leaders of theCommunist Party of China. He was Prime Ministerof the People’s Republic from its founding in 1949to his death. He and Nehru signed the PanchasheelAgreement for peace between their two countries.

Christie, Agatha (1891-1976): Agatha Christie wasone of the most popular writers of crime stories thiscentury and the author of over 70 novels. Her twomost famous creations are the characters of MissMarple and Hercule Poirot. Her play, The Mouse-trap, has been running continuously in Londonsince it opened in 1952, the longest-ever run of aplay.

Churchill, Sir Winston (1874-1965): British states-man and wartime leader. Prime Minister during WorldWar II (1940-45), and again in 1951-55. He was alsoan accomplished writer. His publications Memoriesof the Second World War (in 6 volumes) becamevery famous and earned him the Nobel Prize for Lit-erature in 1953. He resigned as Prime Minister in1955.

Clarke, Arthur C. (b. 1917): Famous science fic-tion writer living in Sri Lanka. He was made a honor-ary citizen of Sri Lanka in 2005. His book, 2001 – ASpace Odyssey, was made into a successful film.

Cleopatra (69-30 BC): Queen of Egypt 51-30 BC.After the defeat of her ally, Mark Antony, she com-mitted suicide by clutching an asp, a highly poison-ous snake, to her breast.

Clinton, Bill (b. 1946): William Jefferson Clinton.America’s Democratic Party leader and was the 42ndPresident of United States.

Clive, Robert (1725-74): Robert Clive became Com-mander-in-Chief in 1755 and fought against theFrench in India. He defeated Siraj-ud-Daula in theBattle of Plassey in 1757. In 1758, Robert Clive wasappointed the first Governor of Bengal by the En-glish East India Company. He ultimately committedsuicide in 1774.

Coetzee, J.M. (b. 1940): The South- African novel-ist won the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is aSouth African writer and Professor of English Lit-erature in Cape Town University. He won the 1999Booker Prize for his novel Disgrace. He also wonthe 1983 Booker Prize for his novel The Life andTimes of Michael K. He is the only author to winthis award twice.

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1772-1834): SamuelTaylor Coleridge was a British poet, the founder of anew literary style with William Wordsworth knownas romanticism which was a reaction against neo-classic artificiality. Among his works are The An-cient Mariner and Christabel.

Collins, Col. Eileen (b. 1956):This US astronaut became thefirst woman in space historyto command a space mission,when the American spaceshuttle Columbia waslaunched from KennedySpace Center, Cape Canaveral,Florida on July 23, 1999 carry-ing Chandra X-ray observa-tory.

Collins, Larry: American writer in collaboration withFrench writer Dominique Lapierre has written bestsellers likeIs Parris Buring O Jeruslem and Free-dom at Midnight. He passed away in 2005.

Collins, Michael (b. 1930): Michael Collins was theAmerican astronaut who remained on board theApollo 11 spacecraft while Neil Armstrong becamethe first man (and Edwin Aldrin became the secondman) to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Colt, Samuel (1814-62): Samuel Colt was the Ameri-can inventor who invented the revolver type of pis-tol. He patented the Colt revolver in 1835, when hewas only 21.

Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506): ChristopherColumbus was an Italian explorer, the first Europeanto discover America, in 1492.

Confucius (551-479 BC): A great Chinese philoso-pher. He set up a school of pupils to propagate hisideologies. His teachings are recorded in the Con-fucian Analects (conversation), the base of Chinesephilosophy.

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Conrad, Pete (b. 1930): Charles P. “Pete” ConradJr., the American astronaut who was the third manto walk on the moon, died following a motorcycleaccident.

Cook, Thomas (1808-92): Thomas Cook was a pio-neer of railway tourism. His travel agencies are inevery major city of the world. Father of modern tour-ism.

Copernicus, Nicolas (1473-1543): NicolasCopernicus was a Polish astronomer. His theorywas that planets moved round the sun and that thesun was the centre of the universe. His book wasDe Revolutionbus Orbitum Coelestium (‘On theRevolutions of the Celestial Spheres’). It was soonaccepted that he was the first to understand theorbital movements of the planets.

Corbusier, Le (1887-1965): Le Corbusier, pseud-onym of Charles Edward Jeanneret, was a Swiss ar-chitect and city planner. He planned the city ofChandigarh in India (1951).

Cornwallis, Lord (1738-1805): Lord Cornwallis wasGovernor-General of India for two terms (1786-1793)and is well known for his land reforms. The mostmemorable achievement of Lord Cornwallis was thePermanent Settlement of Bengal (1793). He foundedthe British Civil Service in India.

Crichton, Michael: American writer. Author of Ju-rassic Park, Rising Sun and Disclosure, bookswhich have been made into films.

Cripps, Sir Stafford (1889-1952): Sir StaffordCripps was a British Labour statesman. In March1942 he came to India and met Congress leaders todiscuss Dominion Status for India after World WarII had finished.

Crompton, Samuel (1753-1827): Samuel Cromptonwas the British inventor of the spinning-mule.

Cromwell, Oliver (1599-1658): Oliver Cromwellwas an English soldier and statesman, England’sonly dictator.

Cudjoe, Harrison (b. 1956): Nigerian poet. Wasdeclared International Poet of the Year, 1995, by theInternational Society of Poets. His award-winingpoem is HIV and AIDS War.

Cuellar, Javier Perez de (b. 1920): Peruvian diplo-mat. Was Secretary-General United Nations for ten

years (1982-1991). Recipient of the 1987 JawaharlalNehru Award for International Understanding. Nowhe is Prime Minister of Peru.

Curie, Marie (1867-1934):Madame Marie Curie was aPolish chemist known for herdiscovery of radium (1898).She won two Nobel Prizes.

Dalton, John (1766-1844):John Dalton was the Englishchemist who postulated theatomic theory and defined atomic weight. He is alsofamous for Dalton’s Law.

Dante (1265-1321): Dante Alighieri, known simplyas Dante, was the greatest Italian poet. By far hisbest known work is The Divine Comedy, a penetrat-ing vision of hell, purgatory and heaven.

Darwin, Charles (1809-82): Charles Robert Dar-win was a British naturalist who put forward hisTheory of Revolution based on natural selection.His famous work Origin of Species (1859) is consid-ered as the bible of modern theory of evolution.

Davy, Sir Humphry (1778-1829): Sir Humphry Davywas a renowned British chemist who invented thesafety lamp for miners.

Defoe, Daniel (1660-1731): Daniel Defoe was anEnglish author. He wrote many books but is princi-pally remembered for his Robinson Crusoe.

Diaz, Bartolomeu (c.1450-1500): Bartolomeu Diazwas a Portuguese navigator and was the first Euro-pean to sail round the Cape of Good Hope (the south-ern tip of the African continent).

Dickens, Charles (1812-70): Famous English nov-elist. Some of his best known fictional works arePickwick Papers (1837), Oliver Twist (1838), DavidCopperfield (1850), Great Expectations (1861) andA Tale of two Cities.

Diesel, Rudolph (1858-1913):Rudolph Diesel was the Ger-man engineer who inventedthe diesel engine.

Disney, Walt (1901-66): WaltDisney was a US film producerfamous for his cartoon char-acters Mickey Mouse and

Won two Nobel Prizes

Founder of Disney Land

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Donald Duck. Dostoevsky, Fyodor (1821-81): Fyodor Dostoevsky

was one of the greatest Russian authors. His mostfamous book is Crime and Punishment. His otherimportant books are The Brothers Karamazov andThe Idiot.

Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan (1859- 1930): Sir ArthurConan Doyle was a British author. He was the crea-tor of the detective hero Sherlock Holmes and hiscompanion Dr. Watson.

Dumas, Alexandre (1802-70): Alexandre Dumaswas a French novelist and playwright. His bestknown works are The Count of Monte Christo andThe Three Musketeers.

Dunant, Henri (1828-1910): Henri Dunant was bornin Switzerland and was a famous philanthropist. Heestablished the International Red Cross Society in1863 after the Battle of Solferino. He shared the firstNobel Peace Prize in 1901.

Ebadi, Shirin: Iranian lady lawyer, a human rightsand democracy activist, won the 2003 Nobel PeacePrize. She is the first Muslim woman as also the firstIranian to win the honour in the Prize’s 102 yearhistory. She attended the World Social Conference,2004, held in Mumbai.

Edison, Thomas Alva (1847-1931): Thomas AlvaEdison was a US inventor with more than 1,300 USand foreign patents to his credit, most of them con-cerned with electricity. He was called the Wizard ofMenlow Park. Some of his important inventions arethe electric light bulb (1879), phonograph (gramo-phone) (1876), the movie projector (1893), printingtelegraph (1871), carbon telephone transmitters, mi-crophone etc.

Eiffel, Alexandre Gustave (1832-1923): AlexandreGustave Eiffel was the French civil engineer whobuilt the Eiffel Tower in 1889.It was constructed to celebrate100th anniversary of the FrenchRevolution. Eiffel also de-signed the framework of theStatue of Liberty.

Elberadi, Mohammed: TheEgyptian lawyer won theNobel Prize for Peace, 2005along with International

Atomic Energy Agency, which he is heading. In 2005,he won his third term as the head of IAEA.

Eliot, George (1819-80): George Eliot was the pseu-donym of Mary Ann Evans, a British novelist whobecame the centre of a literary circle. Her novelsinclude Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, SilasMarner and Middlemarch.

Eliot, T.S. (1888-1965): T.S. Eliot (Thomas StearnsEliot) was an American-born British poet, critic anddramatist. His books of poetry include Prufrockand Other Observations, The Waste Land, The Hol-low Men and The Four Quartets. He was awardedthe Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948.

Elizabeth II, Queen of England (b. 1926):Elizabeth II, the daughter of George VI, the last King-Emperor of India, is currently England’s Queen andHead of State. She is also Head of the Common-wealth of Nations.

Engels, Friedrich (1820-95): Friedrich Engels wasa German socialist philosopher, the founder of ‘sci-entific socialism’. He collaborated with Karl Marxon the Communist Manifesto (1848).

Epicurus (c.341-270 BC): Greek philo-sopher. Hefounded Epicurean philosophy, which means lead-ing a life free from pain and anxiety.

Euclid (c.350-c.300 BC): Greek mathematician. Hisimportant contribution was the use of deductive prin-ciples of logic as the basis of geometry. He is con-sidered the father of Geometry.

Fahien (5th century AD): He was the first Buddhistpilgrim from China to visit India. He came duringthe reign of Chandragupta Vikramadithya.

Falk, Leon Lee: Leon Lee Falk was the creator ofworld-famous comic strips Mandrake the Magi-cian and The Phantom. He died recently, aged 87.

Faraday, Michael (1791-1867): Michael Faradaywas the British scientist who discovered electromagnetism and invented the dynamo.

Federer, Roger: Highly talented Swiss tennis playerwho won three out of four Grandslam in 2005 and isconsidered most dominant active player of his era.He is currently the World No.1.

Fermi, Enrico (1901-54): Enrico Fermi was an Ital-ian nuclear physicist. In 1934, he split a number ofnuclei by bombardment with neutrons, for which he

Shared Nobel Prize forPeace 2005 with IAEA

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won the 1938 Nobel Prize for Physics. Fleming, Sir Alexander

(1881-1955): Sir AlexanderFleming was the Scottish bac-teriologist who discoveredpenicillin in 1928. He sharedthe 1945 Nobel Prize for Medi-cine.

Fischer, Bobby: Regarded asthe greatest chess player ever,he became the first Americanto win the World Chess championship title bybeating Boris Spasky. In 2004-05, he had to undergo9 months in Japanese prison due to US arrest warrantagainst him.

Fleming, Ian (1908-64): Ian Fleming was an im-mensely successful British writer of popular litera-ture. His most memorable creation was the sophisti-cated British secret agent James Bond.

Ford, Gerald (b. 1913): 38th President of USA (1974-76). Only President not to have been elected aseither President or Vice-President. He was ap-pointed Vice-President in 1973 when Spiro Agnewresigned that post, then became president whenNixon resigned following the Watergate scandal.

Ford, Henry (1863-1947): Henry Ford was selectedFortune Magazine’s “Businessman of the Century”.He invented the assembly line to produce afford-able cars for ordinary people.

Forster, E.M. (1879-1970): Edward Morgan Forsterwas a famous British writer who wrote numerousbooks, many on India. He was the author of WhereAngels Fear to Tread, Two Cheers for Democracy,The Longest Journey, A Room with a View, HowardsEnd, Maurice and his masterpiece, A Passage toIndia.

Fosset, Steve: The business magnate-adventurercreated world record by flying solo around the globe(37,000 km) in 67 hours non stop.

Franco, Francisco (1892-1975): Francisco Francowas the Spanish dictator who ruled Spain from 1936to 1975. In 1936, he joined a conspiracy against thePopular Front government and became Generalis-simo (literally ‘biggest general’) of the rebel forces.

Franklin, Benjamin (1706-90):Benjamin Franklin

was the US statesman who promoted the AmericanDeclaration of Independence (1776) and worked onthe drafting of the Constitution of America.

Freud, Sigmund (1856-1939):Sigmund Freud was the re-nowned Austrian psycholo-gist who developed the Theoryof Psychoanalysis. He pub-lished The Interpretation ofDreams and The Ego and theId.

Frost, Robert (1874-1963):Robert Frost was the US poetwho won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1924, 1931,1937 and 1943. Among his poems are Stopping byWoods on a Snowy Evening, Birches, Mending Walland The Death of the Hired Man.

Gadhafi, Col. Muammar (b. 1942): President ofLibya since 1969. Leader of the Great Revolution ofSeptember 1, 1969. His theories and ideas are con-tained in his Green Book.

Gagarin, Yuri (1934-68): Yuri Gagarin was a Rus-sian cosmonaut. In 1961, he became the first man totravel in space on the spacecraft Vostok-1.

Galbraith, J.K. (b. 1908): John Kenneth Galbraithwas a Canadian-born US economist, the author ofThe Affluent Society. He was US Ambassador toIndia 1961-63 and adviser to Presidents Kennedyand Johnson.

Gao Xingjian (b. 1940): He is the Chinese novelistand playwright who won the 2000 Nobel Prize forLiterature, the first Chinese person to win the prize.He left China for France and now lives in Paris. Hisbest known novel is Soul Mountain.

Gates, Bill (b. 1957): He is thechief founder and Chairman ofMicrosoft Corporation andwas named the richest man ofthe world with a net worth of$90 billion by Forbes. He do-nated $ 200 million for AIDScontrol in India through his $24 billion “Bill & Belinda Foun-dation” created to cater tohealth care world wide. The Gates couple was se-lected was the Time Person of the Year 2005.

Discovered Pencilinin 1928

Father ofPsychology

The richest man inUniverse

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Gayoom, M. Abdul: President of Maldives. Chair-man of SAARC (1990-1991 and 1996-97).

Ghali, Boutros Boutros (b. 1924): First Afro-Arabwho became Secretary-General of United Nations(1992-96) succeeded Javier Perez de Cuellar. Wasearlier Egypt’s Deputy Prime Minister. He was suc-ceeded by Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General.

Glenn, John (b. 1921): The 77 year old veteran as-tronaut and Ohio Senator is the oldest person toorbit Earth, which he did aboard Discovery on Oc-tober 29, 1998. He was also the first American toorbit Earth (aboard Friendship-7 on February 20,1962).

Goh Chok Tong: Prime Minister of Singapore andleader of the People’s Action Party.

Gooch, Graham (b. 1954): England’s cricket star.First Englishman and second batsman after WestIndian Brian Lara to score 1,000 first class runs. Hereached the milestone by scoring 188 for Essexagainst Worcestershire. Only cricketer in the worldto post a triple century (333) and a century (123) inthe same test (against India at Lord’s in 1990).

Goodyear, Charles (1800-60): Charles Goodyearwas the inventor of vulcanised rubber which is usedin tyres. He invented it in 1844 and the company hefounded to produce tyres still thrives today.

Gorbachev, Mikhail (b. 1931): The first and last Ex-ecutive President of the erstwhile USSR. Resignedon December 25, 1991, formally ending the exist-ence of the once mighty super power. Known forhis policies of ‘Glasnost’ and ‘Perestroika’. WonNobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Graf, Steffi (b. 1969): Former World No. 1 womantennis player from Germany. Graf won 22 Grand Slamsingles titles. In 1988, she became the only player toachieve the “Golden Slam” – capturing all four GrandSlam titles and the Olympic Gold Medal in the sameyear. She was ranked the Women’s TennisAssociation’s No. 1 player for a record 377 weeks(the longest of any player, male or female, sincerankings began) and is the only player, male or fe-male, to have won all four Grand Slam tournaments(Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open andthe Australian Open) at least four times each.

Grass, Gunter (b. 1927): Gunter Grass is the Ger-man novelist who won the 1999 Nobel Prize for Lit-

erature for his novel The TinDrum. His book MeinJahrhundert (‘My Century’)published in 1999, is an attemptto summarise and make senseof the entire 20th century. Hewas an active member ofGroup 47 which was formed forthe promotion of German lit-erature after the Nazi period.

Gundert, Dr. Herman (1814-93): Dr. HermanGundert was a German linguist who came to India asa missionary. He learned 18 Indian languages. Hecomplied the first Malayalam dictionary in 1872, andstarted the first Malayalam newspaper,Rajyasamacharam.

Gusmao, Xanana: Xanana Gusmao is the rebel leaderof East Timor who fought for autonomy for his coun-try. He became the first President of East Timor afterwinning poll held on April 14, 2002.

Guttenberg, Johannes (1400-68): JohannesGuttenberg was the German printer who inventedthe printing process with moveable type and intro-duced printing books in 1450.

Hadlee, Richard (b. 1951): New Zealand’s cricketstar. First bowler to capture 400 test wickets. Re-tired from test cricket with 431 wickets in 86 tests.

Hahn, Otto (1879-1968): OttoHahn was a German physicist.In 1938 he created the firstchemical evidence of nuclearfission by bombarding uraniumwith neutrons. He won the1944 Nobel Prize for Chemis-try.

Haily, Arthur: British novelistpassed away in 2005. He wrote many best sellers ofthriller genere including Airport, Flight into danger’‘The final diagnosis’.

Halley, Edmund (1656-1742): Edmund Halley wasthe British astronomer who discovered Halley’sComet, and it is named after him. He also calculatedits orbit.

Hanniman, Samuel (1755-1843): Samuel Hannimanwas the German physician who is considered theFather of Homeopathy.

Won Nobel Prize forLiterature in 1999

Discovered NuclearFusion

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Hardy, Thomas (1840-1928): Thomas Hardy was aBritish novelist and poet. He found recognition withhis first novel, Far From the Madding Crowd.Other novels are The Return of the Native, TheMayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D’Urbervillesand Jude. His epic drama was The Dynasts.

Hasina, Sheikh Wajed: Daughter of BangabandhuSheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman. Selected for the 1998 Ma-hatma Gandhi World Peace Award. Defeated byKhalida Zia in October 2001 election.

Hastings, Warren (1732-1818): Warren Hastingswas the first Governor-General of India, who suc-ceeded Robert Clive as Governor of Bengal in 1772.Hastings was impeached in the British Parliamentfor his dereliction of duty as well as for corruptionbut later he was freed from all charges.

Havel, Vaclav (b. 1936): First President of the CzechRepublic. Poet and play-wright. Received the 1993Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and De-velopment. He has been conferred the Gandhi PeacePrize 2003 in recognition of his contribution to worldpeace and upholding human rights.

Hawking, Stephen (b. 1942): Stephen Hawking is aBritish theoretical physicist and a professor at Cam-bridge University. His work is concerned with cos-mology, black holes and the Big Bang theory of theorigin of the universe. His famous book is A BriefHistory of Time. He suffers from multiple sclerosisand is so severely handicapped that he can onlytalk through his computer.

Healy, Ian: Australian wicket keeper who recordedthe highest number of dismissals when Pakistan’sWasim Akram became his 356th victim. Broke therecord of his compatriot Rodney Marsh.

Hemingway, Ernest (1899-1961): Ernest Hemingwaybecame the second most translated author of Eng-lish, after Agatha Christie, with masterpieces suchas The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, AFarewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea,which won him a Nobel Prize in 1954. He committedsuicide in 1961.

Henry VIII (1491-1547): England’s King Henry VIIIis famous for having had six wives. The Pope wasangered by his divorces and excommunicated him,which made him, and England, Protestant.

Henry, O. (1862-1910): O. Henry was the pseud-

onym of William Sydney Porter, a US writer andmaster of the short story.

Herodotus (c.485-c.425 BC): Greek historian whowas called by Cicero the Father of History.

Hillary, Edmund (1919-1998): A New Zealander andconqueror of Everest (with Tenzing Norgay). Wasleader of joint Indo-New Zealand ‘Ocean to Sky’ ex-pedition on jet-propelled boats upstream Ganga fromthe Bay of Bengal to its source high in the Himalayas.Was New Zealand’s Ambassador to India.

Hingis, Martina (b. 1981): Switzerland’s tennis mar-vel became the youngest Wimbledon champion ofthis century when she beat Jana Navotna of theCzech Republic in the women’s singles final on July5, 1997.

Hitchcock, Alfred (1899-1980): Sir Alfred Hitchcockwas a British film director,known as the Master of Sus-pense. Among his many filmsare Psycho, The Thirty-nineSteps, The Lady Vanishes, TheBirds and North by North-West. Most of his films weremade in Hollywood, USA.

Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945): Adolf Hitler was theAustrian-born German dictator who influenced thecourse of history in the 20th century. In 1933 hebecame Chancellor of Germany. With the defeat of Ger-many in the second world war, he committed suicide.He is the author of Mein Kampf (‘My Struggle’).

Hiuen-tsang (7th Century AD): A Chinese Buddhistpilgrim. He came to India to study Buddhism. Hisbook which gives an account of the India of his timeis Si-Yu-Ki.

Homer (9th century BC): A Greek poet, the authorof the classic epics, the Iliad (the story of the TenYears War) and the Odyssey (the tale of the ten yearsof wandering of the Greek commander, Odysseus).

Horta, Jose Ramos: The foreign coordinator of theEast Timorese resistance is the co-recipient of theNobel Peace Prize for his tireless efforts in promot-ing human rights along with Bishop Belo.

Howard, John (b. 1939): Is the Australian politicianand the country’s 25th Prime Minister. He was

the Master ofSuspence

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elected in 1996 and is now on his fourth term as thePrime Minister of Australia.

Hugo, Victor (1802-85): Victor Hugo was a Frenchauthor, the most prolific writer of the 19th century.The best known of his books are The Hunchback ofNotre Dame and Les Miserables.

Hume, John: Nobel Peace Prize Winner of 1998 andrenowned Irish & Civil rights champion. He was themain architect of the Northern Ireland peace pro-cess. He shared Nobel Prize with David Trimble forresolving conflict in N. Ireland. He has been con-ferred the Gandhi Peace Prize of 2001.

Hunter, Bob: One of the founders of ‘Green peace’the environment organi-sation, passed away. It wasHunter who gave the name ‘Rainbow warriors’ togreen peace activists.

Hussein, Saddam (b. 1937):Leader of Ba’ath SocialistParty. President of Iraq from1979-2003. He was ousted in2003 after the US invasion. Hewas executed on December 30,2006.

Ibsen, Henrik (1828-1906):Henrik Johan Ibsen was theNorwegian dramatist known as the Father of Mod-ern Drama. His two masterpieces are The MasterBuilder and Hedda Gabler.

Imran Khan (b. 1952): Pakistani cricketer. After hisretirement from cricket he started a cancer hospital– Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital – in Lahorein his mother’s memory. He entered politics bylaunching his Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement of Jus-tice) Party.

Imamura, Shohei: The 70 year old ace Japanesefilm director won the Golden Palme Award for hisfilm Unagi (The Zel) dealing with the subject of sui-cide. His Film The Ballad of Narayama has won theaward in 1983. He died on 2006.

Irving, Washington (1783-859): Washington Irv-ing was the US writer known as the Father of Ameri-can Literature. Tales of a Traveller, Columbus, TheAdventures of Captain Bourneville, Conquest ofGranada, Mohamed and His Successors andGeorge Washington are his major works.

Isenbayeva, Yelena: The olympic champion fromRussia has become the first woman pole vaulter tobreak the five metre barrier at London Grand Prix.She broke her own record.

Jackson, Michael (b. 1958):Black American pop icon. Cre-ator of the Heal the WorldFoundation – an internationalorganisation to call attentionto channel resources towardschildren in need. His popularalbums are Thriller and Dan-gerous.

Jahangir, Asma: Pakistani lawyer who founded theHuman Rights Commission of Pakistan. She won1995 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service.

Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826): Thomas Jeffersonwas an American statesman. He was the third Presi-dent of USA, 1801-09. He was the author of theDeclaration of Independence.

Jelinek, Elfriede: Austrian feminist playwright andnovelist. She was awarded Nobel Prize for Litera-ture 2004. The Piano Teacher, Lovers, Lust etc. areher major works.

Jenner, Edward (1749-1823): He was the Britishphysician who discovered the vaccination for small-pox.

Jinnah, Mohammed Ali(1876-1948): Mohammed AliJinnah was the founder of theseparate Muslim state of Paki-stan. He was the Governor-General of Pakistan after thepartition of India in 1947.

Jintao Hu: He is the currentand fourth Chinese Presidentand Chairman of the central military commission. Hesucceeds Jiang Zemin.

Joan of Arc (c.1412-31): French girl, also known asthe Maid of Orleans, who led the French against theEnglish in the siege of Orleans (1429). She was ulti-mately captured and sold to the English (1430) byBurgundians and was burned at the stake in Roven(1431). She was about 19 when she died. She wascanonised in 1920.

Executed in 2006

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John Paul II (b. 1920): Head of Roman CatholicChurch and influential global leader passed away.He was pope for the last 26 years. His real name wasKarol Voijtiva. His recent books were Come up, Let’sbe on ourway, Memory and identity, Gift andMistery, Threshold of Hope.

Johnson, Ben (1572-1637): Ben Johnson, full nameBenjamin Johnson, was an English dramatist. Amonghis plays are Volpone, The Silent Woman, The Al-chemist and Bartholomew Fair.

Johnson, Lyndon B. (1908-73): Lyndon BainesJohnson was the 36th President of USA 1963-69.He was Vice-President under John F. Kennedy andbecame President when the latter was assassinated.

Johnson, Michael: The American athlete whobagged the 4,000 and 200 metre events at amazingtimings of 43.49 and 19.3 respectively, at the Cen-tennial Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.

Johnson, Samuel (1709-84): He is best known forhis Dictionary of the English Language, the firstcompre-hensive dictionary in the world.

Jones, Sir William (1746-94): Sir William Joneswas a famous Indologist. He was master of 28 lan-guages – oriental and European. He translatedAbhinjana Shakuntalam into English in 1789.

Jordan, Michael (b. 1963): Michael Jordan is a USbasketball player, one of the world’s most popularsportsmen, twice Olympic gold medallist. He isknown as Air Jordan.

Joule, James (1818-89): James Joule was a Britishphysicist. He proved that heat is a form of energy,established the mechanical equivalent of heat andformulated the absolute scale of temperature. Thejoule, SI unit of energy, work done and quantity ofheat, is named after him.

Kadare, Ismail: The Albanian born author wasawarded Man Booker Prize. The General of the deadArmy The Palace of Dreams etc are his famous works.The Successor his latest novel was nominated forNobel Prize.

Kagge, Erling: Norwegian lawyer. First person tohave skied to both the Poles and climbed the world’shighest mountain peak, Mount Everest, in 1994.

Kalashnikov, Mikhail (b. 1919): The 80 year oldretired Major General, a recipient of three Orders of

Lenin during the Soviet eraand ‘Service to the Fatherland’decoration during the presentYeltsin-era and designer of theAK-47 assault rifle. He pro-duced the AvtomatKalashnikov (AK-47) rifle in1947.

Kane, Bob: Bob Kane was thecreator of the comic strip hero Batman. He diedrecently.

Karzai, Hamid: Karzai was elected as the AfghanPresident for 5 years after an election conducted inOctober 2004. He previously served as interim Presi-dent after the fall of Taliban.

Kasparov, Gary (b. 1963): Soviet Grandmaster.World Chess Champion 1993.

Kaunda, Kenneth (b. 1924): Architect of the inde-pendence of Zambia, and its first President (1964-91). Recipient of Jawaharlal Nehru Award for Inter-national Understanding (1970).

Keats, John (1795-1821): John Keats was an En-glish poet. His works include La Belle Dame SansMerci, Endymion, The Eve of St. Agnes and Ode toa Nightingale.

Keller, Helen (1880-1968): Helen Adams Keller wasthe US deaf and blind author and educator. She wasa distinguished lecturer and writer.

Kelvin, William (1824-1907): William ThomsonKelvin was a British mathematician and physicist.He researched Thermodynamics, helping to developthe law of conservation of energy, and the absolutetemperature scale. The Kelvin scale of absolute tem-perature is named after him.

Kennedy, John F. (1917-63):John Fitzgerald Kennedy wasthe 35th President of USA. Hewas the first Roman CatholicPresident and the youngestAmerican to be elected Presi-dent of USA. He was assassi-nated on November 23, 1963 byLee Harvey Oswald.

Khan, Dr. Abdul Qadeer:Khan, considered the father of Pakistan’s nuclear

Mikhail Kalashnikovdesigned it

Assassinate in 1963

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programme, confessed last year that he sold nucleartechnology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. Thepresidential pardon and denial of access to IAEAofficials to Khan suggests involvement of Pakistanigovernment in the whole fiasco.

Kim Dae Jung (b. 1925): President of South Korea.He won the 2000 Nobel Prize for Peace. He insti-tuted a ‘Sunshine Policy’, a programme of reconcili-ation with North Korea, which culminated in a his-toric meeting between him and Kim Il-jung, the NorthKorean leader, in June 2000 in Pyong Yang.

King, Billie Jean (b. 1943): Billie Jean King is a UStennis player. In her career she won a record of 20Wimbledon titles, including the Singles 1966-68,1972-73 and 1975.

King, Martin Luther (1929-68): Martin Luther Kingwas a black American clergyman and civil rightsleader. He led the non-violent movement to obtainfull civil rights for American Negroes and became amartyr in his cause. He was awarded the NobelPrize for Peace in 1964. He was assassinated onApril 5, 1968 by a white fanatic, James Earl Ray. Hismost famous quote comes from his speech in Wash-ington “I have a dream”

Kingsley, Ben (b. 1944): Ben Kingsley is the Britishactor who played the role of Gandhiji in RichardAttenborough’s film, Gandhi. He won an Oscar forBest Actor for the role in 1982.

Kipling, Rudyard (1865-1936): Rudyard Kiplingwas a British writer, born in India. His major worksportray contemporary British life in the British Rajin India. Among his works are The Jungle Book,Kim, The Light that Failed, Barrack Room Bal-lads, Just So Stories etc. He won the 1907 NobelPrize for Literature.

Kissinger, Henry (b. 1923):The former US Secretary ofState whose ‘Shuttle Diplo-macy’ during the West Asiancrisis in 1973 contributed tothe normalisation of the vola-tile situation, broke his long si-lence by recognising India’sneed for a deterrent againstChina. A committee was ap-pointed by President George Bush, under Henry

Kissinger to enquire into the September 11 (2002)terrorist attacks in the U.S. But, he later relinquishedthe post.

Klerk, F.W. de (b. 1936): Former President of SouthAfrica. Along with Chairman of African NationalCongress, Nelson Mandela, was conferred the 1992Nobel Peace Prize.

Koch, Robert (1843-1910): Heinrich Hermann Rob-ert Koch was a German bacteriologist. He won the1905 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. In1882 he discovered the tuberculosis bacillus andthe following year, the cholera bacillus.

Kohl, Helmut (b. 1930): German Chancellor 1982-98. Architect of German re-unification (1990). Re-cipient of 1990 Jawaharlal Nehru Award for Interna-tional Understanding.

Kubrick, Stanley (1928-99): Stanley Kubrick wasa talented but controversial film maker. He achievedworld fame through his internationally acclaimedfilms which include 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr.Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange etc. Eyes WideShut was his last film, released in 2000.

Kumaratunga, Chandrika (b. 1945): Sri Lanka’seleventh Prime Minister (1994). First woman ChiefMinister of the country (Western Province) andleader of Peoples’s Alliance. Her father and mother– S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike– both served as Prime Ministers. On November 10,1994, she became the first woman executive Presi-dent of Sri Lanka.

Kurosawa, Akira (1910-98): Akira Kurosawa wasa celebrated Japanese film director. His films, TheSeven Samurai, Rasho-mon and Kagemusha wereamong the finest works of the world cinemato-graphic heritage.

Laden, Osama bin: Saudi dis-sident multimillionaire who fi-nanced most of the fundamen-talist Islamic movements in-cluding Taliban in Afghanistanand Sudan. He is also thoughtto be behind the attacks onUSA on September 11, 2001when the World Trade Center was destroyed.

Laennec, R.T.H.: R.T.H. Laennec was the Frenchphysician who invented the stethoscope.

known for shuttledeplomacy

Terrorist Leader

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Lahiri, Jumpa (b. 1967): Indian origin Jumba Lahiriwon the Pulitzer Prize (2000) for her debut. Born inLondon, the daughter of Kolkata-based parents, shegrew up at Rhode Island in USA.

Lama, Dalai (Tenzin Gyatso):The exiled spiritual leader ofTibet Established Government-in-exile at Dharmashala(Himachal Pradesh) in 1959.Recipient of 1989 Nobel PeacePrize for his non- violentstruggle to free his Himalayannation from Chinese rule. Hehas authored My Land and People, Freedom in Ex-ile, etc.

Lamarck, Jean Baptiste (1744-1829): ChevalierJean Baptiste Lamarck was a French naturalist andpre-Darwinian evolutionist. His major work wasNatural History of Invertebrate Animals, published1815-22, forty years before Charles Darwin publishedhis On the Origin of Species.

Lambert, Johann Heinrich (1728-77): JohannHeinrich Lambert was a German mathematician. Theunit of light intensity is named after him. In 1760 hediscovered a means to measure the intensity of lightscientifically.

Lamy, Pascal: The former European Union tradenegotiator was appointed as Director General ofWorld Trade Organisation. The Frenchman takescharge in August, 2005, in place of SupachiPanichpakdi.

Land, Edwin (1909-91): Edwin Herbert Land was aUS inventor and physicist. In 1947 he invented the‘Land Polaroid’ camera, a camera which could takepictures and print them instantly with developingagents incorporated into the film itself.

Landsteiner, Karl (1868-1943: Karl Landsteinerwas the US scientist who discovered the Rh bloodfactor. He won the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physiologyfor his discovery of the main types of human blood.

Lao-tze (c. 6th century BC): He was the Chinesephilosopher who founded Taoism, ‘The Path to Vir-tue’.

Lara, Brian (b. 1969): The left-handed batting heroof West Indies. He has the highest individual scorein both first-class cricket (501 not out) and Test

cricket (400 not out). He also holds the record forthe highest total number of runs in a Test career,after overtaking Allan Border in November 2005. Heis the only man to have reclaimed the highest Testrecord score. He also completed 10,000 runs in OD1s.

Lavoisier, Antoine (1743-94): Antoine LaurentLavoisier was the man who first established that aircontains two gases: oxygen and nitrogen. He wascalled the Father of Modern Chemistry.

Lawrence, D.H. (1885-1930): David Herbert Law-rence was a British poet and novelist. His booksinclude Sons and Lovers, Women in Love and ThePlumed Serpent. He was prosecuted for obscenityfor his The Rainbow and his Lady Chatterley’s Loverwas banned and later, thirty years after his death,was the subject of a sensational law case when itwas republished.

Lawrence, T.E. (1888-1935): T.E. Lawrence, alsoknown as Lawrence of Arabia, was a British soldierand author. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, has be-come a classic and he himself has become a legen-dary figure. His life was the subject of the hugelysuccessful film by David Lean, Lawrence of Arabia(1962).

Lawton, Maxwell: South African painter. Himselfan AIDS patient, his painting Christ Child withAIDS and Man of Sorrows depict Christ as on AIDSsufferer.

Lenin, Vladimir (1870-1924): Vladimir Lenin wasthe founder of Communist Russia. On November 7,1917 a new socialist government was formed in Rus-sia under his leadership.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519): A great Italianpainter, sculptor and architect. He has been describedas a universal genius of the Renaissance. His mas-terpiece is Mona Lisa (painted in 1504). The LastSupper is also one of his creative paintings.

Lewis, Edward: American biologist. Co-recipient ofthe 1995 Nobel Prize in Medicine, with ChristianeNuesslein-Volhard (Germany) and Eric Wieschaus(USA) for discoveries concerning “the genetic con-trol of early embryonic development”.

Libby, William (1908-80): William Frank Libby wasa US chemist. In 1960 he won the Nobel Prize forChemistry for his part in the invention of Carbon-14dating.

Won Peace Nobel Prize1989

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Lincoln, Abraham (1809-65): Abraham Lincoln wasthe 16th President of USA, 1861-65. In 1863, he pro-claimed the freedom of the slaves. The AmericanCivil War (1861-65) broke out during his presidencydue to his plans to emancipate slaves. He was as-sassinated in a theatre on April 14, 1865 by JohnWilkes Booth.

Lister, Joseph (1827-1912): Joseph Lister was theBritish surgeon who discovered the cause of sepsisand introduced an antiseptic into the operating the-atre to prevent it.

Livingstone, David (1813-73): David Livingstonewas the first European to explore many parts of cen-tral and eastern Africa. He discovered the origin ofthe River Nile in 1866. He disappeared in 1869 andwas found by Sir Henry Stanley in 1871.

Lucas Jr., Robert E. (b. 1937): American econo-mist. Professor at the University of Chicago. Re-cipient of 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics for his workon ‘how rational expectations have transformedmacro-economic analysis and helped understandeconomic policy’.

Lucid, Shannon: The 35 year old celebrity astro-naut, who spent a record 188 days in space in 1996,became the first woman to be awarded the Con-gressional Space Medal of Honour (Washington,December 2, 1996). Her mission to the Russian spacestation Mir was the longest ever by a woman or anAmerican. She returned to Earth in September 1996.

Lumière, Auguste (1862-1954): Auguste Lumièrewas the French inventor of photographic equipment.With his brother, Louis Jean Lumière, he inventedthe cine-camera in 1893.

Luther, Martin (1483-1546): Martin Luther was aGerman religious reformer and the founder of theProtestant form of Christianity.

Lutyens, Sir Edwin (1869-1944): Sir Edwin Lutyenswas a British architect. He planned New DelhiRashtrapti Bhavan, Liverpool Roman Catholic Ca-thedral, the British Embassy in Washington andmany other buildings.

Macaulay, Thomas (1800-59): Thomas BabingtonMacaulay, was an Indian Civil servant. He played asignificant role in introducing English as a mediumof instruction and education. He is the author ofHistory of England and Lays of Ancient Rome.

Madonna (b. 1959): Theworld’s top female pop star, herfull name is Madonna LouiseCiccone. In 1986 she becamethe first woman to top both thealbum and singles charts. Hermost popular album is TrueBlue (1986). She wrote a bookcalled Sex.

Magellan, Ferdinand (c.1480-1521): Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese navi-gator. He sailed around the bottom of South Americato the Ocean he named the Pacific. He made firstcircumnavigation of the world. The Strait ofMagellan is named after him.

Magsaysay, Ramon: Ramon Magsaysay was Presi-dent of the Philippines 1953-57. The MagsaysayAward, known as Asia’s Nobel Prize, is given in hismemory.

Malthus, Thomas Robert (1766-1834): ThomasRobert Malthus was a British economist. He is theauthor of Essay on the Principle of Population.

Mandela, Nelson (b. 1918): Leader of African Na-tional Congress, and South Africa’s first black Presi-dent (1994-1999). The former saboteur and politicalprisoner (for 27 years from 1964 to 1990), was theonly nominee to succeed F.W. de Klerk, with whomhe shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for negotiat-ing the end of apartheid. Recipient of Third WorldAward (1986), Jawaharlal Nehru Award for Interna-tional Understanding (1979), Bharat Ratna (1990),and Jamnalal Bajaj Award (1990). He is one of theonly three people to receive an honorary degreefrom Harvard at a time other than the university’scommencement. He resigned as President in June1999 and retired from politics. In 2000, he shared theGandhi Peace Prize with Bangladesh Rural Devel-opment Bank amounting Rs.1 crore. A Long Walk toFreedom is his autobiography which was publishedin 1994.

Mao Tse-tung (1893-1976): Mao Tse-tung, alsospelt Mao Zedong, was the founder of CommunistChina. He was a founding member of the ChineseCommunist Party (1921) and proclaimed the Peo-ple’s Republic of China in 1949 and became its Presi-dent, as well as being Chairman of the CommunistParty, until his death.

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Maradona, Diego (b. 1962): Argentinian soccer star.He led Argentina to world cup victory in 1986. Hehad up’s and down’s in his career due to addictionto drugs. In 2005 he kicked the habit to become a TVshow host.

Marconi, Guglielmo (1874-1937): Guglielmo Mar-coni was the Italian physicist who invented the ra-dio and wireless system. He shared the 1909 NobelPrize in Physics with Ferdinand Braun of Germanyfor developing the wireless.

Marco Polo (1254-1323): The Italian traveller whowas the first European to visit China. He also vis-ited coastal areas of India. He wrote an account ofhis journeys to China and the Far East which is en-titled The Book of Marco Polo.

Marcos, Ferdinand (1917-89: Ferdinand Marcoswas the President of the Philippines 1965-89.

Marx, Karl (1818-83): KarlMarx is the Father of Commu-nism. His form of Communismis known as Marxism. He is theauthor of Das Kapital (1848).In collaboration with FriedrichEngels he published The Com-munist Manifesto (1840).

Mathai, Wangari Muta: TheKenyan environmentalist became the first Africanwoman to receive Nobel Peace Prize, 2004. Dr. Mathaiis also the Assistant Minister for the Environmentand Natural Resources in the present Kibaki Gov-ernment.

Mbeki, Thabo (b. 1942): Thabo Mbeki is the Presi-dent of South Africa.

McKinnon, Don: The Secretary General of theCommonwealth, Don McKinnon, was elected to thepost in November 1999. The New Zealander hadpreviously served as his country’s Foreign Ministerand Deputy Prime Minister.

McEwan, Ian (b. 1948): The 50 year old British writerwon the Booker Prize in 1998 for his book,Amsterdam.

Mendez, Sam: Sam Mendez is a director of Britishplays. He won five Oscar awards for his maiden film,American Beauty (1999).

Menuhin, Yehudi (1916-99): American violinist.

First musician to receive the peace prize of Germanbooksellers. Recipient of Jawaharlal Nehru Awardfor International Understanding.

Merkel, Angela: The Christian democrat candidate,Ms Merkel has been appointed eighth post-warChancellor of Germany. She was elected as theChancellor after an agreement was concludedbetween Christian democrats and Social democrat’s,due to an inconclusive election on Septem-ber 18.

Michelangelo (1475-1564): Full name Michelangelodi Ludovico Buonarroti Simoni : Italian painter,sculptor and architect. His finest painting is TheLast Judgement.

Miller, Arthur: The pulitzer winning, playwrightpassed away. Death of a salesman, The Crucible,etc... are his famous plays.

Milosevic, Slobodan (1941-2006): He was President ofYugoslavia from 1997 to 2000.Faced charges of genocide ofethnic Albanians in interna-tional criminal court after be-ing ousted by NATOintervension. He died inprison.

Milton, John (1608-74): John Milton was the En-glish poet known as the Epic Poet. His major worksinclude Paradise Lost (1667), Paradise Regained(1671) and Samson Agonistes (1671).

Mittal, Laxmikanth: Expatricate Indian steel tycoonwas selected the 3rd richest man in the world byForbes magazine and is one of richest in the UK.The Company Mittal Industries merged with Arcelorand became biggest steel industry.

Monroe, Marilyn (1926-62): Marilyn Monroe wasa US film star. She specialised in portraying inno-cently provocative blondes or ‘dumb blondes’ withcomic genius. She committed suicide in 1962 fol-lowing a romantic relationship with the then US Presi-dent, John F. Kennedy.

Montessori, Maria (1870-1952): She was the Italianeducationist and founder of the Montessori system ofeducation. The Montessori system stresses the devel-opment of a child’s own initiative and natural abilities,especially through practical play and individual guid-ance rather than through strict control.

Father of CommunismBalkan Butcher

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Moore, Henry (1898-1986): Henry Moore was aBritish sculptor. His major work is Madonna andChild in St. Matthew’s Church, Northampton.

More, Sir Thomas (1478-1535): Sir Thomas Morewas an English statesman. His main principle wasIdeal State which he expounded in his masterpieceUtopia.

Morrison, Toni (b. 1935): Black American writer.Recipient of 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature. Authorof six novels, won 1988 Pulitzer Prize for her book,Beloved.

Mountbatten, Lord (1900-79): Lord Mountbattenwas the last Viceroy of India. He was assassinatedin 1979 by a bomb placed on his yacht by the IRAoff the coast of Ireland.

Mubarak, Hosni (b. 1928): He has been the fourthPresident of the Arab republic of Egypt for twenty-four years, since 14 October 1981.

Mueller, Max (1823-1900): Max Mueller was a Ger-man Sanskrit scholar and philosopher. His worksinclude The Science of Languages and India – WhatCan It Teach Us?

Mugabe, Robert (b. 1924): The anti-apartheid cru-sader and now the President of Zimbabwe. Has beenaccused of humanrights violation by commonwealth.

Murdoch, Rupert (b. 1931):Australian-born American me-dia proprietor who is the ma-jority shareholder and manag-ing director of News Corpora-tion., one of the world’s larg-est and most influential mediacorporations. In India he ownsStar group of satelite channels.

Murray, Jennifer (b. 1942): Jennifer Murray of Brit-ain was the first woman to pilot a helicopter aroundthe world.

Musharraf, Gen. Pervez: Gen. Pervez Musharraf isthe self-styled Chief Executive of Pakistan whostaged a coup in October 1999 and ousted the PrimeMinister, Nawaz Sharif. Earlier he was Chief of ArmyStaff. I 2002 through an ordinance Mushraff ap-pointed himself president of Pakistan until 2007.

Mussolini, Benito (1883-1945): Benito Mussoliniwas dictator of Italy 1922-43. He was the founder of

Fascism, a philosophy in which the State’s needstake priority over the individual’s.

Myrdal, Gunnar (1898-1987): Karl Gunnar Myrdalwas the Swedish economist, politician and civil serv-ant who won the 1974 Nobel Prize for Economics.He is the author of American Dilemma and AsianDrama.

Naipaul, V.S. (b. 1932): A Trinidadian novelist ofIndian origin, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Lit-erature. Received a knighthood in the British Gov-ernment’s New Year honours list. Won 1971 BookerPrize for In a Free State. Won Nobel prize for litera-ture in 2001. A Bend in the River, Half a Life, MagicSeeds etc. are other major works.

Napoleon (1769-1821): Napo-leon Bonaparte was a Frenchstatesman, Emperor of France,and the most brilliant generalof his time. He was nicknamedthe Little Corporal.

Nasser, Colonel (1918-70):Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser wasPrime Minister of Egypt (1954-6) and President (1956-70). In 1956 he nationalisedthe Suez Canal which passes through Egypt and isthe lifeline between Asia and Europe.

Nathan, S.R. (b. 1925): Sellapan Rama Nathan is anethnic Indian, born in Singapore, who is a veterandiplomat, was sworn in as the sixth elected Presi-dent of Singapore on September 1, 1999, succeed-ing Ong Teng Cheong.

Navratilova, Martina (b. 1956): Czechoslovakian-born tennis player of United States. In her 20 yearcareer she won 167 singles titles, the highest by anyplayer male or female. In November 1994, she badefarewell to tennis.

Nazreen, Taslima: The controversial Bangladeshiwriter of books like ‘Lajja’, ‘Ka’, ‘Dwikhandito’ hadsought Indian citizenship in March 2005. She hasbeen living in Europe and united state since leavingBangladesh in 1994.

Nejad, Ahmedi: The newly elected hardliner Presi-dent of Iran. Ahmadi Nejad is Iran’s first non-clericPresident in 24 years. He was previously TeheranMayor.

Owns Star TV

Little Corporal

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Nelson, Lord (1758-1805): Lord Nelson, Horatio,Viscount Nelson, was a British admiral and hero.His most famous victory was the Battle of Trafalgar.

Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727): Sir Isaac Newtonwas an English mathematician and physicist famousfor his discovery of the Law of Gravitation, threelaws of motion, differential calculus, composition oflight etc. His greatest discovery is the gravitationalpull of Earth.He is the author of Mathematical Prin-ciples of Natural Philosophy.

Nicholas II (1868-1918): Last Tsar of Russia, 1895-1917. He was forced to abdicate during the RussianRevolution and, with his family, was murdered bythe Bolsheviks.

Niepce, Joseph (1765-1833): Joseph NicephoreNiepce was the French scientist who invented thecamera. It was he who invented the first photographictechnique, heliography, i.e. taking pictures with thesun’s light.

Nightingale, Florence (1820-1910): She was a devoted Brit-ish nurse, who, during theCrimean War (1854-56), re-formed the nursing profession.She was known as the Ladywith the Lamp. She was the firstwoman to receive the Order ofMerit (1907).

Nixon, Richard M. (1913-94): Richard MilhousNixon was the 37th President of USA, 1969-74. Heresigned in 1974 before being impeached. VictoryWithout War and Beyond Peace are books by him.

Nkrumah, Kwame (1909-72): Kwame Nkrumah wasthe Prime Minister of Ghana 1957-60 and President1960-66. He was the leader of Ghana’s independ-ence movement. He is known as the Gandhi of Af-rica.

Nobel, Alfred (1833-96): Alfred Bernhard Nobel hasacquired immense fame as the inventor of dynamiteand as the founder of the Nobel Prize.

Oba, Mitsuro: 45 year old Japanese adventurer whoundertook a solo trek across Antarctica in October1998. First person to undertake a solo trek acrossfrozen Antarctica in June 1997.

Obasanjo, Olusegun (b. 1937): He took office as

President of Nigeria on May 29, 1999 after winningan election that was marred by irregularities.

Olson, Gregory: The American millionaire was thethird space tourist after Dennis Tito and MarkShuttleworth. He took the journey in Russia’s SoyuzSpace Shuttle.

Omar Khayyám (c.1050-.1123): Persian astronomerand one of the greatest poets in the Arabianlanguage. His famous work is Rubáiyát.

O’Neill, Eugene (1888-1953): Eugene O’Neill wasa US playwright, the first US dramatist to win theNobel Prize for Literature, in 1936.

Ondieki, Yobes (b. 1963): Kenyan athlete. First manto break the 27 minutes barrier for 10,000 metres run(1993). Broke Chelimo’s record by covering thedistance in 26 minutes 58.38 secs.

Oppenheimer, J. Robert(1904-67): Julius RobertOppenheimer was a US nuclearphysicist. He is known as theFather of the Atomic Bomb.

Orwell, George (1903-50):George Orwell was a Britishnovelist and essayist. His realname was Eric Blair. Amonghis works were Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Owens, Jesse (b. 1913-80): American athlete, realname John Cleveland Owens. Only man to win fourtrack and field gold medals (100 m, 200 m, long jump,4 x 100 m relay) in a single Olympics (1936).

Palyakav, Valery (b. 1943): Russian cosmonaut.Has the record of 438 days in space.

Parkinson, C. Northcote (1909-93): Cyril NorthcoteParkinson was a British writer, historian and politicalscientist. He is especially known for his Parkinson’sLaw – that work expands to fill the time available forits completion. His famous book is Parkinson’sLaw: The Pursuit of Progress.

Pasternak, Boris (1890-1960): Boris Pasternak wasa Russian poet and writer. He is best known for hispanoramic novel, Dr. Zhivago, set immediatelybefore, during and after the Russian Revolution.

Pasteur, Louis (1822-95): Louis Pasteur was theFrench scientist who discovered that germs existed

Lady with the Lamp

Father of Atom Bomb

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and are the cause of infection. Paz, Octavio (1914-98): Mexico’s literary giant, who

won a Nobel Prize for his enchanting poetry andessays, passed away on April 19, 1998, aged 84, inMexico City. He had also been Mexican Ambassadorto India 1962-68.

Peary, Robert E. (1856-1920): Robert E. Peary wasan American explorer of the Arctic, the first to reachthe North Pole overland (in January 1910).

Pele, Edson A.D.N. (b. 1940): Soccer player fromBrazil. Played in all four World Cup Championshiptournaments, a world record. Scored 1,281 goals in1,363 games. Presently Sports Minister of Brazil.

Peres, Shimon (b. 1923): Former Prime Minister ofIsrael (after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated onNovember 5, 1995). Shared 1994 Nobel Peace Prizewith Rabin and Yasser Arafat.

Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973):Pablo Picasso was a Spanishartist, the greatest of the 20thcentury. He is bestremembered for his two-dimensional illusory paintings.He introduced cubism. Hismost famous painting isGuernica, done in ‘syntheticcubism’, depicting his horror of the bombing ofGuernica, a town in the Basque region of Spain, inthe Spanish Civil War (1936-39).

Pierre, DBC: A little known Australian - Mexicanauthor with murky past, DBC Pierre won the BookerPrize for his debut novel “ Vernon God Little” .DBCPierre, whose name stands for “Dirty But Clean”(real name Finlay Peter) has confessed to havingbetrayed friends as a drug addict and gambler.

Pinter Harold: British playwright and theatre direc-tor. He was awarded Nobel Prize for literature for theyear 2005. The Birthday Party, The Home Coming,No Man’s Land are major works.

Planck, Max (1858-1947): Max Planck was aGerman theoretical physicist and the winner of the1918 Nobel Prize for Physics. He formulated thequantum theory, called Planck’s Constant.

Plato (c.427-347 BC): Athenian philosopher knownas the Father of Western Political Thought. He was

a celebrated disciple of Socrates. Pol Pot (1926-98): The man who unleashed the

reign of terror in Cambodia, whom the Cambodianswould remember as the worst war criminal in theirhistory, died of a heart attack in his sleep on April15, 1998 in his northern jungle stronghold of AnlongVeng.

Pope, Alexander (1688-1744): Alexander Pope wasa British satirical poet and master of the heroiccouplet. His works include The Rape of the Lock,The Duncaid, and The Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot.

Pressler, Larry: US Republican Senator. His 1985amendment, known as Pressler Amendment, led toa cut in US military and economic aid to Pakistan in1990.

Priestley, Joseph (1733-1804): Joseph Priestley wasthe British chemist whodiscovered oxygen, thelife-giving gas.

Prodi, Romano: Italian politi-cian and the former presidentof European Commission. Heis the leader of oppositionagainst Silvio Berlusconi’s rightwing government.

Pulitzer, Joseph (1847-1911): Joseph Pulitzer wasa Hungarian-born US newspaper proprietor. In hiswill he established annual Pulitzer Prizes for literature,drama, music and journalism for American writers.

Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich (b. 1952): VladimirPutin is the President of Russia; he was sworn-in inMay 2000. He took his law degree from theUniversity of Leningrad and joined the KGB in 1975.

Puzo, Mario (1921-99): Mario Puzo was a US best-selling author. He was the creator of the fictionalCorleone crime family and winner of two Oscars forhis screen adaptations of his book The Godfather.His last book was Omertà.

Rabin, Yitzhak (1922-95): Yitzhak Rabin was aformer Prime Minister of Israel. He wa sassassinated in 1995 by Yigal Amir. He sharedthe 1994 Nobel Prize for Peace with Shimon Peresand Yasser Arafat.

Rajpakse, Mahinda: The former Prime Minister andHead of United Peoples Freedom Alliance was sworn

Introduced Cubism

Discovered Oxygen

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in as the fifth executive President of Sri Lanka. Hedefeated Ranil Vikram Singhe.

Rato, Rodrigo: A former Spanish Finance Ministerwho on the the basis of consensus and backing ofEurope and several Latin American Countries wasappointed Managing Director of IMF on May 4,2004, succeeding Koehler of Germany.

Reagan, Ronald (b. 1911): 40th President of USA(1981-88). Was Governor of California (1967). He hadbeen a film star and television artiste. He sufferedfrom Alzheimer’s disease and died in 2004.

Rice, Condoleeza: The current American Secretaryof state has topped the Forbes Magazines list ofmost powerful women. Ms. Rice becomes the firstblack women to be appointed US Secretary of Stateis a close confidante of President Bush.

Robinson, Mary (b. 1944): The first woman and 7thPresident of Ireland who was succeeded by anotherwoman President, Mary McAlleese.

Ronaldinho: The Brazillian footballer who wasawarded the first ‘FIFA player of the year’. He wasalso the ‘European Player of the year’ in 2005.

Rontgen, Wilhelm K. (1845-1923): Wilhelm Konrad vonRöntgen (or Roentgen) was aGerman physicist. He was thediscoverer of X-rays and wasthe recipient of the first NobelPrize in Physics in 1901.

Rogge, Dr. Jacques: An Ortho-paedic Surgeon of Belgiumwho was elected as the new President of Interna-tional Olympic Committee for an 8 year term suc-ceeding Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1882-1945): FranklinDwight Roosevelt, known as FDR, was the 32ndPresident of USA, 1933-45. He is the only Americanto hold the US presidency three times.

Ross, Ronald (1857-1932): Ronald Ross was aBritish physician and bacteri-ologist. He discoveredthe malarial parasite, which won him the Nobel Prizein 1902.

Rowling, JK: Famous children fiction writer whocreated ‘Harry potter’ the child wizard. Her books inHarry potter series have been global best sellers. A

single mother, Ms. Rowling is one of the wealthiestauthors of all time.

Rushdie, Salman (b. 1947):Mumbai-born controversialBritish writer. Honoured with1993 Booker of Bookers,recipient of 1981 Booker Prizefor Midnight’s Children. His1989 book Satanic versesinvited wrath of Muslim clericsand was banned in manycountries. Other works includeShame, The Moore’s Last Sigh the Ground BeneathHer Feet, Shalimar the Clown etc...

Ruskin, John (1819-1900): John Ruskin was aBritish author and art critic. His critical works ModernPainters and The Stones of Venice established himas the leading critic of his time.

Russell, Bertrand (1872-1970): Bertrand Russellwas the British philosopher and mathematician whowon the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. Hisfamous books are Principia Mathematics, AnEnquiry into Meaning and Truth , HumanKnowledge, History of Western Philosophy,Analysis of Mind, Impact of Science on Society,Mamape and Morals and Problems of Philosophy.

Rutherford, Ernest (1871-1937): Ernest Rutherford,1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, was a New Zealand-born British pioneer of modern atomic science. Hewas the first to split the atom and obtain nuclei ofhydrogen. He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in1908. He is known as the Father of Nuclear Physics.

Sampras, Pete (b. 1971): Former World No. 1 Greek-American tennis player. He is considered by manyto be the greatest male tennis player of all time,having won a record 14 Grand Slam men’s singlestitles and finished the year as No. 1 on the ATPworld rankings for a record six consecutive years.He won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon a recordseven times. He also won the US Open five timesand the Australian Open twice. However, the onemajor championship which eluded him was theFrench Open. He retired from professional tennis in2003.

Saramago, Jose (b. 1924): Jose Saramago is thePortuguese novelist and outspoken non-conformistwho has a soft corner for the common man. He won

Discovered X-ray

Won Booker Prize in1981

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the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. His majorbreakthrough came in 1982, with his novel Baltasarand Blimunda, on which the Italian composerCorghi based his opera Blimunda.

Savitskaya, Svetlana (b. 1949): Soviet cosmonaut.First woman to walk in space. As test pilot, shemastered 20 types of aircraft, and won the title ‘MissSensation’.

Schroeder, Gerhard (b. 1944): Former Chancellorof Germany, leading a coalition of the SocialDemocratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Greensfrom 1998 to 2005. He ended the 16 year long rule ofHelmut Kohl.

Schumacher, Micheal: Ger-man formula one driver whowon a record seven WorldDrivers championship titles.One of the well paid figures insports worldwide, he is themost successful F1 driver ever.He retired from race driving in2006.

Sethi, Najam: Najam Sethi is the editor of thePakistani newspaper The Friday Times.

Shakespeare, William(1564-1616): WilliamShakespeare was an Englishdramatist and poet, consideredthe greatest literary figure inEnglish literature. Importantplays of Shakespeare are All’sWell That Ends Well, Antonyand Cleopatra, As You Like It,Comedy of Errors, JuliusCaesar, The Merchant of Venice, A MidsummerNight’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeoand Juliet, The Tempest, Twelfth Night etc. Hamlet,King Lear, Macbeth and Othello are his greattragedies.

Sharif, Nawaz (b. 1950): Twice elected as PrimeMinister of Pakistan, serving two non-consecutiveterms from 1993 to 1999. His party is the PakistanMuslim League N (Nawaz group). His rule came toan abrupt end following the overthrow of hisgovernment by a military coup in 1999 months afterthe Kargil War.

Sharon, Ariel: Former Israeli Prime Minister. He re-

signed in December 2005 to form a new party‘Kadima’ and to fight election in March 2006. Dur-ing his rule Israel pulled back from Gaza and con-structed a controversial security wall. He retired fromactive politics in March 2007.

Shaw, Bernard (1856-1950): George Bernard Shawwas the Irish-born British dramatist, essayist andpamphleteer. Among his many successes areCaesar and Cleopatra, Arms and the Man,Candida, The Devil’s Disciple, Man and Superman,Major Barbara, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Pygmalionand Saint Joan.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1792-1822): Percy ByssheShelley was a British poet, one of the mostdistinguished in the history of English literature. Hewrote many poems, including Queen Mab, TheSkylark, Ode to the West Wind, PrometheusUnbound and Adonais.

Shuttleworth, Mark: The South Africanbusinessman became the second space tourist inanother step to make space tourism a boomingindustry.

Shoemaker, Eugene (1928-97): Eugene Shoemakerwas a renowned US astronomer, who shared thediscovery of the comet Shoemaker-Levy-9 with CarolLevy.

Sinatra, Frank (1915-98): Frank Sinatra was anAmerican singer, the most popular of his generation.

Spielberg, Steven (b. 1947): Film director. His famousfilms are Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the ThirdKind (1978), Raiders of the Last Ark (1982), ET–theExtra Terrestrial (1983), Jurassic Park (1993).

Spock, Benjamin (1903-98): Dr. Benjamin Spock wasthe author of the famous book Baby and Child Care.

Stalin, Joseph (1879-1953): Joseph Stalin was aRussian from Georgia, the dictator of USSR He wasknown as the Iron Man of the USSR.

Steinbeck, John (1902-68): John Steinbeck was theUS author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in1962. His best-known book is The Grapes of Wrath.

Stephenson, George (1781-1848): GeorgeStephenson was the British inventor of the steamlocomotive.

Stevenson, Robert Louis (1850-94): Robert Louis

Retired fromcar race in 2006

The Bard of Avon

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Stevenson was a British writer of highly readableadventure stories, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.Among his books are Treasure Island, Kidnapped,The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Sullivan, Kathy: American astronaut who becameAmerica’s first woman space-walker on October 11,1994, when she floated outside the shuttleChallenger.

Swaraj Paul (b. 1931): The noted non-residentIndian (NRI) and Vice Chancellor of Wolver hamptonUniversity, England. In 1996, he became a life peerand is known as Lord Swaraj Paul.

Talabani, Jalal: The Kurdish leader of the patrioticunion of Kurdistan party was elected as thePresident of ‘liberated’ Iraq after emerging asconsensus candidate supported by United IraqiAlliance.

Taylor, Elizabeth (b. 1932): Elizabeth Taylor is aBritish film actress now living in USA.

Tereshkova, Valentina (b. 1937): Soviet cosmonaut.First woman to make a space flight aboard Vostok-VI (June 1963).

Thant, U (1909-74): Third Secretary-General of theUnited Nations, 1962-71. He was from Myanmar.

Thatcher, Margaret (b. 1925):Prime Minister of Britain 1979-1990. Known as ‘The IronLady’ for her strong policies ,particularly for her militaryvictory against Argentina inthe Falkland Islands. Authorof The Path to Power, MyDowning Street Years.

Tito (1892-1980): President of Yugoslavia 1953-80.He was a co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Tito, Dennis (b. 1941): Dennis Tito is the USbusinessman who, in April 2001, became the world’sfirst ‘space tourist’.

Tolstoy, Leo (1828-1910): Count Leo NikolayevichTolstoy was a great Russian literary figure. His workincludes War and Peace, Anna Karenina andResurrection.

Toynbee, Arnold (1889-1975): Arnold Toynbee wasa famous British historian. His works include AHistorian’s Approach to Religion, Between Nigar

and Nile, Cities on the Move, Civilisation on Trialand the 10 volume History of the World.

Turner, Ted (b. 1938): Creatorof CNN (Cable News Network)and former husband of actressJane Fonda.

Tutu, Desmond (b. 1931):Bishop Desmond Tutu is theformer Archbishop of CapeTown. He won the Nobel Prizefor Peace in 1984. He also won Gandhi Peace Prize.

Twain, Mark (1835-1910): Mark Twain was thepseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, He isbest known for his two masterpieces, Tom Sawyerand Huckleberry Finn.

Tyson, Mike (b. 1967): Heavyweight boxingchampion. In 1986 he was the youngest man ever towin the heavyweight crown. He was expelled fromthe boxing profession for biting the ears of thechampion Evander Holyfield during a boxingchampionship.

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-90):Vincent van Gogh was a Dutchpainter, probably the greatestof Impressionist artists. HisSunflowers is considered thebest painting of the genre.

Vaz, Keith: Keith Vaz is aBritish Labour politician ofIndian origin. In May 1999, hewas appointed to the British Council of Ministers,the first Asian MP to be so.

Verne, Jules (1828-1905): Jules Verne was a Frenchnovelist, the founder of the science fiction novel.His best known books are Around the World inEighty Days, Journey to the Centre of the Earthand Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Vespucci, Amerigo (1454-1512): Amerigo Vespucciwas an Italian navigator. He explored Venezuela andthe Gulf of Mexico (1507).

Volcker, Paul: In April, 2004 UN assigned him tostudy about Iraqi Oil for food programme, on whosereport Indian Foriegn Minister Natwar Singh had toresign.

Voltaire (1694-1778): French writer whose real

The Iron Lady

Owns CNN

Dutch Painter

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name was François Marie Arouet. Among his worksare Lettres Philosophiques, Dictionnaire Philoso-phique and Candide.

Waldheim, Kurt (b. 1918): Fourth Secretary-Generalof United Nations,1972-81.He later became Presidentof Austria (1986-92).

Walesa, Lech (b. 1943): Polishtrade union leader andpolitician. President of Poland1990-95. Earlier he had beenthe leader of the trade unionSolidarity which did much tooverthrow communistauthoritarianism in Poland.Won the 1983 Nobel PeacePrize.

Walsh, Courtney: CourtneyWalsh, nicknamed the SilentKiller of the Cricket World, is aJamaican cricketer. He hassurpassed India’s Kapil Devand become the highest wickettaker in test cricket. He hastaken 435 wickets. Retired fromfirst class cricket in 2001.

Warne, Shane: The 35 year oldAustralian spin wizard became the first player totake 600 test wickets in August, 2005 againstEngland. The controversial cricketer is consideredthe best leg spinner the game has ever produced.He became the first bowler (spinner) to take 700wickets in Test Cricket. He retired from first classcricket in January 2007.

Washington, George (1732-99): First President ofUSA (1789-97). He comman-ded the victoriousAmerican forces against the British in the AmericanRevolution.

Watson, James (b. 1928): US geneticist. He helpedto discover the molecular structure of DNA, forwhich he shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiologyor Medicine.

Watt, James (1736-1819): British inventor. Heinvented the steam engine in 1774. The electricalunit ‘watt’ is named after him.

Webster, Noah (1758-1843): US lexicographer. His

two-volume American Dictionary of the EnglishLanguage has been a major influence on USdictionary practice.

Wellington, Duke of (1769-1852): ArthurWellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was a Britishnational hero and Prime Minister 1828-30.

Whittakar, Tom: The handicapped US climber, wholost his right foot in a car accident 19 years ago,became the first disabled person to scale MountEverest in his third attempt on May 27, 1998.

Wilde, Oscar (1854-1900): Oscar Wilde was aDublin-born British poet, writer and playwright. Hewas known for his wit, and his plays were amongthe greatest hits of the Victorian era. His plays includeThe Importance of Being Earnest, and LadyWindermere’s Fan. His books include The Pictureof Dorian Gray, De Profundis, The Portrait of W.H.and The Happy Prince (for children).

Wilmut, Ian (b. 1947): The embryologist at theRoslin Institute in Scotland is the laboratory fatherof Dolly the sheep, history’s first cloned adultmammal.

Wilson, Woodrow (1856-1924): Thomas WoodrowWilson was the 28 President of USA (1913-21), thePresident who brought USA into World War I, andthe virtual founder of the League of Nations.

Wolfowitz, Paul: FormerAmerican Deputy Secretary,for defense and neo-conservative ideologuebehind the Iraqi invasion wasappointed as President ofWorld Bank in place ofWolfenson.

Woods, Tiger: American golferconsidered on of the greatestgolfers of all time. In 2005, at the age of 29, he wonhis tenth major golf championship, placing him thirdin all time list. He is currently the world No.1 and isthe highest paid professional.

Wordsworth, William (1770-1850): WilliamWordsworth was an English poet. He was the leaderof the romantic movement in literature.

Yanni: The Greek-born American composer andkeyboard player, mesmerised his Indian audience atthe Taj Mahal with his scintillating performance.

Silent Killer of theCricket World

1983 Nobel Peace PrizeWinner

President ofWorld Bank

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Yeltsin, Boris (b. 1931): Russian President 1991-99. First popularly elected leader of Russia. He wasre-elected as President in 1996 and resigned, due toill health, on New Year’s Eve 1999.

Yudhoyono, Susilo Bombang:Indonesian retired military gen-eral and statesman, is the sixthPresident of Indonesia, andthe first to be directly electedby voters.

Yunus, Mohammed:Mohammed Yunus won the1998 Indira Gandhi Prize forPeace, Disarmament andDevelopment. He foundedGrameen Bank of Dhaka inBangladesh. Won Nobel Prizefor Peace 2006.

Yuschenko, Victor: He waselected as the President ofUkraine defeating VictorYanukovitch, the formerPresident. He won the re-election after months ofturbulence.

Zia, Begum Khaleda: The housewife-turned-politi-cian and Chairperson of the Bangladesh NationalistParty who became the first woman Prime Minister ofBangladesh. She resigned from the PrimeMinistership in March 1996. Was defeated in the1996 elections by Sheikh Hasina Wajed of AwamiLeague. She was elected Prime Minister for the sec-ond time in October 2001.

Zidane, Zinedine (b. 1973):This French footballer wasnamed European Footballer ofthe Year for an eventful 1998when he helped France to winthe World Cup. ZinedineZidane also won the ReutersSports Personality of the YearAward, beating Aus-tralianskier Hermann Maier andAmerican sprinter MarionJones into second and third places respectively.

Ziyang, Zhao: The Chinese leader who introducedmarket reform and capitalism to china, was onsted

for opposing the 1989 militarycrack down on prodemocracyprotests at Tianamen square,passed away. He was in housearrest after 1989.

Zola, Emile (1840-1902):Emile Zola was a Frenchnovelist. Among his books isa 20-volume series called LesRougon Raquin, a family saga. Another famousbook is The Beast in Man.He is also remembered forespousing the cause of Dreyfus, who was falselyaccused of espionage, in an open letter entitledJ’accuse (‘I accuse’), in 1898.

Zoroaster (6th century BC): He was the celebratedPersian prophet and religious leader who lived inthe 6th century BC. He was the founder ofZoroastrianism whose followers are the Parsees whosettled in India. He saw the world as a strugglebetween good end evil. His teachings are collectedas Zend-Avesta. The place of worship ofZoroastrians is the Fire Temple.

Zulekya Rivera Mendoza (Puertorica): She is theMiss Universe 2006. The 19 year old was the fifthPuerto Rican to win the title.

Founder of Grameen Bank

World Cup Football 2006Golden ball award

French Novelist

President ofIndonesia